On 30 May COMEUFOR, Major General Anton Waldner, presided over a medal parade at EUFOR HQ in Camp Butmir, Sarajevo. He presented the European Union Common Security and Defence Policy Medal Althea to 70 service personnel from 9 different nations and thanked them for their dedicated service in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
COMEUFOR encourage the recipients to “wear this medal with pride because it signifies your service and your contribution to the EUFOR effort” and stated “EUFOR remains firmly focused on supporting the BiH authorities in maintaining the Safe and Secure Environment and on building the capabilities of the Armed Forces BiH through our capacity building and training activities”.
Captain Gillian Collins from the Irish Defence Force was one of the parade participants receiving her medal as her tour in the operational theatre draws to a close. She said “It was an honour to be part of such a professional mission.”
EUFOR Operation Althea is currently made up of service personnel from 14 EU member states and 5 partner nations. The countries represented at this medal parade were Turkey, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Ireland, Finland, Spain, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Austria.
