Support Association Albania
The Albania Support Association , UstgVbd ALB for short, was an association of the German Armed Forces that was set up in Kuçova in Albania from May to September 1999 . The association comprised around 450 soldiers. The camp was located directly at the Albanian military airfield Kuçova .
prehistory
Following a resolution by the German Bundestag , the Army Command Command ordered the establishment of the Albania Support Association on May 7, 1999 . The mission of the association was to provide humanitarian aid as the German part of the NATO operation Allied Harbor Albania, which was inundated by refugees from Kosovo . For this purpose, refugee camps should primarily be set up and prepared for handover to humanitarian aid organizations. Telecommunication forces were also integrated into the association, who had to ensure the connection between the NATO headquarters AFOR and the five subordinate task forces.
Under the leadership of the KLK / 4th Division and the Pioneer Brigade 20 , the association was to be set up in such a way that sea loading could take place in Cuxhaven on May 14, 1999 . At the same time, the exploration of possible stationing locations in Albania by the commander of the Pioneer Brigade 20, Colonel Gunnar Högger. An advance command under the leadership of the department head AMF (L) from the state named KLK / 4th Division, Lieutenant Colonel i. G. Jochen Haupt, relocated to the Kuçova military airfield in central Albania on May 20, 1999.
organization
The Albania Support Association was formed from parts of the staff of the former Pioneer Brigade 20 and the KLK Brigade from Regensburg as well as a pioneer company, a mountain hunter company of the former mountain hunter battalion 571 and a staff and supply company , which was formed from parts of the supply company 37, both from the Saxon Schneeberg and other smaller units and sub-units such as telecommunications from Dillingen , paramedics mostly from Feldkirchen and Ulm, SatCom, some of which were stationed in other places in Albania, including the port city of Durrës .
In Albania, the structure of the military unit was as follows:
- Rod
- a staff and supply company
- a pioneering construction company
- a security company ( mountain troops )
- a reinforced paramedic center
- Feldjägerzug ( military police )
- an air handling train (disclocated at Tirana Airport )
- an airborne remote reporting company (deployed in Durrës )
- a liaison officer to Task Force South in Elbasan
The Albania Support Association was led by the Brigade Commander of Pioneer Brigade 1 , Colonel Gunnar Högger.
assignment
The association's mission was to build refugee camps for the expected refugees from Kosovo . Since the actual flow of refugees did not materialize or the war in Kosovo came to a relatively quick end, the commander, in consultation with the local civilian representatives from Kuçova and the nearby Berat , decided to use the pioneer construction company for the expansion of the roads and similar repair work. For example, the Osum River in Berat was diverted by the pioneers. A total of up to five construction sites were operated at the same time. Meanwhile, the repair of the roads, which in fact became the main task, had a direct operational value, because it was NATO's main supply route for Kosovo. In addition to the route Thessaloniki (Greece) - Strumica - Tetovo (both Macedonia), the NATO operation was partly supplied via Albania ( port of Durrës ). The camp had an efficient field hospital for the soldiers; Since the sickness rate of the Bundeswehr soldiers was very low, the numerous doctors were ultimately employed within the framework of free capacities mainly with the medical care of the Albanian population.
In addition, the association supported the KFOR mission logistically and through temporary staff assignments to Macedonia .
Operation of the camp
Initially, the soldiers lived under field-like conditions, as the camp was built on a site that only had a few ruins of buildings belonging to the Albanian army . Within a few weeks, however, a model warehouse was set up, which ultimately included a field post , canteens , a beach volleyball field and a field laundry . Nonetheless, the camp remained a field camp in the literal sense of the word, as accommodation was provided in 8-man tents , largely regardless of rank .
Local assistants have been hired in the kitchen , the field laundry and maintenance. Some of the supplies were purchased on the local market.
Significance for the Albanian population
The Albanian population was extremely positive about the Bundeswehr and the association, as NATO and thus the German soldiers were celebrated as the liberators of their brothers in Kosovo. The work of the support association was welcomed by the Albanian population without exception, although the actual infrastructure measures were ultimately just a drop in the ocean. In addition, the economy of the surrounding villages benefited from the German field camp, as supply services such as waste disposal or car washing were gradually outsourced to local entrepreneurs for reasons of cost and efficiency.
End of mission
The association was de jure not an original part of the KFOR troops, but had its own humanitarian mandate. The mission was limited to humanitarian aid. The mountain troops were only deployed to secure the construction sites due to crime, as the general security situation in Albania was critical. Ultimately, however, Albania was not the country of operation, but the host country.
This and the fact that the soldiers did not have the mandatory operational training was one of the reasons why the association could not later be transferred to the KFOR contingent, as had been thought in the meantime. Even the self-given order to expand the Albanian infrastructure was ultimately not convincing. In August it was decided to dissolve the association. In September all units were relocated back to Germany.
losses
On the way from Durrës to Metar, a Fuchs- type armored personnel carrier fell from a bridge onto an embankment. Here came Surgeon Sven Eckelmann killed. Another soldier was seriously injured and one was slightly injured.