Transfer of Authority Ceremony in KFOR Tactical Reserve Manoeuvre Battalion (KTM)
On September 25, despite cold and rainy weather Portuguese soldiers aligned on the parade square in the Slim Lines Camp (Pristina/Prishtine). On this day Task Force “Mike” replaced the 1st Paratrooper Infantry Battalion as KFOR Tactical Reserve Manoeuvre Battalion (KTM). Lieutenant Colonel Jocelino do Nascimento Bragança Rodrigues replaced Lieutenant Colonel Paulo José de Sousa Teles Serra Pedro in the position of the KTM commander.
Having received the report from the outgoing commander, the Commander of Kosovo Force Lieutenant General Giuseppe Emilio Gay inspected the parade, rendering homage to the troops.
In his farewell speech, outgoing commander Lieutenant Colonel Serra Pedro thanked all high level KFOR commanders and KFOR HQ staff for the cooperation and professionalism, demonstrated by them during the past six months.
Special thanks he expressed to all the Portuguese soldiers, who served under his command, for their successful service in Kosovo, having wished to them a safe return home. Addressing the soldiers of TF “Mike”, Lieutenant Colonel Serra Pedro expressed all the best to this new mission.
After that the transfer of the Portuguese national flag from outgoing to incoming commander marked the national transfer of authority ceremony, as well as the transfer of the KTM flag from Lieutenant Colonel Serra Pedro to the Commander of Kosovo Force Lieutenant General Giuseppe E. Gay, and from COMKFOR to new KTM Commander marked the KFOR transfer of authority within KTM.
Addressing to the audience, new KTM Commander said: “With confidence and help of God, we are going to achieve this mission with plenty of success”.
COMKFOR, in his discourse, recognized the outstanding job of outgoing Commander and all Portuguese Paratroopers, and expressed his hope on the successful mission for the incoming Commander and all soldiers from TF “Mike”.
Thank you, Paratroopers for your service!
Welcome to KFOR, the soldiers of Task Force “Mike”!
(Story by Major Oleksii Morozov,Ukrainian Armed Forces)
