08 Oct. 2008
On 7 September KFOR marked an historic milestone when Canada re-established its military presence in Kosovo. Canada, a charter member of NATO has seen extensive service in the Balkans with a series of several major contingents serving in all theatres in both peacekeeping and war fighting roles from 1992 until the present.
Canada withdrew its contingent from Kosovo in 2002 in order to place its focus more squarely on Kandahar Province in South Afghanistan. This fall Canada returns to Kosovo with a small but talented staff planning section to manage and coordinate the Kosovo Security Force’s equipment donor program.
The staff planning team is headed by (L to R in photo) Capt (Navy) Evan Boettger, a naval reservist and in civilian life a Coast Guard planner and an enthusiastic outdoorsman from Ottawa Ontario. Other team members include LCol Ben Pelletier, a seasoned logistics officer from National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa who in his spare time cruises the Great Lakes in his motorboat.
LCol Peter Bell, a reservist who recently completed a highly successful tour commanding the British Columbia Regiment in Vancouver is a government immigration lawyer and a busy family man in civilian life; and LCol Michael Goodspeed, an Infantry officer who hails from the Canadian Defence Academy in Kingston Ontario fills his spare time as a published novelist and historian. WO Jim Poole, the team’s chief clerk comes to Kosovo from Toronto Ontario and when he is not working with the Forces is an avid hockey fan and a solid force to be reckoned with on the old timer’s defensive line.
The team has already begun to make its mark in the early planning stages of this important but complex aspect of nurturing the Kosovo Security Force and looks forward to ensuring the job is completed effectively and on time.
