On 26 June Chief Of Staff (COS) EUFOR, Brigadier General SZPISJÁK, 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 28 service personnel from 4 different nations and thanked them for their dedicated service in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Brigadier General explained the importance of receiving the medal as it formally and publically acknowledges the contributions that everyone receiving the medal has made to the success of EUFOR. Stating: “ To your families we have the greatest appreciation for the sacrifice they have made because of your absence. The support of families is sometimes overlooked; however, I consider their role equally important to the on-going success of this mission”.
Staff Sargent Stephan Weiss from the Austrian Army was one of the parade participants receiving his medal as his tour in the operational theatre draws to a close. He said :“It was a great honour to receive this medal. I am glad to have been part of the mission and I have met and worked with some good comrades who I can also call friends.”
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 Slovakia, Switzerland, Chile and Austria.