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MILITARY & VETERANS AFFAIRS |
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| RELEASE:
IMMEDIATE (14 August 2002) |
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FORT DIX , NJ - On August 14, 2002 four members of the Albanian Army arrived at Newark Airport for a comprehensive 6-day visit to New Jersey National Guard facilities and installations to observe National Guard training. LTC Qani Hamzo, LTC Hysen Goci, LTC Jani Tako, MAJ Ahmet Leka, and their civilian translator / interpreter Mr. Artian Dautaj were escorted by MAJ Bruce Protesto, New Jersey Partnership for Peace coordinator and MAJ Robert Williams, S-3, 3-112th FA. The Albanian delegation, all artillery officers, was here specifically to observe and learn more about Fire Support Operations and the Guard’s Joint Emergency Operations. National Guard equipment and weapons systems are “ultramodern” as compared to the obsolete and antiquated Chinese equipment used by the Albanian military. The ambitious agenda included meetings with Colonel Maria Morgan, the Deputy Adjutant General of New Jersey, visits to the 3rd Battalion 112th Field Artillery during their annual training to observe “Copperhead” firing, a tour of the T3BL (Training & Training Technology Battle Lab), a briefing and tour of the JOC (Joint Operations Center), stops at the UTES (Unit Training Equipment Site), and visits to various ranges and training sites to observe tactical and live fire exercises. Unfortunately, due to fires burning in the impact area, the “Copperhead” firing had to be postponed. In the early ’90’s following the fall of the Iron Curtain and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the National Guard Bureau at the Pentagon created the “Partnership for Peace” program. The concept was to “partner” various state National Guards with former Soviet block countries striving to transition into a more democratic form of government and help them re-establish themselves as free and independent nations. The New Jersey National Guard was paired with Albania, the small country on the western shore of the Adriatic just south of Yugoslavia. Since the fall of communism, Albania has struggled to establish a viable economy and convert its military forces into an organization similar in both structure and function to the National Guard. More than 10 years ago, Colonel Dennis Bliss, then part of the New Jersey Army National Guard’s JAG (Judge Advocate General) section, spent a considerable amount of time in Tirana, the capital of Albania to assist the Albanian government draft their new constitution, a document based closely upon that of the Constitution of the United States. Members of the Albanian military, to include their Minister of Defense have visited the United States to observe National Guard training. Troops from the Jersey Guard also have been frequent and regular visitors to Albania. One of the goals of the program is to eventually assist some Eastern European nations qualify for membership in NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). According to Protesto, “One of the primary reasons the National Guard was selected for this mission was to minimize the concerns and suspicions of the Russians. The Guard presented a less threatening partnership to the still powerful Russian military than would the use of active forces. With the frequent deployment of Guard troops to Albania to provide training, help develop the NCO corps, and participation in other missions, the concerns on the part of the Russians were a substantial consideration.” This was not the first time Albanians had come to Fort Dix, during the height of the Peacekeeping action in Kosovo, several hundred Kosovar/Albanian refugees were temporarily housed at Fort Dix. |
