Ukrainians Head Home After Completing Iraq Mission

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

KUT, Iraq, Dec. 19, 2005 - Multinational Division Central South bid farewell to troops from Ukraine, one of the unit's mainstay nationalities, during a ceremony today at Camp Delta here.

Polish Army Maj. Gen. Piotr Czerwinski said the Ukrainian contingent has done excellent work in the area and helped provide stability to the region and training to Iraqi troops, who now pick up the mission.

Ukraine will not end its affiliation with the coalition, Multinational Force Iraq officials said, but large troop deployments will end.

Ukrainian Maj. Gen. Anatoliy Pushniakov, a staff officer with the division, said more than 5,000 Ukrainian soldiers have deployed to Iraq since the operation began in spring 2003. Ukrainian soldiers generally spend six months in Iraq, although some have asked to stay longer. A total of 850 Ukrainian soldiers of the 81st Tactical Group will fly home in the next few days.

"I wish our soldiers a safe trip and to celebrate the New Year with their families back home," Pushniakov said during the ceremony.

The unit's commander, Maj. Gen. Evgeniy Goroshnikov, said he was proud of the way the unit acted and reacted to changing times in Iraq. "We have been here for two years, and in this time we have learned much about peacekeeping and we have made friends from many different countries," he said through an interpreter.

The Ukrainian contingent lost several soldiers during the militant "Mahdi Army" uprising in April 2004 and again in disturbances in October 2004. Others have been killed or injured in noncombat accidents.

Goroshnikov wished local Iraqi officials well and praised the Iraqi 8th Division for its accomplishments. That division eventually will take over responsibility for the multinational division's mission area, officials said.

With the Ukrainian contingent's departure and the Bulgarians before, the Multinational Division is down to 11 nationalities. Twenty-three nationalities comprised the unit when it began.

Czerwinski, the Polish general, said commanding such a multicultural division has been a challenge and has taught him the importance of communication. With units coming from Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Latin America, he found that even deciding on which language to use was a challenge. The division sends all operations orders in English, but on the battlefield troops use anything from Spanish to Russian to Polish.

Czerwinski said the close working relationship among all nationalities in the division has helped build understanding on a national level, and he is proud of his Ukrainian allies for the role they played. "For Iraq, for Iraqi people for the multinational division, this is a big success," he said. "More people should know about this."

Related Site:

Multinational Division Central South [http://www.piomndcs.mil.pl/]

_______________________________________________________
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2005/20051219_3701.html.

====================================================

Visit the Defense Department's Web site "America Supports You" at http://www.americasupportsyou.mil, that spotlights what Americans are doing in support of U.S. military men and women serving at home and abroad.

====================================================
Visit the Defense Department's Web site for the latest news
and information about America's response to the war against terrorism: "Defend America" at http://www.DefendAmerica.mil.

====================================================

Unsubscribe from or Subscribe to this mailing list:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/subscribe.html
====================================================