I spent a year there. Got there august 99 just after the war ended. I was assigned to the Serbian town of Mitrovica. Job was to work with French KFOR troops and establish civilian law enforvement. Talk about a cluster-fuck! I lived on the north side of the Ibar river with the Serbs. Most Serbs loved America before we stepped in and started bombing. Won't go into the politics involved in who was right or wrong but will say initially I was lead to feel sorry for the Albanians. All pre-deployment training was "poor Albanians, bad Serbs". Did not take long to see that maybe the Sebs were right? Serbs hated Americans in Mitrovica because of our stepping in but loved the American lifestyle. I lived in a Serb flat and made some friends, even some Serb Secret Police. Drank, ate, danced and talked alot about the politics. Also worked with and had many Albanian friends. Had many a Turkish coffee and Rakia sittings with both sides and saw many killed on both sides. Albanians seemed more primative, less educated and more lawless. Much more crime on the Albanian side of the river. Rape was common as was theft. Not so much on the Serb side. Religion was a big factor, Serb Orthodox Christian vs Albanian Muslim. So now its what, 8 yrs later, we still have troops and problems there. To me, my personal opinion, Kosovo declaring independence is wrong. Albanians have forced out many, many serbian familys from Kosovo. It is their home. On a positive note, could walk in any pharmacy and buy AAS over the counter. Even had one lady ordering special for me from Greece. Problem was there were not any modern gyms to train, mostly homemade junk but it was better than nothing.
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