“Why is there an escape from KSF?

So says a former member of the Kosovo Security Force who decided to stop engaging in this institution after several years of service.

He says that the reasons he was led to leave the military business are some, but it dominates the lack of meritocracy in cases of advancement, and then personal ambition for development and well-being.

“Senial Lidership [in KSF] comes more from war and not from a formal education like we have. The leadership style in the organisation is a bit more tribal and more traditional, not based on modern principles”, says former KSF member for Radio Free Europe.

Wanting to remain anonymous, he thinks it took him about two years to make the decision of leaving the KSF “the most difficult one in life”.

I miss the army. The way you connect with people in the military is something never to be repeated. It's hard to break up with the army... and that's why it's ideologically tied to”, he says.

Today it shows that it does one of the most popular jobs on the market, which it has not been able to do within the security institution, and that it generates grossly higher revenues.

More than 130 KSF members left last year

The resignations of members of the Kosovo Security Force marked higher figures in the last two years, compared to 2021.

Only during the past year, according to data it provided The REL from the Kosovo Defence Ministry was approved the removal of 134 soldiers.

They voluntarily left Forca, and part of them found themselves in other institutions, including the Kosovo Police, says Kosovo Defence Minister Ejup Macedonia, of Radio Free Europe.

According to him, worrying is “even if a person leaves”.

The law on service in the Kosovo Security Force envisions the voluntary disruption of service.

The defence ministry did not answer REL questions about what the personnel maintenance strategy is and how it addresses the complaints of KSF members.

But, Minister Macedonia says the number of resignations does not jeopardise the process of transforming KSF into the military.

It's a great number [from KSF], but given our citizens' interest in joining. The KSF, operationally speaking, is not causing irreparable damage to the release of some of the” people, says Macedonia.

According to him, over the past year, the KSF has accepted 600 new recruits.

For us remains vital citizens' great interest in attachment KSF's”, he says.

“We have five years to meet the necessary number [for the army]”, the minister adds, referring to the deadline for meeting the transformation plan.

This process of transforming the KSF into the army began in 2018 and is expected to last ten years. Until the end of it, in 2028, The KSF is expected to have over 7,500 active members and reserve from over 4,000 currently available. There is also to be additional responsibility in maintaining sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as in providing military support to civil authorities, among other things.

Defence Ministry statistics show that 1,836 new soldiers and cadries in the KSF have been recruited over the past three years.

Currently, the number of members is 4,141, according to the Ministry of Defense. The figure, according to her, has nearly doubled during this period.

“andives serving at KSF must feel valued”

Former British Army Colonel Ade Clewlow, who served in Kosovo under the NATO mission, says military evacuations are disturbing in cases where they are people with decision-making positions, or who have such skills that at their departure, reduces KSF's capabilities.

The quality of young officers recruited to the KSF is very high and, inevitably, they will have ambitions. The decisions taken at a young age [to join the institution] often change over time, so it is inevitable that the officers who have been trained in prestigious military academy, move to a second career at a stage”, says Clewlow, who is also author of the “book Under a feathered sky: The unprecedented history of NATO's role in independent Kosovo”.

What the private sector cannot offer is the stability that comes with military service, the diversity that lies in the heart of a military career and feelings for something non-material”.
According to him, maintaining talented personnel in military organisations, such as KSF, is one of the biggest challenges.

Here, he cites the need for good work conditions so that officers and soldiers will want to serve their country.

The pay should be good enough to enable a reasonable way of life for personnel, but it is impossible to be the same as private sector salaries. And people who want to serve know that. However, what the private sector cannot offer is stability that comes with military service, the diversity that lies in the heart of a military career and feelings for something non-material, that you are making the difference by serving your country”, says the former British officer.

In the United Kingdom, we call social contracts between the state and the individual. To explain: A soldier or an officer has chosen to serve his country, so he is willing to give his life for his country. So in return, the state should take care of those people, not only when they serve, but also then, as veterans”, Clewlow adds.

What's the salary at KSF?

According to the Law on Salaries in the Public Sector, at the value of the coffient, which is 110 euros per 2024 a KSF recruit paid a little over 200 euros a month.

About 600 euros is the soldier's salary, while salaries for the sergeant to the mayor range from 700 to over 1,000 euros.

Of 1,200 euros for subcolonels to about 1,600 euros for the Major General are salaries for the highest positions in the KSF.

Meanwhile, the average salary in Kosovo is 521 euros.

The KSF has a budget of 153m euros this year.

According to a statement by Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, made in October of last year, the budget for KSF has doubled in the last two years.

Number of resignations in the Kosovo Security Force requires attention, says

Xhavit Gashi, retired general of Kosovo.

He estimates there are challenges in staff management and, according to him, the KSF has to do detailed analysis and “actively address the recruiting and maintenance issues”.

If the KSF is able to maintain a positive balance between recruits and evacuations and address any specific concerns that can contribute to evacuations, then it can be argued that the situation is not as disturbing as it may seem at first glance”, Gashi says.

With 1,836 conscripts realised [in three years], The KSF seems to have a strong flow of new personnel that compensates from”, he says.

KSF “opens with plans to transform into the army”

Developing programmes to maintain and motivate existing personnel is important in this context, according to Gashi.

To address the challenges of maintaining and motivating personnel in the KSF, it is essential to review and if it is necessary to improve existing programmes and develop initiatives that respond to military needs”, he says.

According to him, professional training, rating systems, support for the well-being, advantage opportunities, involvement in the team's decision-making and building activities “are key” to the motivation of personnel.

New Professionals Affected by Military

Kosovo Defence Minister Macedonia says many NATO and other countries face difficulties in maintaining staff.

This is a global trend because of new professions, because of opportunities young people have in other fields”, according to him.

REL failed to secure the statistics of military resignations in recent years in countries in the region.

But, for example, the Ministry of Defence of Northern Macedonia agreed for REL that phenomenon exists, although it said, “due to the sensitivity of the” issue, cannot share detailed opinion information.

Clewlow says leaving the army has always been a problem.

...the individuals serving at the KSF, must feel valued”.
Explaining this, he says that when the economy is on the rise, military personnel believe there are more opportunities outside the institution and leave it behind a military career.

In this regard, he mentions advancing the technology industry, such as artificial intelligence and cyber security.

The military service offers a very good recruiting ground for civil companies that want to increase their labor force. To counteract this, individuals serving in the KSF must feel valued”, he says.

Even according to Gashi, holding military personnel poses a constant challenge for many states.

New “professions have an impact”, he says.

According to him, military personnel gain qualifications that make them more attractive to be recruited by other institutions. Here, he mentions professions related to cyber security and similar, which in Kosovo have had boom.

In addition to voluntary work cuts, part of the KSF are not even some who were dismissed because of disciplinary violations and others who entered the civil servants category. Also, about 60 others left because of retirement.

All of these lead to 221 evacuations from KSF during 2023.

The former KSF member says very important that the institution work on staff maintenance.

According to him, with the release of members whose career has been invested, “does not lose only the expense, but also a portion of institutional memory”.

“We have received very good education and certain skills that are highly required on the private market... If necessary, many colleagues and I are willing to return to the ministry unless there is a serious situation”, he says.