KSPABAT I

From the end of June 1999 until January 2000, the 670 members of the first Spanish force deployed in Kosovo, drawn from the 7th Battalion of the 3rd Regiment "Don Juan de Austria" of the Legion and under the command of Colonel Vicente Díaz de Villegas, began the missions entrusted by United Nations resolution to the KFOR.

Among others, the legionnaires were in charge of: dissuading Serbs and Kosovan Albanians from renewed hostilities, verifying compliance with peace agreements and establishing a safe environment for the return of refugees, as well as promoting public security.

Among other Units the force had 15 Civil Guard members who, among other missions, fulfilled the duties of Military Police.

Throughout the first six months of Spanish presence in Kosovo the legionnaires facilitated the return of 800,000 displaced people of Albanian origin, confiscated over 3,000 rifles, 600 automatic rifles, 6 million cartridges, 140 mortars, 200 machine-guns, half a ton of explosives and over one thousand land mines.