{{unreferenced, date=November 2007 Joint Task Force (JTF) Shining Hope was the United States contribution to

Operation Allied Harbor Operation Allied Harbor was NATO's first humanitarian operation. In the case of the Kosovo crisis, by the end of March 1999 these agencies were unable to cope with the massive influx of refugees into Albania. Within a fortnight over 200,000 refuge ...

. The mission of JTF Shining Hope was to conduct foreign humanitarian assistance operations in support of US government agencies and non-governmental and international organizations engaged in providing humanitarian relief to Kosovar refugees in

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the ...

and

Macedonia Macedonia most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...

. JTF Shining Hope was commanded by

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

William S. Hinton Jr.,

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...

Background

The

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

continued to work closely with the

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...

(UNHCR) and other relief organizations to ensure a comprehensive and adequate response to the humanitarian crisis caused by the ethnic cleansing and atrocities being conducted by Serb forces.

and other

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

military forces provided support for humanitarian operations in a variety of ways, to include air and surface transportation of relief supplies and equipment, camp preparation, shelter construction, security, and other tasks uniquely suited to military forces. The

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippin ...

pledged over $25 million in humanitarian assistance, which, in addition to the above, also included food (humanitarian daily rations), shelter (tents), bedding, medical supplies, and vehicles. For the JTF's efforts, the unit was awarded the Joint Meritorious Unit (JMUA) in August 1999 by

Hugh Shelton Henry Hugh Shelton (born January 2, 1942) is a former United States Army officer who served as the 14th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1997 to 2001. Early life, family and education Shelton was born in Tarboro, North Carolina and gr ...

, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Inclusive dates for the award are 3 April 1999 to 1 July 1999.

References

*Bruce Nardulli, Walter L. Perry, Bruce R. Pirnie, John IV Gordon, John G. McGinn, Disjointed War: Military Operations in Kosovo, 1999, Rand Corporation, 2002 Humanitarian military operations