Warriors in Peace Operations - Strategic Studies Institute - U.S. Army

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Separation enforcement) were conducted in the 2nd Brigade sector without force protection provided by the guns, rockets, and radar of the supporting Field Artillery. I recall one day when Colonel Batiste and I were meeting at an old motel in the Serb sector (Vlacenicia) with the Srpska Drina Corps Commander and his staff when an issue came up regarding U.S. military professionalism and resolve. It so happened we had planned an MLRS raid that afternoon to occupy a position outside the motel in view of the entire township. Timing being everything, we walked to the balcony of the motel at the instant the MLRS Platoon was arriving to occupy and prepare its systems for firing. Needless to say, this artillery raid caught the attention of the Drina Corps leadership and quickly put to rest any discussion of U.S. military capability. One contentious incident occurred involving a Field Artillery raid on May 10, 1996, during which my junior officer on the ground did everything right. One of my platoons (A2/A/4-29 FA) was conducting a deliberate platoon raid in support of a maneuver company operation east in sector. During the raid, the platoon leader (Lieutenant Phil Brooks) spotted seven personnel in camouflage uniforms armed with automatic weapons crossing a nearby major supply route (Route Sparrow). Soon thereafter, automatic weapon fire was heard, and the seven personnel entered the Field Artillery platoon raid site. The personnel laid down their weapons and surrendered to my platoon leader. The individuals claimed to be Muslim soldiers attempting to egress to friendly lines when they encountered enemy resistance. The seven individuals had no identification tags or documents. Senior U.S. and International Police Task Force representatives arrived on scene to address the situation. In time, a decision was rendered to release these individuals to Republic of Srbska Police and transport them to the city of Zvornik (in the Serb sector). When U.S. forces proceeded to 145
Zvornik to regain control of the seven individuals for further interrogation, they were met with armed resistance. This early and apparently minor incident later developed into a near national-level issue, with the captured men being referred to as the “Zvornik Seven” (see Appendix at the end of this chapter). The key point to take from this incident is that soldiers at the lowest levels must be prepared to deal with situations during a peace enforcement operation that could have far-reaching consequences. In peace operations, soldiers must understand the big picture and be able to perceive the potential consequences of their actions. Unlike in a high-intensity environment, seemingly trivial incidents become major issues in a matter of minutes. The actions of a single soldier can easily escalate into a major international contretemps. RADAR FORCE PROTECTION As previously stated, my TAB was a non-organic unit that joined me upon arrival in Bosnia. I met the battery, B/25 FA “Wolfpack,” initially at the CMTC prior to deployment, but even then was uncertain if they would be a part of my team in Bosnia. The battalion proved to be the most talented and energetic unit I have ever served with in over 19 years active duty. The radar force protection mission was likely the most critical aspect of taking care of the force, and the “Wolfpack” did it all day and night without complaint. B/25 conducted 24-hour radar operations from start to mission completion and managed to maintain an incredible 97 percent operational readiness rate. Because a civilian Logistics Assistance Representative was attached to the battalion, hard-to-acquire radar repair parts were acquired within days rather than weeks or months. Despite the wear and tear on its equipment, my TAB had over 5,000 radar acquisitions. These acquisitions were typically Former Warring Factions (FWF) small arms 146
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WARRIORS IN PEACE OPERATIONS Edited
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CONTENTS FOREWORD .................
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FOREWORD The Personal Experience Mo
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seldom practiced. The actual practi
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BATTALION COMMAND I assumed command
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all training, maintenance, and othe
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company training and log efforts, a
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the USAREUR staff was thought up an
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new times. Ops Center at the battal
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like the Jewish exodus wandering ar
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marvelous job of coordinating the e
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it. They did not want us there or n
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containers as well. I told him I un
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promptly chambered a round in his p
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techniques, we found the railhead a
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answer. He quickly made himself and
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Tacsat systems with two independent
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CHAPTER 3 THE BLUE FALCONS IN BOSNI
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monograph. My omission of such elem
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their advance around the safe haven
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unusual. In today’s environment,
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He also provided his timeline for J
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Within about an hour I was reminded
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eter. Even along these paths, I had
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for deployment. The pre-deployment
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a rehearsal for leaders, using a ve
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• Heavy weapons platoon from E Co
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The Blue Falcons exited the aircraf
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esponsibility for the base security
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sandbagged for force protection. Th
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Weather continued to deteriorate ov
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east-west roads crossing the Zone o
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needed from his forces. This coordi
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This COP was manned by a reinforced
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attalion commander was executing a
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creativity in accomplishing every a
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On February 11, TF 3-325 began coor
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their security. Hence, the title em
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deployed with the battalion to the
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at a confrontation going on at a ch
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he was deadly serious. I was convin
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As I reflected on the emotions I wa
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three times. The first time some ke
Page 98 and 99: pressure, intensity, and rigor of a
Page 100 and 101: gaining the sense of teamwork and s
Page 102 and 103: from 4-67, and now three tank plato
Page 104 and 105: Although the setup had changed in t
Page 106 and 107: trains per day to that point, thus
Page 108 and 109: soldier why there were differences
Page 110 and 111: One piece of frustrated cargo defin
Page 112 and 113: soldiers who deployed into an area
Page 114 and 115: support. After several false starts
Page 116 and 117: Group leaders, who were not paid pr
Page 118 and 119: Another lesson I learned was the ve
Page 120 and 121: We also developed a rotational gunn
Page 122 and 123: CHAPTER 5 COMMANDING A FIELD ARTILL
Page 124 and 125: Target Acquisition Battery (B/25 FA
Page 126 and 127: Rather than the anticipated three w
Page 128 and 129: DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY HEADQUARTERS
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Page 137 and 138: were required to carry these 12 rul
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Page 141 and 142: As we departed Baumholder, I felt c
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Page 145 and 146: Figure 7. 1st Armored Division AOR.
Page 147: forcing Service Battery to expend a
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Page 153 and 154: deployment. When offered the opport
Page 155 and 156: was due to retire from the Russian
Page 157 and 158: equipment for turn-in both at Baumh
Page 159 and 160: assume the FSG advisor role for the
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Page 163 and 164: This created a daily stop at every
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Page 167 and 168: CONCLUSION The opportunity for batt
Page 169 and 170: A. He did not countermand the major
Page 171 and 172: CHAPTER 6 THE 28TH TRANSPORTATION B
Page 173 and 174: deactivation of the 53rd Transporta
Page 175 and 176: factors allowing us to stay ahead o
Page 177 and 178: drivers could not operate a motor v
Page 179 and 180: tied up with A/DACGS, CSCs, EAGLE E
Page 181 and 182: heat I received from the families b
Page 183 and 184: 260th TTD relied entirely on the 28
Page 185 and 186: When I split my battalion headquart
Page 187 and 188: no IG or congressional inquiries re
Page 189 and 190: unit home to Wuerzburg, Germany. Un
Page 191 and 192: Drivers were also beginning to show
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Page 195 and 196: mileage during my first year in com
Page 197 and 198: logistics operations in support of
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The 127th ASB is a Combat Service S
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along with a myriad of situations t
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the battalion movement was not sche
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INITIAL SUPPORT OPERATIONS, ISB Aft
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SUPPORT PLAN The aviation brigade w
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commander while assigned to the 1AD
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The ground/air refuel and supply fu
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Force protection became a necessary
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military. As early as 1993, some si
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command, because the National Comma
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soldiers up at 1130 for a formal se
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actions—all at the same time. Onc
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eing, load-bearing equipment (LBE)
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teams and had one team erect the EM
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was ours. Once we received this add
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hospital area and our consequent ab
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our soldiers in a U.S. facility, bu
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• Treated 19,899 Outpatients •
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and Steve Walker, commanders of the
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the unique tasks required for the u
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could do to change it now. The good
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THE SUBORDINATE REAR DETACHMENT COM
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to Grafenwoehr for deployment-speci
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Those were some of the major missio
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kept track of the classified inform
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considerable time updating the book
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Fortunately, we never had to deal w
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• Good rear detachment commanders
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AFTERWORD Dr. Douglas V. Johnson II
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Colin Powell’s philosophy—we we
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