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

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

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OJE is the largest military operation conducted <strong>in</strong><br />

Europe s<strong>in</strong>ce World War II. USAREUR provided the<br />

majority of the personnel required to support this NATO<br />

operation. One unit <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> this operation s<strong>in</strong>ce<br />

USAREUR began plann<strong>in</strong>g for its <strong>in</strong>volvement <strong>in</strong> the<br />

former Yugoslavia is the 28th Transportation Battalion,<br />

headquartered <strong>in</strong> Mannheim, Germany.<br />

The 28th Transportation Battalion (28th TB) is<br />

USAREUR’s largest transportation truck battalion, and its<br />

sole l<strong>in</strong>e-haul operator. The battalion’s motto is “EN<br />

TEMPS” (ON TIME). It’s “On Time” performance played a<br />

significant role <strong>in</strong> the deployment of USAREUR forces to<br />

the Balkans and their susta<strong>in</strong>ment dur<strong>in</strong>g the accomplishment<br />

of their peacekeep<strong>in</strong>g mission. The purpose of this<br />

monograph is to describe <strong>in</strong> some detail my experiences<br />

with the 28th TB and the hardwork<strong>in</strong>g soldiers who<br />

contributed to the success of OJE. Many of my recollections<br />

can be credited to personal notes and brief<strong>in</strong>gs prepared by<br />

Colonel Bob Kubiszewski and his staff, the staff of the 28th<br />

TB, and Lieutenant Colonel Donnie Horner. Thanks for the<br />

“m<strong>in</strong>d-joggers.”<br />

BACKGROUND<br />

The 28th TB is the <strong>Army</strong>’s largest l<strong>in</strong>e-haul truck<br />

transportation battalion. It is subord<strong>in</strong>ate to the 37th<br />

Transportation Command (TRANSCOM), which is the<br />

theater transportation mode operator for the EUCOM CR<br />

encompass<strong>in</strong>g Germany and the BENELUX nations<br />

(Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg).<br />

In the early 1990s prior to OJE, USAREUR implemented<br />

force reductions along with the rest of the <strong>Army</strong>.<br />

Force reductions reached the TRANSCOM and had both<br />

positive and negative impacts on the 28th TB. On the<br />

positive note, the battalion <strong>in</strong>creased its overall strength<br />

with the addition of one medium Truck Company (TC) and<br />

one trailer transfer detachment (TTD). On the negative<br />

side, these units came to the battalion as the result of the<br />

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