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

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for OJE. It allowed us to continue the same degree of support to Operation JOINT GUARD (OJG). Equipment got the maintenance that was long overdue; equally important, soldiers’ and families’ morale reached unequaled heights. Our soldiers, who had proven themselves under tough conditions and who were proud of themselves for their accomplishments, returned to heroes’ welcomes and some well-deserved rest. For the newly deployed soldiers, the precedence was set. We had in place an approved maintenance-recycling plan supported by all the USAREUR leadership. Fully aware that they would return to garrison in late summer, these soldiers eagerly and proudly assumed the missions their predecessors had earlier accomplished. THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN Despite the significant achievements, the battalion and I also endured some tough experiences. For example, throughout the planning phase, we were not sure until mid-November that deployment operations were going to go. And not until December 8, did we get the final GO to deploy the 70th and 260th on December 11. For families and soldiers, the waiting was terrible. On top of that, the deployment mode for the units varied week by week. I’ve already described the CEGE draw scenario. Coupled with the equipment draw, the unit was scheduled to deploy to the Balkan AOR by rail—then by barge—then back to rail. This flip-flopping of carrier mode continued for months until the decision to void the PLS draw was issued. When I was told that we’d use our organic equipment, my decision to convoy was quickly endorsed by my senior chain of command. We never expected to operate a full-scale A/DACG at Ramstein Air Base. Every planning session indicated that major unit deployments would originate from Rhein Main. Ramstein would be dedicated for resupply operations only. The CG, 1st Armored Division argued that convoy operations from Baumholder to Rhein Main would cause 190
unnecessary wear and tear on his units’ equipment and demanded the use of Ramstein as a major APOE for his headquarters—despite the vocal protests of senior Air Force personnel. Our battalion’s safety record was pretty darn good; however, close calls did occur. I earlier described the black ice incident. Several more black ice incidents occurred, as well as an accident caused by the decay of the road surface by heavy rain. In this incident, a tractor and trailer slid down a 25-foot embankment as the road surface collapsed. Fortunately, the worst accidents resulted in only broken legs and/or arms. A not-so-proud incident occurred when two soldiers assigned to the 109th TC violated General Order #1, which stipulated zero consumption of alcoholic beverages. The soldiers were in the ISB and returning to their company area from an ISB-sponsored event. During a routine Military Police (MP) gate check, they became belligerent with the on-duty military police. A quick search of their utility vehicle revealed an open container of coke. Closer inspection revealed the odor of alcohol from the container, and the two soldiers were arrested. I was furious and embarrassed by this violation of policy. The soldiers eventually were processed out of the Army. Two other incidents that caused the pucker factor to rise were a tent fire and the near loss of a weapon. During the height of deployment operations, truck platoons operated independently from their company headquarters. In one incident, a platoon from the 70th TC was supporting the movement of containers across the Sava River. During this operation, a fuel spill occurred while soldiers were lighting kerosene stoves. A fire ensued and could not be contained by the NCO at the scene. As a result, the fire spread to the tent. All articles within the tent were destroyed; however, no injuries occurred. We were extremely lucky on that day! Luck remained with us throughout our deployment. On another occasion, a platoon from the 109th TC, while 191
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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
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pressure, intensity, and rigor of a
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gaining the sense of teamwork and s
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from 4-67, and now three tank plato
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Although the setup had changed in t
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trains per day to that point, thus
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soldier why there were differences
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One piece of frustrated cargo defin
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soldiers who deployed into an area
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support. After several false starts
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Group leaders, who were not paid pr
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Another lesson I learned was the ve
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We also developed a rotational gunn
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CHAPTER 5 COMMANDING A FIELD ARTILL
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Target Acquisition Battery (B/25 FA
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Rather than the anticipated three w
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DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY HEADQUARTERS
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usiness taking their husbands away
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transportation, shopping, and perso
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were required to carry these 12 rul
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The remaining combat elements of Ch
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 and 148: forcing Service Battery to expend a
Page 149 and 150: Zvornik to regain control of the se
Page 151 and 152: likely a key storage site for a mec
Page 153 and 154: deployment. When offered the opport
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Page 159 and 160: assume the FSG advisor role for the
Page 161 and 162: assigned weapons. It was a great co
Page 163 and 164: This created a daily stop at every
Page 165 and 166: (at all times) and constant reporti
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: Drivers were also beginning to show
Page 195 and 196: mileage during my first year in com
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Page 199 and 200: The 127th ASB is a Combat Service S
Page 201 and 202: along with a myriad of situations t
Page 203 and 204: the battalion movement was not sche
Page 205 and 206: INITIAL SUPPORT OPERATIONS, ISB Aft
Page 207 and 208: SUPPORT PLAN The aviation brigade w
Page 209 and 210: commander while assigned to the 1AD
Page 211 and 212: The ground/air refuel and supply fu
Page 213 and 214: Force protection became a necessary
Page 215 and 216: military. As early as 1993, some si
Page 217 and 218: command, because the National Comma
Page 219 and 220: soldiers up at 1130 for a formal se
Page 221 and 222: actions—all at the same time. Onc
Page 223 and 224: eing, load-bearing equipment (LBE)
Page 225 and 226: teams and had one team erect the EM
Page 227 and 228: was ours. Once we received this add
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Page 231 and 232: our soldiers in a U.S. facility, bu
Page 233 and 234: • Treated 19,899 Outpatients •
Page 235 and 236: and Steve Walker, commanders of the
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Page 239 and 240: could do to change it now. The good
Page 241 and 242: 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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