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

military. As early as 1993, some single-parent military
members were being encouraged to leave their children in
the continental United States and go to Germany alone
because of the high probability of a deployment shortly after
their arrival. Although there was frequent talk of a possible
deployment, the cry “Wolf!” had been sounded so often, and
for so long, that upon my arrival any mention of a
deployment was taken lightly and without concern or belief
that it would actually occur.
Approximately 15 months later, however, the
atmosphere changed. By autumn 1995, there were more
high-level command meetings and briefings regarding the
possible support of a Balkan peace enforcement operation
than I had seen since my arrival in Europe. In September
1995, we were tasked to support a multi-national exercise in
Grafenwoehr, Germany. During October frequent inquiries
into unit status and readiness came down to us from higher
command.
As peace talks progressed, the reality of a possible
deployment began to strike home. In November the talk was
not “whether” we would deploy, but rather “when.”
However, many remained skeptical. Then, in early
November we were ordered to deploy the CSH to
Grafenwoehr for a validation exercise. All units designated
as units to deploy in support of any peace enforcement
measures in the Balkans were required to “validate” that
they were trained, prepared, and equipped to immediately
respond to such a deployment.
The validation exercise was of grave concern to those of
us in the CSH—purely from an equipment readiness
perspective. The weather was extremely rainy during this
period, and had been so for some time. Our major concern
was the time needed to recover and clean the hospital tents,
facilities, and equipment upon return from the validation
exercise. We felt that our recent primary medical support of
a major multi-national exercise “validated” that we were
prepared to deploy immediately and support any plan or
214