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

containers as well. I told him I understood that he felt he
was doing the best he could, but this was a very unhealthy
and unsatisfactory condition. It was not being fixed fast
enough. I intended to inform my higher command and
request assistance. When I informed my Brigade
Commander about the deplorable conditions, he told me to
report it directly to the Commanding General (CG) of 5th
Signal Command. The CG was very supportive and assured
me that he would do whatever he could to improve the
situation for the soldiers. Next I called the ALOC to contract
for floor lumber for the tents to get the soldiers out of the
water—but there was no guaranteed method to get the
supplies to Sarajevo. Postal service was not working yet,
and the flights in were extremely erratic. There is really a
price for being the first in!
The next day I awoke in four inches of water that had
seeped in during the night. Breakfast consisted of cold eggs
and baked beans, served in a dimly lit area. Water
constantly dripped onto the food. It felt similar to being in
Fort Douamont in Verdun, where we had taken the
battalion officers for an Officer Professional Development
(OPD) just 5 months previously. Today was the TOA to
IFOR; it was time to survey the communications for the
Residency, located in a heavily wooded lot in the city, with
an extremely high ridge on one side and high-rise
apartment buildings on the other. It did not look like a
promising location to set up a Tacsat for a direct shot. The
look angle would not clear the trees, the ridge, or the
high-rise buildings. Additionally, the IFOR Forward HQ
Commandant, a U.S. Army colonel assigned to AFSOUTH,
was not very inclined to give any assistance. In fact, he made
it plain that he had no room to quarter any more soldiers. He
did not care about communications. His sole concern was
how to accommodate CINC IFOR Admiral Smith and his
staff, who were arriving in about a week to man the forward
headquarters.
After looking around, CW2 Banner and I both agreed
that our only possibility was to elevate the Tacsat
20