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

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ecause I was at the end of my tour as a battalion commander. However, for the young lieutenants and captains without any previous command experience who were selected to be rear detachment commanders, it was a great week. But all of us were required to attend, and it was done well. The speakers were key members of the USAREUR staff, to include General William W. Crouch, the USAREUR Commander. For the FSGLs, there were seminars with experts in fields like stress management and interpersonal relationships to help them handle the seemingly constant demands of their families. These also provided them a forum to share similar problems and solutions that have worked. For the FSGLs, it was a great break from the daily routine. Those who were able to attend found it to be a valuable experience, but the often-short notification for those seminars truly hurt the FSGLs that had young children and had no day care solutions. Most of them never attended. Day care was always a problem and, more times than not, overlooked. I would be remiss if I did not mention the training sessions and get-togethers that our local base support battalion held. Normally once a month, there were sessions for rear detachment commanders, FSGLs, and family members in general. The community was always trying to make our lives easier. LESSONS LEARNED I have already related many of the points that were learned. So as not to belabor the points, I will highlight the important ones in bullet format. • If the rose gets pinned on you, get interested quick. • Stay interested in your FSGLs. 251
• Good rear detachment commanders are a must. If possible, pick one that can stay for the entire time. • Deployments without a stop-loss policy require a larger rear detachment and more resources. • Rear detachments cannot consist solely of temporary and permanently profiled soldiers. • Get as much permanent motor pool support as you can. • Use SOPs and checklists. • Be prepared to get lots of visitors. Some will actually help you. • Ask for help when you need it. CONCLUSION The appropriate way to end this tale is with the redeployment which all of us had looked forward to from the beginning. Like all good military operations, it was planned, briefed, back-briefed, rehearsed, executed, and reviewed. The soldiers took care of the set-up and tear-down, and the families handled the decorations and the goodies. From mid-October through mid-December, contracted busses made the long haul from Taszar, Hungary, to Kasernes in Germany, where anxious families and friends awaited their loved ones. Having been separated from their soldiers, the company commanders had to quickly account for the soldiers and sensitive items and knock out a couple administrative tasks before marching their units to the gym where the return ceremony was held. Accompanied by lots of patriotic songs, the short ceremony was concluded with an order from me for the company commander to dismiss the troops. Bedlam ensued as Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” rang out in the background. It was a miracle that no one got hurt as families and friends poured out of the 252
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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
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As we departed Baumholder, I felt c
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140
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Figure 7. 1st Armored Division AOR.
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forcing Service Battery to expend a
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Zvornik to regain control of the se
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likely a key storage site for a mec
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deployment. When offered the opport
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was due to retire from the Russian
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equipment for turn-in both at Baumh
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assume the FSG advisor role for the
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assigned weapons. It was a great co
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This created a daily stop at every
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(at all times) and constant reporti
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CONCLUSION The opportunity for batt
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A. He did not countermand the major
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CHAPTER 6 THE 28TH TRANSPORTATION B
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deactivation of the 53rd Transporta
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factors allowing us to stay ahead o
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drivers could not operate a motor v
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tied up with A/DACGS, CSCs, EAGLE E
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heat I received from the families b
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260th TTD relied entirely on the 28
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When I split my battalion headquart
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no IG or congressional inquiries re
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unit home to Wuerzburg, Germany. Un
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Drivers were also beginning to show
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unnecessary wear and tear on his un
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mileage during my first year in com
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logistics operations in support of
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The 127th ASB is a Combat Service S
Page 201 and 202: along with a myriad of situations t
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Page 205 and 206: INITIAL SUPPORT OPERATIONS, ISB Aft
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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 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
Page 243 and 244: to Grafenwoehr for deployment-speci
Page 245 and 246: Those were some of the major missio
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Page 249 and 250: considerable time updating the book
Page 251: Fortunately, we never had to deal w
Page 255 and 256: AFTERWORD Dr. Douglas V. Johnson II
Page 257 and 258: Colin Powell’s philosophy—we we
show all

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