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

Two significant coordination meetings were held the day
prior to our departure. I met with the Danish Deputy
Battalion Commander and planned the relief of his security
force at Tuzla Airbase. Although this was our only meeting
prior to our link up with his forces on the night of December
18, the relief operation was executed with minimal friction.
Also, I visited the Norwegian field hospital and coordinated
medevac and treatment for our soldiers. At the end of the
day, I refined our security plan for the airbase and briefed
the 1st Armored Division Chief of Staff. Tuzla Airbase is a
relatively small base, and the allocation of limited real
estate would be difficult. I wanted to determine early the
use of buildings and the location of key elements such as the
battalion CP, maintenance platoon, medical platoon,
artillery battery, mortar platoon and counter-fire radars.
Colonel Brown agreed to about 90 percent of my plan for
siting ABCT elements on the airbase. Some of the locations
would not be resolved until we arrived on the base.
On December 2, the reconnaissance party departed
Tuzla Airbase and began the journey back to Split. We
returned on a different route: Zivinice, Ribenica, Zavidovici,
Zenica, Travnik, Bugojno, Livno, and Split.
I will never forget driving through one valley at
approximately midnight. For over 30 miles we did not see a
living creature. The APCs’ spotlights, directed right and left
of the road to spot an ambush, highlighted barren villages
with bullet-riddled homes. Many of the houses had two or
three gravesites in the front yard, and the spotlight beams
reflected off the headstones and crosses as we passed.
We arrived in Split early on the morning of December 3,
got some sleep, and then caught a C-21 back to Ramstein. I
transferred to a C-12 and flew back to Dom Lin airfield in
Vicenza. The reconnaissance was short and intense, but it
was critical to refining our security plan and properly
preparing the force for their mission in Bosnia.
While I was in Germany and Bosnia, the battalion
conducted sustainment training and prepared equipment
44