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

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at a confrontation going on at a checkpoint between a faction (my mortar platoon) and the platoon manning the checkpoint, which was under orders not to allow a faction with weapons through. Staff Sergeant Campbell, one of my mortar section leaders, should have been nominated for an Oscar for the performance he put on as the factional convoy commander. He was a very belligerent, tough, realistic role player. The perplexed platoon leader was getting some excellent training. After eating lunch, a Meals Ready to Eat (MRE), with Captain Kevin Dunlop, my A Company Commander, Major General Nash told me to get my XO and S-3 and a Bosnian map. Also, he had me see if I could get the brigade S-3 to join us. After lunch, Major General Nash drew a few lines on the Bosnian map, telling us that if the peace process in Dayton worked out and the division was deployed, this was the area the 1st AD would be assigned. He then explained a concept to operate out of base camps, establish a zone of separation, set up checkpoints, conduct patrols, etc. He showed us the 1st Brigade sector, which included a key area called the Possivina Corridor, an area near Brcko that was the only link between Serb areas in the east and west. As he laid out the task organization, he showed 2-67 Armor going, but leaving two tank companies at home and bringing two infantry companies. As Major General Nash departed, I realized things were really serious, and there was more likelihood than ever that we would be deploying to Bosnia. We could not share this information with the rest of the battalion, but we knew we had to be serious about taking advantage of every bit of our training time, making sure we were ready to deploy and take on the Bosnian winter, ready to enforce the peace, ready to fight if necessary. Speaking of the Bosnian winter, another event during that period had an impact on me later. Soon after Fall Harvest, we conducted what we called a “TENTEX.” I had been working for over a year to correct a deficiency I had 86
discovered very soon after taking command at our first CMTC rotation. Our tentage and heating stoves were in bad condition. We did not have anywhere near what was needed, and what we did have was often not working. This was a result of a general lack of funds to buy anything but the necessities for training during the prior years and the fact that the battalion seldom needed tentage. At Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels, the troops lived in hard buildings most of the time. Because we did not know when base camps would be built, I thought it was important we ensure we could house the battalion in the tentage we carried with us. Major Jim Henderson hit on the idea of the TENTEX. We set up every tent and stove in the battalion at the same time on a football field. Leaders were present as I walked through, checking the tents for serviceability and stoves for completeness and functionality. It was actually quite a sight to see a whole battalion’s worth of gear set up. We were still short some equipment, and a little was still unserviceable, but I was very proud of what I saw, knowing our status just a year before. It just happened that we were having a command post exercise (CPX) at that time, and the brigade Tactical Operations Center (TOC) was set up near the TENTEX. The Brigade Commander, Colonel Fontenot, saw this magnificent sight as well, which would later cause me a problem. An incident during another training event a few weeks later in the Czech Republic also indicated that things were very serious. The battalion participated in Cooperative Challenge, a Partnership for Peace exercise practicing peace operations. We provided a response cell, role playing a battalion that was part of a multinational brigade, led by 1st Brigade, 1AD. General William W. Crouch, the commanderin-chief of U.S. Army Europe, visited the exercise. When we were walking from one place to another, he stopped, looked me in the eye, and asked if the battalion was ready to go to Bosnia. I told him we were not ready yet, but would be with a couple more weeks of training. Although that is all he said, I could tell from the way he asked and by his expression that 87
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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
Page 39 and 40: their advance around the safe haven
Page 41 and 42: unusual. In today’s environment,
Page 43 and 44: He also provided his timeline for J
Page 45 and 46: Within about an hour I was reminded
Page 47 and 48: eter. Even along these paths, I had
Page 49 and 50: for deployment. The pre-deployment
Page 51 and 52: a rehearsal for leaders, using a ve
Page 53 and 54: • Heavy weapons platoon from E Co
Page 55 and 56: The Blue Falcons exited the aircraf
Page 57 and 58: esponsibility for the base security
Page 59 and 60: sandbagged for force protection. Th
Page 61 and 62: Weather continued to deteriorate ov
Page 63 and 64: east-west roads crossing the Zone o
Page 65 and 66: needed from his forces. This coordi
Page 67 and 68: This COP was manned by a reinforced
Page 69 and 70: attalion commander was executing a
Page 71 and 72: creativity in accomplishing every a
Page 73 and 74: On February 11, TF 3-325 began coor
Page 75: their security. Hence, the title em
Page 88 and 89: deployed with the battalion to the
Page 92 and 93: he was deadly serious. I was convin
Page 94 and 95: As I reflected on the emotions I wa
Page 96 and 97: three times. The first time some ke
Page 98 and 99: pressure, intensity, and rigor of a
Page 100 and 101: gaining the sense of teamwork and s
Page 102 and 103: from 4-67, and now three tank plato
Page 104 and 105: Although the setup had changed in t
Page 106 and 107: trains per day to that point, thus
Page 108 and 109: soldier why there were differences
Page 110 and 111: One piece of frustrated cargo defin
Page 112 and 113: soldiers who deployed into an area
Page 114 and 115: support. After several false starts
Page 116 and 117: Group leaders, who were not paid pr
Page 118 and 119: Another lesson I learned was the ve
Page 120 and 121: We also developed a rotational gunn
Page 122 and 123: CHAPTER 5 COMMANDING A FIELD ARTILL
Page 124 and 125: Target Acquisition Battery (B/25 FA
Page 126 and 127: Rather than the anticipated three w
Page 128 and 129: DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY HEADQUARTERS
Page 130 and 131: usiness taking their husbands away
Page 132 and 133: transportation, shopping, and perso
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Page 139 and 140: 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
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along with a myriad of situations t
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the battalion movement was not sche
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INITIAL SUPPORT OPERATIONS, ISB Aft
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SUPPORT PLAN The aviation brigade w
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commander while assigned to the 1AD
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The ground/air refuel and supply fu
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Force protection became a necessary
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military. As early as 1993, some si
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command, because the National Comma
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soldiers up at 1130 for a formal se
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actions—all at the same time. Onc
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eing, load-bearing equipment (LBE)
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teams and had one team erect the EM
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was ours. Once we received this add
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hospital area and our consequent ab
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our soldiers in a U.S. facility, bu
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• Treated 19,899 Outpatients •
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and Steve Walker, commanders of the
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the unique tasks required for the u
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could do to change it now. The good
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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
show all

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

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