the TalonVolume 2, No 29 Friday, August 2, 1996

Serving the soldiers of Task Force EagleOperation Joint Endeavor, Bosnia-Herzegovina

Marines win neighbors’ trustBy Cpl. JEFF HAWKU.S. Marine Corps

BOYINGTON AIRFIELD — Suad Hamziclifted the frayed cuff of one trouser leg abovehis right knee to reveal a purple scar thesize of a mayonnaise lid.

Through an interpreter, Hamzic saidthat he received the wound, and the ones

speckling his chest, from a grenade thatlanded three meters away from him. Theblast ripped away the muscle from the back-side of his knee like the four years of fight-ing here seemed to rip away the hope ofever bringing peace to this country.

But the peace provided by the multina-tional Implementation Force has givenHamzic hope. He invited a U.S. Marine to

go fishing with him in the placid lakelocated next to an airfield where aMarine Corps unit flies unmannedaircraft in support of Task ForceEagle.

Hamzic could have complainedabout the constant rumbling of theunit’s generators which probablydisrupt the serenity of his fishinghole, but instead he seemed eagerto tell his new neighbor how pleasedhe was that the Marines were soclose.

“As long as you are here, peace

will continue, but if you were to leave thenthings for sure would get worse,” he said.“We want you to stay.”

Hamzic’s invitation mirrored the good-will Marines displayed by inviting him andhis neighbors to visit the airfield.

According to Capt. Samuel Allen, theunit’s 27-year-old security officer from Kan-sas City, Mo., the purpose of the event host-ed by Marine Unmanned Aerial VehicleSquadron One (VMU-1) was to calm con-cerns within the community about theunit’s mission. The unit flies remote-con-trolled Pioneer aircraft to provide a birds-eye view of areas for Task Force Eagle com-manders.

“There was a lot of worry that we wereflying guided missiles and aircraft-carriedbombs,” said Allen. “We brought the civil-ians here to show them that we are on apassive, peaceful mission taking video im-agery of the zone of separation to ensureIn

side COMMENTARY . . . . . 2

NEW ADC-M . . . . . 3PREPARATION . . . . . . 4HILL 722 . . . . . . 6-7NEW SIGHT . . . . . . . . 9FITNESS FUN. . . . . . . 11COMIFOR FAREWELL . . . 12

A Marine of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron One(VMU-1) walks down a launcher for the unit’s remote-controlled Pioneer unmanned reconnaissance aircraft.

Cpl. Jeff Hawk

See MARINES, page 12

Friday, August 2, 1996Page 2 The Talon

From the top

NCOs must combat summertime stress

CommandSgt. Maj.

Jack L. Tilley1st Armored

Division

THE TALON is produced in the interest of the servicemembers of TaskForce Eagle, headquartered at Eagle Base. THE TALON is an Army-fundednewspaper authorized for members of the U.S. Army overseas, under theprovision of AR 360-81. Contents of THE TALON are not necessarily theofficial views of, nor endorsed by, the U.S. Government, Department of Defense,Department of the Army or Task Force Eagle, commanded by Maj. Gen. WilliamL. Nash. THE TALON is published weekly by the 1st Armored Division (TaskForce Eagle) Public Affairs Office, Eagle Base, Tuzla, Bosnia-HerzegovinaAPO AE 09789, Telephone MSE 551-5230. E-mail: thetalon@tfmain.1ad.army.milPrinted by Print Com Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina. Circulation: 8,000.

The Talon

Game only halfway over for task force soldiers

Heavy Equipment Operator . . . . . . . . . Spc. Joseph P. ShreckhiseEditor-in-Chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maj. John E. SuttleOIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Capt. Terry ConderNCOIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Staff Sgt. Patrick SummersEditor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Spc. Bryan DriverProduction Staff . . . . . . . . . 100th Mobile Public Affairs DetachmentDesign Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sgt. 1st Class Stephen M. LumPhoto Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Spc. Daniel PaschallFeatures Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Spc. Aaron R. ReedStaff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arijana SabanovicContributors . . .100th, 350th Mobile Public Affairs Detachments

Viewpoint

As we endure the dogdays of summer, NCOsmust be aware of the ef-fect that hot weathercan have on the stresslevels of themselvesand their troops. A keenawareness of the possi-ble increase in stressfulsituations goes a longway toward defusingpotential problems.

There are twothings that I want to emphasize in thisweek’s column: Force Protection and theSept. 14 Bosnian elections. These issuesare inextricably linked.

Operation JOINT ENDEAVOR has comea long way since its inception in mid-De-cember. We have successfully implement-ed the first three phases of the operationand have embarked on the fourth phase.

The Sept. 14 elections will mark a sig-nificant point in this deployment. It willsignal the completion of yet another phase.

Leaders must ensure that our soldiersstay focused lest the scourge of complacen-cy sets in. NCOs should lead by exampleand mustn’t let their soldiers slackoff. Ser-geants need to enforce the standards.

Thorough and proper preventative main-tenance checks and services of vehicles andpersonal equipment is essential. NCOs arenot only responsible for seeing that this getsdone, they must also ensure daily that thereis 100 percent accountability of sensitiveitems within their sections.

Soldiers should pay attention to theirweapons. Every soldier should thoroughlyclean his or her weapon at least once aweek. It’s up to noncommissioned officersto make sure this happens. NCOs shouldinspect their soldiers’ weapons daily.

Soldiers should remember to clean their

ammunition as well as their weapons. In-struct your soldiers to wipe off each roundwith a cloth — and clean each magazine —to prevent dust and dirt from building up.Dirty ammunition or magazines can easilycause a weapon to jam.

Through direct supervision and guidance,soldiers will continue to perform to the high-ly professional standard that they have sofar.

One final note – as I’ve said before, thereare several units that have recently deployedto the area of operations. It is crucial they bemade to understand the battle plan and forceprotection measures that are in place.

NCOs should not assume that the newpeople know everything there is to knowabout the mission. Senior leaders shouldtake the time to educate and counsel thenewcomers.

Remember, Iron Soldiers take care ofeach other.

New Year’s Day, 1929, Geor-gia Tech played University ofCalifornia in the Rose Bowl. Inthat game a man named RoyRiegels recovered a fumble forCalifornia. Somehow, he becameconfused and started running inthe wrong direction. One of histeammates, Benny Lom, over-took and downed him 65 yardsaway, just before he scored forthe opposing team. When Cali-fornia attempted to punt, Techblocked the kick and scored asafety, which was the ultimatemargin of victory.

That strange play came in thefirst half, and everyone who waswatching the game was askingthe same question: “What willCoach Nibbs Price do with RoyRiegels in the second half?”

No doubt Coach Price too wastrying to decide what to do with

R i e g e l s .Then thetimekeepercame in andannouncedthat therewere threem i n u t e sbefore play-ing time.

Coach Price looked at the teamand said simply, “Men, the sameteam that played the first halfwill start the second.”

The players got up and start-ed out, all but Riegels. He didnot budge. The coach looked backand called to him. Still he didn’tmove.

Coach Price went over towhere Riegels sat and said, “Roy,didn’t you hear me? The sameteam that played the first halfwill start the second.”

Then Roy Riegels looked up andhis cheeks were wet with a strongman’s tears. “Coach,” he said, “Ican’t do it to save my life. I’ve ru-ined you. I’ve ruined the Universi-ty of California. I’ve ruined myself.I couldn’t face that crowd in the sta-dium to save my life.”

Then Coach Price reached outand put his hand on Riegels’shoulder and said to him: “Roy,get up and go on back; the gameis only half over.”

And Roy Riegels went back.Those Tech men will tell you theyhave never seen a man play foot-ball as Roy Riegels played thatsecond half.

We take the ball and run inthe wrong direction. We stumbleand fall and are so ashamed andfrustrated of ourselves that wenever want to try again. You canfeel this way in your marriage,

in your job, in your relationshipswith others you care about, or justin life in general.

Everyone, at one time or an-other, feels like they just can’t goon any further. We are a team.We are also the coaches for eachother.

All of us can’t be on top doingperfectly all the time. It’s up toeach of us to believe in ourselvesenough to realize that there isalways an answer to our prob-lems if we just keep on trying andkeep playing.

No one is perfect. We are atthe beginning of the second halfof this mission.

We are at the beginning of thesecond half of the rest of our lives.And God comes to us and bendsover us and says, “Get up and goon back; the game is only halfover.”

Maj. (Chap)Ray Bailey

Page 3The Talon

News briefs

Weekly weather forecast HIGH/LOW CHANCE RAINToday 87/59 LowSat 91/61 ModerateSun 83/57 ModerateMon 78/53 LowTue 79/54 LowWed 83/55 LowThur 86/57 Moderate

Prepared July 31 by the 617th Weather Squadron

Friday, August 2, 1996

Brig. Gen.George W. CaseyJr., was commis-sioned a secondlieutenant of infan-try upon his grad-uation from Geor-getown Universi-ty’s School of For-eign Service inJune 1970. Sincehis commission-ing, he has servedin a variety of com-mand and staff positions in Europe, theMiddle East, and the United States.

Following completion of Infantry OfficerBasic Course in 1971, he was assigned tothe 2nd Battalion (Air borne/mechanized),509th Infantry, Mainz, Germany, where heserved as a heavy mortar platoon leader,rifle platoon leader, and assistant battleoperations officer.

He moved with a portion of the battal-ion to Vincenza, Italy in 1973 and servedas a mortar platoon leader and companyexecutive officer in the 1st Battalion, 509thInfantry (Airborne Battalion CombatTeam) until his departure for the InfantryOfficer Advanced Course in 1974.

In 1975, he was assigned to the 1st Bat-talion (Mechanized), 11th Infantry at FortCarson, Colo., where he served as a battal-ion supply officer, rifle company command-er, and combat support company command-er.

Following attendance at the Armed Forc-es Staff College and a tour in Cairo, Egypt,

with the United Nations Truce SupervisionOrganization, Casey was assigned to the1st Battalion (Mechanized), 10th Infantryat Fort Carson, Colo., where he served as abattalion operations officer and battalionexecutive officer.

He returned to command the battalionin 1985 following an assignment as thesecretary general staff, 4th Infantry Divi-sion (Mechanized).

Following battalion command, Caseyserved as a senior fellow at the AtlanticCouncil of the United States, as a congres-sional liaison officer in the Army Secretar-iat, and as a special assistant to the Armychief of staff.

In August of 1991, he became the chiefof staff of the 1st Cavalry Division wherehe served until May 1993, when he tookcommand of the Division’s 3rd “Greywolf”Brigade. Subsequent assignments in VCorps at Heidelberg, Germany, includedcorps training officer in March of 1995, andchief of staff in October of 1995.

In June 1996, Casey deployed to TaszarAir Base, Hungary in support of OperationJOINT ENDEAVOR, and became the U.S.Army Europe (Forward) deputy command-ing general, until he arrived at Eagle Base,where he is currently serving as the assis-tant division commander-maneuver, of the1st Armored Division.

Casey holds a master’s degree in inter-national relations from Denver Universi-ty. He is married to the former Sheila Lynchof Eastchester, N.Y. They have two sons,Sean, who resides in Atlanta, and Ryan,who resides in Richmond, Va.

(ARNEWS) Defense Secretary Will-iam J. Perry has put DoD’s focus onimproving quality of life.

Keeping pay levels up over thenext five years and acceleratingfamily and barracks housing im-provements are two top quality oflife priorities, according to the Sec-retary. “The single most importantthing we’ve done on compensationis get salary increases incorporat-ed into the five-year plan,” Perrysaid. “This very significant step putsmore stability into the compensa-tion plan than we’ve ever had be-fore.”

The fiscal 1997 budget proposalincludes a 3 percent military payraise.

Pay increase topsquality of life push

According to the 1st Armored Di-vision personnel office, all outgoingTask Force Eagle Friday R&R flightshave been cancelled, with the excep-tion of the Aug. 9 flight. The flightshave been cancelled by U.S. ArmyEurope due to funding constraints.

Casey joins task force team

Brig. Gen.George W. Casey Jr.

Outgoing Friday R&Rflights cancelled

(ARNEWS) Noting that 37 percent ofsoldiers are smokers, compared to25 percent for the general popula-tion, the Army is taking steps to de-crease the number of soldiers whosmoke to less than 20 percent.

The service is in the middle of atwo-year smoking cessation projectat Fort Hood, Texas, Fort Bragg, N.C.and Fort Benning, Ga.

The project will be used in theArmy-wide fight against smoking.The Army expects to develop a pro-gram to support soldiers who wantto quit the habit.

Pfc.Luis Deya

Ready on the firing lineSoldiers from HHC, 22nd Signal Brigade and Company B, 141st SignalBattalion qualify at the Task Force Eagle firing range near Camp Demi.

Smoking cessation

Page 4 The Talon Friday, August 2, 1996

The Army has a model foroperations. Make a plan.Prepare to execute. Exe-

cute.When preparing for an opera-

tion, these three phases overlap.Trying to make them distinctand separate parts usually leadsto failure and confusion. Integrat-ing the three-phase conceptworks from the squad level allthe way up to the task force lev-el.

Army leaders are great atplanning and soldiers usuallyhave a way of making thing hap-pen at the execution phase. Butthere is often a break down inthe prepare-to-execute phase.This is an area that every leaderneeds to take a look at.

Two Army communities arepretty good at preparing to exe-cute: military police and avia-tion.

MPs are good at this step be-cause it’s a part of their cultureto prepare. They hold a forma-tion, equipment is inspected andpatrols are readied.

Aviators are also good at pre-paring to execute because theyreligiously follow preflight air-

the steps on preparation by thenumbers.

Don’t be afraid to ask hardquestions of soldiers respon-sible for making redeploy-ment successful.

Don’t be afraid to inspect, lookat, touch, feel and examine all ofthe equipment, the materialsand the soldiers’ understandingof what they are supposed to bedoing. Back briefs are a great wayof making sure that everyone hasa clear understanding of the mis-sion.

Ask questions about the mis-sion; ask the lead drivers of theconvoy if they know where theyare going and what they are go-ing to do. Questions are a greatway of finding out how success-ful leaders have been at trans-mitting their plans to soldiers.

Every leader in the task forceshould have a set of questions toask to find out how thorough thepreparations have been. Thesequestions need to be asked be-fore a mission ever gets launched.

Every leader, from the lowestlevel in the organization, oughtto ask questions about the mis-sion and get detailed back briefsto ensure the mission is com-pletely understood.

Good answers are our insur-ance policy, our guarantor ofsuccess.

We are one of the few armiesin the world that believes in keep-ing soldiers informed about theirmission, and if we do that to stan-dard there is no mission we can’taccomplish.

Good communication key to successful mission

By Staff Sgt.ANNA M. PRUSAITIS100th MPAD

craft inspections.Preflight checks are a perfect

example of preparing to execute.Aviators preflight their aircraftbefore they can execute a plan. Ifevery organization focused moreon preparing to execute, opera-tions would run much smoother.

If we have one area as a TaskForce we’ve got to concentrate on,it’s preparing toexecute.

What ismeant by prepa-ration? It meansinspecting thecondition ofe q u i p m e n t ,checking radiofrequencies andensuring that ev-erybody’s radiofrequencies arecorrect and work-ing. It’s checkingthe soldiers tomake sure theyhave all the gear they’re supposedto have and on occasion, laying itout in a showdown inspection.

It means what we’ve come toknow as troop-leading proce-dures. It includes issuing theproper order and planning for allcontingencies.

Preparation takes a lot oftime. A convoy does not go outhastily, soldiers don’t just fire-up their equipment and drive outthe front gate. Preparation mustbe done to standard, and it takesa tremendous amount of time.

Take the example of long-range surveillance organiza-

tions. They know how to prepareto execute. LRS teams build aplan and go into isolation for aday — sometimes several days.During that time all they do isprepare to execute. They do noth-ing but concentrate on prepara-tion for that mission.

This is the area that mostleaders need to develop: prepa-

ration for opera-tions.

When a vehi-cle breaks down,in about 80 per-cent of the casesthat breakdowncould have beenavoided withproper prepara-tion. About 75percent of acci-dents involvingan injury couldhave been pre-vented with prop-er preparation.

Leaders need to focus on guid-ed preparation. When leaders dothis, troops are more apt to ac-complish the mission with lessenergy ... and accomplish it a lotfaster.

The idea of preparing to exe-cute becomes very critical dur-ing a redeployment. Everytracked and wheeled vehicle inBosnia-Herzegovina will roadmarch over 250 miles, just to getto the Intermediate StagingBase. To do that safely, soldiersare going to have to be preparedto execute.

Leaders need to go through

Sgt. Arthur L. Mukes,with Company B,141st Signal Battalion,1st Armored Division,replaces a burned outbrake light on his trail-er. Mukes, a transmis-sion systems operatorfrom Marshall, Texas,performs preventativemaintenance checksand services on hisvehicle as part of mis-sion preparednessstandard operatingprocedure.

Staff Sgt. Anna M. Pursaitius

Everyone, fromtop to bottom

shouldunderstand themission ... get

details to ensurethe mission is

completelyunderstood.

(Editors note: Brig. Gen.James P. O’Neal, Assistant Di-vision Commander, Support, be-lieves leaders need to focus moreattention on preparing to execute.This article explains his ideas).

Page 5The TalonFriday, August 2, 1996

Getting from one mili-tary camp to anotherisn’t always easy in

Bosnia-Herzegovina, especial-ly when there’s a raging fire toput out.

“Answering emergency callsoutside the immediate areatakes up valuable time, espe-cially when going to remotecamps in our area of responsi-bility,” said Staff Sgt. CharlesCrego, fire chief of the 369thEngineers, firefighters, at Ea-gle Base.

“We answer calls from asfar north as Camp Burke, andas far east as Alicia,” he said.“It can take 45 minutes ormore for us to arrive on thescene.

We had to find a way of get-ting fire equipment closer tothe source,” Crego said. “A tentcan go up in flames in about 37seconds.”

Using off-the-shelf parts,Crego devised a portable firepump powerful enough todampen brush fires and otherincendiary hazards located farfrom rapid-response teams.

By hooking a 1,000 liter fueltank up to a diesel-poweredportable fuel pump, Crego de-vised a water delivery systemthat is also small enough andlight enough to fit on the backof a HMMWV.

“They say necessity is themother of invention,” said theLevittown, Pa. native. “We cer-tainly had a need for it, so thisis what I came up with.

By Sgt. ANDREW AQUINO350th MPAD

Mother of invention aids firefighting mission“The portable fire truck com-

plements our MACY 2500Cfire engine because it’s not near-ly as bulky nor massive,” saidCrego.

“We can easily maneuveraround a tent city with one of

these,” he said.“It goes places where we’d be

afraid to take the fire truck.”Strapped to the back of a

HMMWV, the portable firepump goes up steep hills andmuddy roads as well as into

tight places without riskingdamage to irreplaceable equip-ment.

The portable fire pumpdoesn’t deliver as much waterpower as the fire department’sfire truck, but it still deliversup to 100 gallons per minute.

Because it’s made from pre-existing parts, production andrepair are relatively inexpen-sive.

A portable fire pump at aremote camp could be opera-tional in minutes and save thou-sands of dollars of equipmentand personal property, accord-ing to the fire chief.

The Tuzla-based firefightershave been tasked to put togeth-er four more experimental por-table fire pumps for theater op-erations, with plans to build atotal of 14 portable fire pumpsfor outlying camps of the Multi-national Division North Sector.

Sgt. Andrew Aquino

Staff Sgt. Charles Crego (above) monitors the waterpressure on a portable fuel pump modified to pumpwater as Spc. Vince P. Murtagh (below) controls thehose during a test of the improvised firefighting system.

With less than 48 hours until his ro-tation back to the U.S. Army Hospital inHeidelberg, Germany, Col. (Dr.) Mark S.Taylor was thinking of nothing more thanbeing reunited with his wife and son. Butit all changed with the arrival of a Bos-nian civilian with life-threatening inju-ries.

Within 30 minutes, the Boca Raton,Fla., native was performing surgery atthe 212th Mobile Army Surgical Hospi-tal at Camp Bedrock, thinking only of thetask at hand.

The patient, the unidentified 39-year-old wife of a prominent businessman liv-

Army surgeon leaves Bosnia with one last, good deedBy Spc. LEN BUTLER100TH MPAD

ing in Brcko, was in-volved in an auto ac-cident there.

The patient wastaken to a hospital atBrcko with injuries toher abdomen andright leg. But doctorsthere were unable totreat the injuries tothe woman’s leg. The

local doctors then requested a transferto Tuzla.

When the patient arrived at theMASH, she was in a mild state of shock,having lost blood during the transfer.

Taylor said he didn’t know how the212th MASH became involved. He also

wasn’t aware that the patient had beento a hospital. “We were quite surprised,”said Taylor. “We initially thought we gother directly from the accident.”

Taylor said his medical team knewnothing about the treatment at the civil-ian hospital.

“But we then saw that her abdomenwas only partially stitched, and imme-diately realized she had received someform of treatment,” he said.

Taylor said his surgical team thenlearned that the doctors in Brcko had notbeen able to repair the veins and arter-ies in the leg.

The patient, in addition to intravenous

see SURGEON, page 12

Col. (Dr.)Mark S. Taylor

Page 6 The Talon Friday, August 2, 1996

Beautiful scenery, clean mountain air, quietseclusion – the perfect place to set up a pic-nic, or a communications site. Hill 722 in

northern Bosnia-Herzegovina is referred to as “theend of the world” by members of the 22nd SignalBrigade who live and work there.

Even though they are miles away from any shopor pizza place, the 31 soldiers from various sig-nal, military police, infantry and engineer unitsthat make up the little community, consider thehill a choice assignment.

“It’s so peaceful up here, our own little world,”said 1st Lt. Annah M. Castellini of the 440thSignal Battalion from Darmstadt, Germany.“And we provide a great service.”

By Sgt. JANET S. PETERS350th MPAD

Signal soldiers work, play a

1st Lt. Annah M. Castellini, 23, site commander of 22nd Signal Brigade's Hill 722, points out the spectacular view fro mcommunications hub. "It's so peaceful up here, I hate to leave," said the Cincinnati native."

Antennas pointing to the sky relay signals tosix other communications or node centers locat-ed throughout Bosnia-Herzegovina as well as en-able mobile telephone/radio subscribers to reachout and touch someone. But this important com-munications hub had humble beginnings.

“When we first came here in January, the sitewas very small, there was a lot of mud and noelectricity,” said Spc. Jamie E. Stowe, 440th.“There were Swedish U.N. soldiers living in twoconex’s, a guard tower, and some concertina wire.It was like being in the wilderness.”

Stowe, a native of Columbus, Ga., and Sgt.Jeffrey Herndon, who has since gone back to hishome unit, were the first to arrive at the formerU.N. post with their radio terminal vans. Only asingle strand of concertina wire separated thesoldiers from intruders.

“People were curious when wsaid. “Somebody kept trippingtaking things. We felt a little vtime we went down to work in thgenerator. Now with trip flares, lights, and roving patrols, we hzone.”

In addition to improved secthe little self-contained camp ner points, a small gym and recr

“We’re not hurting for anythtellini, a native of Cincinnati. “Oeverything they could into buildinput up all the tents, built the wowalkways, and filled 30,000 saliving area tents, fighting positioter.”

Along with maintaining their

Page 7Page 7The TalonFriday, August 2, 1996

Sgt. Janet S. Peters

Spc. Joel B. Hand, 23, Plainfield, Ind., pulls guard dutyatop Hill 722, a communications hub that relays signals tosix other node centers in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Sgt. Janet S. Peters

Spc. Jamie E. Stowe, 21, of the 440th Signal Battalion,Darmstadt, Germany, checks connections on his radio relayvan at Hill 722 in northern Bosnia-Herzegovina. TheColumbus, Ga. native is known as the "king of the hill"since he was one of the first to set up the communicationssystem in early January.

at end of world

Sgt. Janet S. Peters

m one of the defensive firing positions encircling the military

en we got here,” heing our wires and

le vulnerable everyn the vans or fill thees, concertina, floode have our comfort

security measures,p now boasts show-ecreational tent.ything,” said Cas-

i. “Our soldiers putilding this site. Theye wooden floors and0 sandbags for theitions and node cen-

heir equipment, the

soldiers perform physical training every morn-ing, attend readiness classes and make a two-hour trip every afternoon to pick up evening mealrations.

The guard shack and gate are manned 24hours a day, reinforced by fighting positions fortotal defense. “Hill 722 and the others like itare vital for communication for OperationJOINT ENDEAVOR,” said Castellini. “We notonly link ourselves to Tuzla and Slavonski Brod,Croatia,but connect sites throughout the the-ater. We also make it possible for military per-sonnel to call back to the States.”

It’s a good thing the soldiers enjoy the viewand seclusion of Hill 722 since they will be oneof the last groups to leave Bosnia-Herzegovina,Castellini added. “We have to keep Task ForceEagle communicating.”

Friday, August 2, 1996Page 8 The Talon

Explosions a way of life for 41st EODBy Sgt. TIM PINKHAM350th MPAD

Being in Bosnia-Herze-govina is one blast after another for Staff

Sgt. Tim Pinkham

Staff Sgt. Tyler H. Holland of the41st Explosive Ordinance DisposalCompany stands in front of hisunit's sign at Camp Kime. Adisplay of inert mines and minesigns line the front of the unit area.

fuses, the Bosnian Croat armysoldiers loaded the ordnanceonto three civilian trucks. Es-corted by three Bradley Fight-ing Vehicles from Company C,4th Battalion, 67th Armor, theconvoy traveled several kilome-ters to the planned detonationsite.

At the detonation site, theBosnian Croat army soldiersunloaded the ordnance andspread it out across the ground.The ordnance included 873mines and 132 projectiles,along with 660 pounds of am-monia nitrate and 3,000 feet ofhigh-explosive detonation cord.

The disposal unit soldiersinventoried the ordnance, thencalculated the amount of explo-sives needed to blow it all up.Before the explosives were add-ed, everyone was sent twomiles away except for thoseneeded to detonate the charge.

Detonation support was pro-vided by Company C, 23rd En-gineer Battalion.

It took more than two hoursto set up the explosion, said Hol-land. Security forces checked theentire area around the detona-tion site to ensure no one would

be endangered by the blast.Proper clearances were also re-ceived from both military and ci-vilian authorities, with thecountdown toward detonationbeing communicated by radio.

When the ordnance explod-ed, it could be seen for miles.

A huge fireball rose morethan 100 feet in the air, fadinginto a thick black cloud thathung in the air for several min-utes.

Holland said the total explo-sive content of the detonationwas between 1,700 and 1,800pounds.

About 700 pounds of thatwere the added high explosiveswhich were placed on top of theordnance by EOD. The blast lefta crater about 20 feet deep and25 feet in diameter.

“I love my job,” said Holland,who has been with 41st for sixyears and in the Army for 10years. “I think it’s exciting.”

Besides the opportunity topractice his job skills, Hollandbelieves his deployment is pay-ing off in another way. “It’s goodthat we’re here, because it givesthese people at least a year ofpeace.”

Sgt. Tyler J. Holland.Holland, a member of the

41st Explosive Ordnance Dis-posal Company, is based atCamp Kime. The 41st EOD,whose motto is “Total Control

of Absolute Destruc-tion,” recently blew up1,000 pounds of ord-nance during their de-ployment for OperationJOINT ENDEAVOR.

This was the secondmass detonation sincehis unit arrived in coun-try from Fort Bliss, Tex-as in February, saidHolland, 28, who wasthe noncommissionedofficer in charge of theblast.

However, he said sev-eral times a week the41st is called to blow upunexploded ordnance inplace.

Most of the ordnancethe crew destroyed dur-ing their last detona-tion had been recoveredfrom fields by BosnianCroat army soldiers,said Holland.

After removing the

Sgt. Janet S. Peters

Changing of the GuardNational colors and unit guidons are presented during the 22nd SignalBrigade's change of command ceremony July 20, at Eagle Base airfield.Col. James D. Culbert handed over command to Col. Gregory J. Premo.

On a case-by-case basis, officersdeployed in support of OperationJOINT ENDEAVOR who enrolled inthe nonresident Command and Gen-eral Staff College correspondencecourse, will be granted an extensionon their course completion deadline.

To receive the extension, officersmust provide the school of corre-sponding studies a copy of orders ver-ifying deployment and length of de-ployment.

Officers will be granted a courseextension equal to the length of thedeployment.

Officers are encouraged to finishtheir studies as soon as practical.

Successful course completion givesan officer a military education levelcode of four.

The same procedures outlinedabove apply for officers enrolled inthe nonresident portion of CAS3.

USAREUR point of contact is Lt.Col. Jerald Mayer. DSN 370-7221 /8463.

Deployed officersgranted educationcourse extensions

Friday, August 2, 1996 Page 9The Talon

Bosnia-Herzegovinainformation briefs

CAMP LISA — Military policemen serv-ing in Bosnia-Herzegovina recently re-ceived six thermal weapon sights.

Three sights were given to each of the1st Armor Division’s two combat maneu-ver brigades.

When using the Army’s only dismount-ed thermal weapon sights, soldiers of the501st Military Police Company can “see”an object through dust, smoke, darknessor adverse weather conditions.

The ability to light up the night givesthem a distinct edge over hostile forces.

Sgt. Quintin D. Jessup, 26, of BowlingGreen, Ky., said that soldiers in his unitare the “testers” for the AN/PAS-13sights.

The MPs were given the opportunityto use the new sights and evaluate theequipments’performance. So far, theMPs have nothing but good things to sayabout the sights.

“The sights are very helpful,” Jessupsaid. “So far, we haven’t had any prob-lems with them, which is pretty surpris-ing since they are not a production mod-el yet.”

Staff Sgt. Kenton R. Lewis, 31, of WestPlains, Mo., pointed out the sights arealso stealthy, because they are batterypowered.

Portable power makes AN/PAS-13sights operate much more quietly than

By Spc. CRAIG PICKETT350th MPAD

Spc. Craig Pickett

Spc. Christopher E. Myers and Sgt. Quintin D. Jessup prepare to mount a newthermal weapon sight on a MK-19.

Experimental thermal scopehelps MPs see through fog

other night vision sights.Another unique feature is that they

can be mounted or removed easily from aweapon system.

According to Spc. Christopher E. My-ers, 21, of Sebring, Fla., the sights areextremely easy to use.

“They would have helped in Haiti be-cause it was dusty and at night thestreets had no lights,” he said.

Now the lightweight, silent sights arehelping protect troops in Bosnia-Herze-govina.

By having the ability to find poten-tially dangerous targets, human or oth-erwise, the MPs have an advantage thatmany forces do not.

With the Army’s onlydismounted thermal

weapon sights, soldierscan “see” an object

through dust, smoke,darkness or in adverseweather conditions ...giving them a distinct

edge over hostileforces.

n U.S. Secretary of Commerce Mick-ey Kantor’s trade mission to Bosnia-Herzegovina has already producedresults. Among the agreements ne-gotiated during the trip: building a high-way through Bosnia-Herzegovina be-tween the Croatian cities of Zagreband Dubrovnik, reopening a route fromthe Sava River to Ploce on the AdriaticSea, and rebuilding the railway fromPloce to Sarajevo.

n Bosnian politicians have startedcampaigning for the Sept. 14 nation-wide election. The elections willchoose a three-member presidency(one Bosnian Muslim, one BosnianCroat, and one Bosnian Serb) a 42-member, multi-ethnic House of Rep-resentatives, two regional assembliesand local councils.

n Bosnian-Herzegovina Vice Presi-dent Ejup Ganic met with the Presi-dent of Yugoslavia, SlobodanMilosevic, recently to discuss improv-ing communication and trade linksbetween the two countries. Ganiccalled the talks open and straightfor-ward. “The two countries are closerthan they were before,” he said.

n Republika Srpska Interior Minis-ter Dragan Kijac said recently thatBosnian Serb border posts have beentold to end their demands that Bos-nians from Federation-controlled ter-ritory obtain visas before crossing theinter-entity boundary line.

UN High Commissioner for Refu-gees spokesman Kris Janowski said,“We will have to wait and see” if thenew policy will make it easier for res-idents of Federation-controlled terri-tories to cross the IEBL, but “at leaston paper they (the Bosnian Serbs)have delivered.”

n At a gutted restaurant on the bor-der between Bosnian Serb and Bos-nian Muslim controlled territory, Bos-nians from each of the three formerwarring factions meet each weekendto visit with family and friends, reportsThe New York Times .

“We want to live together, like wedid before,” said Sejo Beslic, a Bos-nian Muslim who had come over fromJajce to drink beer with his BosnianCroat and Bosnian Serb friends.

“I would like to vote to have myformer life,” added Nenad Safner, aBosnian Serb who had come to Jeze-ro to meet an old Bosnian Muslimfriend from Jajce.

Friday, August 2, 1996Page 10 The Talon

Each time the Army comes up with a new idea, concept, orpiece of equipment the skeptics are the first to be heard.This time it is regarding the new Kevlar blankets that

arrived in theater last month.Their comments are all too familiar. It doesn’t fit, it’s too hard,

and it gets in the way, etc. With these thoughts in mind, I spokewith Spc. Martin Begosh formerly of the 709th Military Police Bat-talion. Begosh was the first U.S. servicemember to be injured by amine blast.

Last December, while on patrol, he became disoriented anddrove down an unauthorized, unapproved route. His HMMWVstruck an antitank mine, destroying the vehicle and seriouslyinjuring Begosh. He lost 30 percent of his right heel bone andhas nerve damage to his left leg.

Many soldiers complain that the blanket makes them un-comfortable.

Begosh’s response was concise; “Anything that will provideadded protection is worth short-term discomfort.”

Begosh is currently convalescing at Walter Reed Army Hos-pital, Washington D.C. where he is expected to stay for at leastanother year.

At that point, a decision will be made regarding his militarycareer.

We here in the task force have been extremely fortunate to

Kevlar blankets could save your lifeBy Capt. TODD D. LYLETFE Safety Office

have had no additional incidents such as Begosh’s.With redeployment coming, now is certainly not the time to

become complacent.Kevlar blankets placed on the floor and seat of one’s vehicle is

a tremendous mine strike countermeasure.Sure, they’re a bit uncomfortable and they will take some

adjusting to on our part; however, as Begosh said, short-termdiscomfort is worth it in the long term.

At present, over 1,000 Kevlar blankets have been outfitted inTask Force Eagle HMMWVs.

There has been one incident reported where the blanket wasthought to have caused a HMMWV’s accelerator to stick. In orderto avoid this type of incident it is important to ensure a proper fit.

During your vehicle preventative maintenance checks and ser-vices, ensure that the blanket is properly in place and that the floorboard is free of trash and debris. If you have a concern or havequestions about installing the Kevlar blanket, see your motor ser-geant or battalion maintenance officer.

Additionally, you may contact Staff Sgt. Marvin Newbill inthe Force Modernization office (MSE 558-5762), or call the TaskForce Eagle safety office at 553-9375.

Kevlar blankets for 5-ton trucks, 2 1/2-ton trucks and HEMMTsare coming.

Use of the Kevlar blanket is mandatory. Remember, much likethe weather here in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the dynamics of this oper-ation could change tomorrow. Do not let complacency cut short yourlife.

CAMP PUNXSUTAWNEY – A chourus ofhammers noisely pounded and pried at thelumber. Destruction was the mission of theday.

Combat engineers of Companies A andC, 16th Battalion, are hardly at a loss forwork. During the early phases of Opera-tion JOINT ENDEAVOR their energy waschanneled towards force protection.

Now that some units are pulling backto Germany or relocating within the Tuzlavalley, the engineers’ efforts are now fun-neled towards breaking down the campsthey built months ago.

Pvt. Joshua B. Dias, a combat engineerwith Company C said he believed CampBedrock, his base camp, has excellent se-curity. “We’ve had lots of excellent train-ing because we built an anti-sniper wall,six lookout towers, numerous protectivebunkers, and over 400 fighting positions,”he said.

Although Camp Punxsutawney isscheduled for closure, the Lukavac area isa bustle of activity as departing soldierspack for new destinations.

The camp’s population peaked at near-ly 2,400 during the early spring, but it hasnow dwindled to approximately 900 sol-diers. Arriving engineers go against theflow of traffic to reach desolate empty tentsleft behind.

“I’ve been here tearing down camp for aweek now,” said Spc. Jody D. Scott.

Dismantling the tent cities is an un-usual experience for many of the newer sol-diers, but they performed like seasonedpros as the wooden framed structures be-came piles of lumber.

“We’re ahead of schedule because of thehard work the soldiers have done. They’ve

been able to tear down approximately 66tents, which involves palletizing theframes and the floor boards,” said 2nd Lt.Anthony V. Hughes, a platoon leader withCompany C.

Employees with Brown & Root Inc. haveassisted in the project by removing theelectrical wiring and fixtures before thetents come down. They also band the pal-lets of materials and move them to hold-ing areas.

Almost everything can be be used again;wiring, light fixtures, plumbing, hot waterheaters, and of course sandbags.

The teamwork effort is going smoothly.“Brown & Root has helped a lot,” saidHughes.

The completion of the tent removalphase is followed by the collection of con-certina wire. “We’re taking down approxi-mately 1,600 meters of triple strandedwire. It should take two and a half days,”Hughes said.

Sgt. Donald M. Perry, of Company A,doesn’t mind the hectic schedule of a com-bat engineer. “I love this type of work; timeflies when we’re busy. I haven’t gotten intoa boring routine just yet,” he said.

Hughes said that the engineers of Com-pany C want to work hard, and that theyhate to sit around doing nothing. “Compa-ny A recognized our hard work, so we getpicked for projects like this. All thesethings we’ve been doing; they’re not beingtaught in (engineering) school. We justadapt, we’re soldiers. We definitely learna lot,” said Hughes.

Staff Sgt. Brenda Benner

Pvt. Travis R. Autotte, Company A,16th Battalion Engineers, stackssections of internal frames fromdismantled tents.

Engineers tear down Camp PunxsutawneyBy Staff Sgt. Brenda Benner100th MPAD

Friday, August 2, 1996 Page 11The Talon

PHYSICAL FITNESS FUN

CAMP SAVA NORTH — Phys-ical and mental challenges areconstant to the men and wom-en in today’s military forces.

The Morale, Welfare andRecreation director at CampSava North, recognizes the im-portance of having a facilitywhich provides not only enter-tainment, but a place for sol-diers to build strength and en-durance as well.

Being director of an MWRcenter is a challenge in itself,said Staff Sgt. Tim Bahadar,Company A, 127th AviationBattalion, based in Germany.

“When I arrived, all the fit-ness equipment was in place,but it wasn’t being used. It wasunorganized and some piecesweren’t properly assembled,”Bahadar said.

Bahadar, from Kennewinck,Wash., volunteered for theMWR director position.

His usual duty is that of anaircraft armament electrician.

After returning from rest and

By Staff Sgt.ANNA M. PRUSAITIS100th MPAD

Electrician accepts MWR challengerecuperationleave in Ger-many where hewas reunitedwith his wife,Roswitha, andhis almost 6-y e a r - o l dd a u g h t e r ,Tamara, heassumed hisnew duties atCamp SavaNorth.

“Since Iwasn’t real familiar with whichpiece of fitness equipmentworked specific muscle groups,I got some input from a few sol-diers,” Bahadar said.

“With their help I assem-bled it correctly and organizedit to better serve the troops.”

The MWR center here is alsoknown as the “glass house” be-cause of all the windows in the2,700 square foot building.

“Space was plentiful,” saidBahadar, who arranged the en-tertainment areas for foos-ball,ping-pong and billiards and aseparate area for viewing mov-ies, back in the more secluded

corner of thecenter.

Plenty ofroom is stillavailable forthe occasion-al live musice n t e r t a i n -ment the cen-ter brings infor the sol-diers, to en-joy. “I wantedto make thesoldiers feel

more at home and relaxed.” Ba-hadar said.

Deployments can be stress-ful because of changes in loca-tion and culture as well as longduty hours.

“The soldiers can come hereand get away from all that forawhile,” said Bahadar.

Spc. Shawn L. Taylor, a gen-erator mechanic with Compa-ny C, 123rd Main Support Bat-talion, said. “This is a lot big-ger than what we had at Luka-vac.”

Taylor, a native of Ventura,Calif., has been in country sincethe deployment to Operation

JOINT ENDEAVOR began inDecember 1995.

“There’s much more equip-ment available and the air qual-ity is 100 percent better thanat our last duty assignment,”Taylor said. “And it’s one stepcloser to home.”

The MWR center is on thesecond floor of an old warehouse.

The foyer is filled with neat-ly arranged exercise bicyclesand stair-masters all of whichhave a good view of a 21-inchcolor television.

Many soldiers enjoy usingthe facility, including 1st Sgt.Merle D. Jones, from the 92ndMilitary Police Company.

“This is an outstanding fa-cility,” said Jones from Nep-tune, N.J. “It’s a good place torelax and burn off stress.”

Servicemember’s deployed toOperation JOINT ENDEAVORare called upon to meet chal-lenges everyday.

To be able to mentally relaxand maintain fitness is impor-tant to the morale of the sol-diers, and keeping the moraleup is exactly what Bahadar doesbest.

“When I arrived,all the fitness

equipment was inplace, but it

wasn’t beingused.

Staff Sgt. Tim Bahadar

Spc. Cheryl A. Kraning

Pfc. Jason P. McBeeCompany D, 1st Bat-talion, 26th Infantry,replaces a shock onhis M2A2 BradleyFighting Vehicle.McBee of Spartan-burg, S.C., has beenon active duty fortwo years and inBosnia-Herzegovi-na for six months.“This deploymenthas been a greatlearning experi-ence.”

Gettingon track

Friday, August 2, 1996Page 12 The Talon

‘Iron sailor’ handsover IFOR helm

Adm. Leighton W. Smith, IFORcommander, and his wife, Dorothy,arrive at Eagle Base’s airfield for afarewell ceremony, July 29.

At the ceremony, the 1st ArmoredDivision band played “AnchorsAweigh,” and Maj. Gen. William L.Nash, Task Force Eagle command-er, thanked Smith for his leadership.

“Sir, you are a member of the fin-est navy in the world. But, today, youare an Iron Soldier,” said Nash.

Smith has commanded IFORsince the inception of OperationJOINT ENDEAVOR. He will retirefrom the U.S. Navy.

The IFOR helm will be passed toAdm. T. Joseph Lopez on Wednes-day in Naples, Italy.

Spc. Andrew McGalliard

that both sides are keeping in accordancewith the Dayton Peace Accord.

The open house kicked off with a presen-tation by the village’s mayor. “He present-ed us with a letter that the village had col-lectively written thanking us for being here,telling us how safe they felt that we were intheir area and how they can start to buildtheir lives again,” said Allen.

Wide-eyed toddlers clung to their moth-ers’ blouses and some fathers hoisted theirchildren on their shoulders as the groupstrolled over to look at a display of the unit’sequipment. Many gathered around whatlooks like a rocket launcher but is actuallya pneumatic launcher truck used to fling

the aircraft into the sky like a slingshot.Others checked out the rocket-assisted

takeoff (RATO) display; some wanderedinto the ground control station to view thevideo image produced by one of the aircraft’scameras; and many flocked to the refresh-ment table to grab a donut and some juice.

Marines like 25-year-old Sgt. David Hin-richs, an assistant technician’s chief fromKenai, Alaska, manned the displays to an-swer questions through interpreters.

“I would be concerned if the military cameinto my hometown and made a ruckus ev-erywhere they went,” said Hinrichs. “Weinvited the Bosnians here today to showthem exactly what we’re doing, and to givethem a little reassurance that our beinghere for them is a good idea.”

Navy Chief Gordon Ellis, 47, an advanced

hospitalman from Springville, N.Y. usedhis medical training to spread goodwill.

“One youngster did fall down and scrapeup his knee, so I responded, washed off hisknee, put a little bit of antibacterial stuffon it and bandaged it up,” said Ellis. “Be-fore I knew it, I was swarmed. There wereseven or eight more people around me, so Ijust proceeded to fix up.”

Marines mingling with the people gaveout candy, posed for photos, and talked tothe guests through interpreters. Thoughlanguage barriers existed, the event broughtthe two groups closer together.

“One of the gunnery sergeants gave oneof the little children a flashlight,” said Allen.“Interaction with the locals boosts the mo-rale of this unit and builds the confidenceof the people who live here.”

SURGEON from page 5

MARINES from page 1

SLAVONSKI BROD, Croatia – Fire en-gulfed a building in a Croatian tankautomotive plant July 25, one-halfmile south of living areas occupied byIFOR troops assigned to the TaskForce Eagle Rear Command Post.

There were no injuries to IFOR per-sonnel and little reported damage toIFOR equipment.

The cause of the fire is unknown,but the initial assessment is that thefire began accidentally in a buildingused by Croatians.

The fire spread to at least one oth-er building and several explosionswere reported before Croatian firefighters extinguished the blaze.

fluids, received 11 pints of blood at theMASH, according to Air Force Lt. Col.(Dr.) Sarla Saujani, who assisted Taylorwith the operation. Taylor and Saujaniused Teflon graft material to repair thevein and artery in the leg.

Orthopedic surgeon Col. (Dr.) RobertToon also lent a hand.

Toon performed a fasciotomy, in whichan incision was made in the muscles ofthe leg to allow for swelling.

Saujani said if a fasciotomy had notbeen performed pressure could have builtin the leg, causing muscles in the leg todie.

“It definately was a save,” said Tay-lor. “It feels good to go home now know-ing that I’ve saved a life.”

Soldiers in the area responded bytaking immediate force protectionmeasures.

Those persons have returned totheir normal working and living loca-tions.

The Task Force Rear CommandPost has established a crisis actioncenter that is conducting ongoing co-ordination with the Croatian police.

An assessment team of special-ists has investigated the area anddetermined that the base camp issafe for all personnel.

The tank factory is a shared-usefacility and the fire occurred in a sec-tion operated by the Croatians.

Explosion rocks Slavonski Brod base