The Talon

Insid

e

See ELECTIONS, page 12

See REDEPLOY, page 12

Municipal elections to proceed

Talonthe Friday, October 11, 1996Volume 2, No 39

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

COMMENTARY . . . . 2CFC . . . . . . . . . . 3COLD WEATHER ... 4-5JUSICI. . . . . . . . 6-7RUSSIANS . . . . . . . . 8WEDDING . . . . . . . 9PERSONALITY . . . .11

Big Red One moves downrange

Art McQueen/USAREUR PAO

Soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division load an M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle at Conn Barracks railhead in Schweinfurt,Germany, during preparation for their deployment to cover 1st Armored Division�s withdrawal.

By Capt. TERRY L. CONDER100th MPAD

EAGLE BASE � Redeployment. It�s start-ing. Now.

Task Force Eagle has issued execu-tion orders, and these are the facts

about this critical period:Fact: 1st Armored Division and select-

ed corps units have already started to with-draw, and the redeployment will continuethrough the municipal elections.

Fact: Transfer of authority from 1st Ar-mored Division to 1st Infantry Division will

Redeployment starts as 1st ID heads south to cover Old Ironsides� withdrawal.take place in the first part of November.

Fact: Municipal elections for Bosnia-Herzegovina are scheduled for Nov. 22-24.

Fact: 1st Infantry Division will likely com-mand Task Force Eagle during the elections.

The Provisional Election Com-mission met recently to reviewand make a final decision of thefeasibility of adhering to the pre-viously announced Novembertimeframe for holding municipalelections.

After a lengthy discussion cen-

By Ambassador ROBERT H. FROWICKHead of OSCE Mission

tering on major administrative aswell as substantive challenges thatmust be met, I made a Chairman�sdecision to proceed with these elec-tions.

This decision, ultimately supportedby each of the three members represent-ing the Parties but opposed by one ofthe three international members,

The Talon

Action needed on board results, safety

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

Capt.Todd D. LyleTFE Safety

NBC Defense Course Instructor . . . . . . . . Sgt. David J. SchoonmakerEditor in Chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maj. John E. Suttle100th MPAD Commander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maj. Victoria D. WoodOIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Capt. Terry L. ConderNCOIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Staff Sgt. Patrick SummersEditor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Spc. Aaron R. ReedDesign Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sgt. 1st Class Stephen M. LumPhoto Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Spc. Daniel PaschallIllustrator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Spc. Teresa L. UngerTechnical Advisor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Spc. Bryan DriverStaff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pvt. Stephenie Penny, Arijana Sabanovic

CommandSgt. Maj.

Jack L. Tilley1st Armored

Division

Fifteen million miles later, task force still safe

Friday, October 11, 1996

n FROM THE TOP

Page 2

n VIEWPOINT

Each time you get into yourcar and decide to put on yourseat belt, you have made thedecision to reduce a hazardthrough a passive countermea-sure.

Somewhere in your drivingcareer, you realized the benefitsof wearing your seat belt out-weighed the risks of not wear-ing it. You performed a risk as-sessment and with that youmanaged a risk that is incurredeach time you ride in a car.

The example above shows athought process that is used ev-ery day. Yet when some individ-uals are asked to use it in a tac-tical environment it is met withreluctance and excuses. I knowthis because I have heard them

ad nause-am duringthis de-ployment.The TaskForce Ea-gle safetyo f f i c ew a n t sn o t h i n gother than

to ensure your safety. Our inten-tions here are to help ensurethat each and every soldier, sail-or, airman, and Marine of everynationality returns home safeand sound.

Let�s take a look at some ofthe safety successes achieved byTask Force Eagle. Are you awarethat there have been in excess

of 23,000 personnel who haveserved with Task Force Eagle?Furthermore, did you know thatover 15 million wheeled vehiclemiles have been driven to date?

If you divide the two you willfind that roughly 652 miles weredriven for each of us. With allthose miles driven we have suf-fered only one vehicle-related fa-tality. Let�s keep it that way aswe near the end of this historicdeployment.

Although many of the forceprotection measures that wereenacted here were met withsome grumbling, they were fol-lowed and we kept each othersafe. Last winter, as the TaskForce deployed under extreme-ly harsh conditions, there were

only four cold weather injuriesand throughout the whole de-ployment there have been onlyseven cases of dehydration. Inall, the only high numbers re-ported were personal injuries:slips, trips, and falls.

With all these statistics inmind, remember this: You arethe reason that this deploymenthas been such as success, bothoperationally and organization-ally.

Take your time when per-forming tasks; give them thesame careful consideration thatyou have given them in the past.You are a part of history anddeserve to live to tell your grand-children about your experienc-es here. Good luck to you all.

This week, Iwould like totalk about

something that is onthe minds of manyTask Force Eagle sol-diers � promotion.

Last month, the re-sults of the promotionboard for E-7, Sgt. 1stClass were announced.

Here are some sta-tistical comparisonsbetween the Department of Army selectionrates and the Task Force Eagle and 1stArmored Division selection rates.

For the entire DA, there were 33,998 per-sonnel considered, and 3,730 selected for a11 percent selection rate.

For Task Force Eagle�s staff sergeants,967 were considered and 77 were selected,for a rate of eight percent.

For 1st AD, 642 were considered and 46were selected, for a rate of 7.2 percent.

First, I would like to congratulate all

those individuals who were selected for pro-motion. Your selection is testimony to yourcommitment to excellence and a recogni-tion of your fine performance and potentialfor continued professional development.

However, I would like to specifically ad-dress those staff sergeants who did not getselected this time around. Don�t get dis-couraged. As the aforementioned numbersindicate, the process for selection was verycompetitive. Iron NCOs who weren�t select-ed should not give up.

Make sure you go over your promotionpackets with your supervisors to try anddiscuss areas in which you might currentlybe deficient.

Selection boards consider the entire Of-ficial Military Personnel File and Person-nel Qualification Record. Information suchas Noncommissioned Officer EvaluationReports, variety of assignments, perfor-mance of duty in leadership positions, mil-itary education, and physical fitness arealso important considerations during boarddeliberations.

Supervisors, when counseling your sol-diers concerning nonselection, you shouldalso consider that sometimes it is a resultof the limited opportunity for selection in aMOS due to an overstrength status.

One final note on this. If there is any sol-dier who was not selected this time aroundand would like me to go over their packetswith them, I will make myself available forthat purpose.

Another item I�d like to focus on this weekis vehicle safety. NCOs, remind your sol-diers that canvas should not be left flap-ping; it should be tied down. Another stan-dard that I want to make sure sergeantsare enforcing concerns driving visibility.Ensure that all vehicle lights are wiped offand especially guarantee that windows arekept clean and clear.

Another driving topic I�d like to mentionis common courtesy. Be respectful of civil-ians. Slow down when passing and try notto get too close or splash mud on them. Re-member, we are guests in their country.

Iron Soldiers take care of each other.

The Talon Page 3Friday, October 11, 1996

News briefs

1st AD website

The Combined Federal Campaign,the U.S. military and federal em-ployees annual charity drive, kicked

off Oct. 1 and runs through Nov. 22.The campaign�s theme for 1996 is �Home

is Where Your Heart Is,� a reminder thatno matter how far away they are stationed,America�s men and women serving overseasare close to home � in their hearts.

Those who wish to contribute may choosefrom more than 1,100 CFC qualified agen-cies this year, and may also make directcontributions to their community�s familysupport and youth activity programs.

The CFC World Wide Web site (http://www.cfcoa.org) offers a search database ofqualified agencies. A search using the key-word �Bosnia,� for instance, yields informa-tion about three charities engaged in hu-manitarian work here.

Whether one chooses to donate to a char-

ity in the United States, a community pro-gram in Central Region, or an internation-al relief agency, the money is well-spent.

�The members of Task Force Eagle havealready proven just by being here they havea lot of heart,� 1st Armored Division Com-mand Sgt. Maj. Jack L. Tilley said recent-ly. �I�m sure that any charitable contribu-tions they would like to make through CFC-Overseas would be greatly appreciated.�

Maj. Eileen Chao, Task Force Eagle CFCcoordinator, said soldiers interested in giv-ing can get more information from their unitCFC representative or through the chain ofcommand. Chao called the campaign a pain-less way to make a charitable donation.�The money comes right out of your check,and it is tax-deductible,� she said.

Anyone who would like to receive addi-tional CFC information for a unit or sec-tion may contact Chao at DSN 551-3511.

The 1st Armored Division is on line.Read The Talon without having todownload. Find maps, news releas-es, biographies and facts about 1AD.

http://www.tfeagle.1ad.army.mil

Get every issue of The Talon everpublished on the World Wide Web.Our URL is: http://www.dtic.mil/bos-nia/talon/index.html.

The Talon is also linked to De-fense Link at: http://www.dtic.mil./defenselink/

Talon archive

The reshaping of Task Force Ea-gle concluded with the departure ofthe 25th Chemical Company fromthe task force area of operations,enroute to the Intermediate StagingBase at Taszar, Hungary.

Now at the ISB, the unit is con-ducting maintenance and supply ac-tivities so as to return to Central Re-gion combat-ready.

The company, part of the 1st Ar-mored Division, will return to Budin-gen, Germany and continue recov-ery operations after its extended de-ployment in support of OperationJOINT ENDEAVOR. Arriving in Bos-nia in December, the unit conduct-ed operations from Camp Rum-baugh.

It supported the operation by pro-viding environmental, nuclear, bio-logical and chemical reconnais-sance and warning to Task ForceEagle soldiers. The movement com-pletes the plan to restructure theforce given the situation and mis-sion at hand.

Task Force Eagle remains an ef-fective force with the flexibility to re-spond quickly to changing situa-tions on the ground anywhere in theMultinational Division � North areaof operations.

Task Force reshaping

Weekly weather forecast HIGH/LOW CHANCE RAINToday 62/45 LowSat 65/44 LowSun 61/41 ModerateMon 56/46 HighTue 62/40 ModerateWed 64/42 ModerateThur 58/49 LowProvided Oct. 9 by Internet Access Weather

The TalonPage 4

Weapon safety priority in extreme coldn SAFETY

Friday, October 11, 1996

EAGLE BASE � Jack lurksaround the corner waiting to at-tack unprepared soldiers. Some-times he is well hidden, but hispresence is unmistakable � asthe chills run down your spine,you know he�s there.

With winter right around thecorner soldiers are turning up theheat and piling on the layers toprotect themselves from Old

Jack Frost � but what are theydoing to preserve the weaponsthey�re carrying? Extreme coldweather can wreak havoc bycausing firearm malfunctionsand breakages.

Spc. Kristina M. Conte, asmall arms repairer from De-tachment 1, 77th MaintenanceCompany, said weapons needto be gauged every six months tomake sure they are still opera-tional.

�And with the cold weather

By Spc. CHERYL A. KRANING100th MPAD

arriving, troops need to performextra maintenance on theirweapons,� she said.

Heaters keep work places andsleeping areas toasty warm;however, condensation forms onweapons that are taken from ex-treme cold into heated shelters.

When the pistols and riflesare taken back outside, the�sweat� freezes on and in theweapon. Removal of the conden-sation by disassembling, clean-ing and re-oiling is of the utmost

Staff Sgt. Brenda Benner

Spc. Kristina M. Conte, 20, of Warwick, N.Y., checks the barrel of an M-16A2 rifle. Herunit, Detachment 1, 77th Maintenance Company, provides small arms weapons repairsupport to 32 units in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

importance.�Don�t over-lube it,� Conte

said. �The lubricant will freeze.This causes the trigger andsights to be immovable, or whenfired, the recoil jams and the fir-ing pin snaps.�

The tempered steel on weap-ons becomes brittle in the ex-treme cold and when it�s warmedup too quickly, breakage can re-sult. Rapid firing of the weaponcan weaken the steel by sudden-ly heating the cold barrel and gunto temperatures up to 750 de-grees Fahrenheit. Cold weaponsshould first be fired at a slow rateuntil the parts have warmed.

Conte said snow is a big rea-son for malfunctions. It can getinto the working parts, sights,and barrel of the weapon. Shewarned soldiers to always checkfor snow-clogs before firing.

�If a round can�t get out of thebarrel because of clogging, a cook-off occurs. When this happensthe round gets so hot that it ex-plodes in the soldier�s face,� Con-te said.

Sgt. 1st Class Vicente S.Marziano, detachment supervi-sor, said it�s all about safety. �Ina mission like this where weap-ons are a high priority, the sol-diers need to repair and proper-ly maintain their firearms; oth-erwise, when it comes time to usethem they won�t work.�

Sgt. Alan L. Henrichson,supply sergeant for Head-quarters and HeadquartersCompany, 1st ArmoredDivision, demonstrates howto attach snow chains to aHMMWV tire. Cold weatherclasses offered duringsafety days taught helpfulhints to beat the elements.

Staff Sgt. Brenda Benner

Snowchainsafety

The TalonFriday, October 11, 1996 Page 5

Cool autumn days, unfortunately, arefollowed by a dreary, cold winterhere in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Some

soldiers will be spending their second win-ter here, but for many it�s their firsttime in a winter climate.

During winter safetyclasses, Sgt. Duane M.Myers, a communica-tions noncommis-sioned officer with 1stArmored Division,shared his firsthandknowledge of beatingthe cold.

�Wearing severallayers is recommendedover one thick, bulkylayer. You can alwaystake a layer off if youget hot, but if youdon�t have extra lay-ers with you whenyou need them,that�s worse,� My-ers, of Wisconsin,said.

The Army sup-plies everyone withthe extended coldweather clothing sys-tem that is designedto pull moisture awayfrom your skin to keepyou dry and warm.

It includes layer-ing items for the body,head, hands and feet.

�Lots of times we wear the wrong layerstogether, such as wearing the polypropyleneundergarments under our BDUs instead ofthe Gore-tex suit,� Myers said. �It doesn�thold in body heat as well.�

�Soldiers should avoid wearing a t-shirtbeneath the polypro undershirt because it

will retain moisture caused bysweat,� Myers said.

�Especiallyif they

are physically active.�Sgt. 1st Class William A. Torres, non-

commissioned officer in charge of TuzlaMain�s medical clinic, had several cold in-jury prevention tips he believes soldiersdon�t fully understand.

�Trench foot can start within 24 hours ifsoldiers don�t change their socks when mois-ture sets in,� Torres said. �The moisturestarts to freeze and the skin becomes soft.These areas can lead to infections.�

Wearing the insulated, intermediatecold weather boots will not automaticallykeep your feet safe, Torres said.

Soldiers must adhere to proper feet pro-tection measures such as changing sockstwice daily if necessary, and avoiding longperiods of inactivity.

�Tight boots allow sweat buildup,� Torressaid. �It�s important to have room for an in-sulating layer of air. Don�t wear two pairs ofsocks at once.�

�Everyone thinks the number one causefor trench foot is getting their boots and feetwet by submersion in water or slush, but it�snot true,� he said. �It happens under normalconditions when exposed to cold weather.�

Torres also warned soldiers to avoid bare-handed contact against wet surfaces or met-als. Exposed skin can�t maintain warmth,especially if the wind is blowing.

�It�s possible to get frostbite at just 27degrees Fahrenheit; it doesn�t have to bebelow zero,� Torres said.

Torres said cold weather can also be in-directly responsible for injuries due to slipsand falls on icy surfaces.

�It�s quite easy to injure arms and handswhile attempting to break falls,� he said.�Head injuries are also a possibility, sokeep those chin straps fastened.�

By Staff Sgt. BRENDA BENNER100th MPAD

S p c .Jeremy J.K r i n e r ,

Headquartersand Head-

quarters Company,1st Armored Division,

demonstrates proper layer-ing of exterme cold weatherclothing wear for a safetyclass.

n COLD WEATHER OPERATIONS

Keeping warm no sweat if procedures followed

Staff Sgt. Brenda Benner

Soldiers help Bosnians prepare for Balkan winterBy Master Sgt.KATHY D. WRIGHT350th MPAD

McGOVERN BASE � Sulej-man Hadzic couldn�t suppresshis relief when an Implementa-tion Force military truck pulledup in front of what�s left of hishome recently and soldiers un-loaded a stove, blankets, andother cold weather items.

�Everything is fine,� said theelderly man as a broad smilespread across his face. �Now Ihave heat. I have everything Ineed.�

Six homes in a war-torn sec-tion of the zone of separationwill be equipped with some ofthe basics necessary to sustain

life during a cold Balkan win-ter. The thanks for that go tothe combined efforts of person-nel from Company D, 3rd Bat-talion, 5th Cavalry; 65th Mili-tary Police Company (Airborne);and 401st Civil Affairs Battal-ion. The much-welcomed assis-tance came after the McGovernBase soldiers saw the locals�plight while performing one oftheir regular missions.

�Our troops patrol here ev-ery day and they�ve come toknow the handful of residentswho have returned to live intheir homes in this area,� saidCapt. Lee A. Rysewyk, com-mander of Co. D. �It was obvi-ous these families are surviv-ing under very harsh conditions.

They don�t even have runningwater or electricity. Several ofthem have only a dirt floor andplastic sheeting for windows.No one wants to see people livelike that if something can bedone about it.�

The Fallbrook, Calif., nativedecided to see if he could find away to make life a little betterfor area residents.

After having only limitedsuccess in obtaining the critical-ly-needed items, he linked upwith civil affairs officer Maj.Paul V. Ciminelli.

�These people, most of themsenior citizens, were clearly inimmediate need of basic lifesupport, especially with the coldweather moving in,� said the

U.S. Army reservist from NewYork. �They were living amongthe ruins.�

After finding out how desper-ate the situation was, Ciminel-li wasted no time contacting lo-cal municipal officials. He dis-covered some aid was available,but delivery would have to bearranged. His next call was tothe military police company tosecure a truck and a group tohelp load and unload the sup-plies.

�The bottom line is that theprocess of delivering materialsdonated through the interna-tional relief system had to beexpedited,� said Ciminelli. �Wejust offered our assistance in aneffort to make it happen.�

The Talon Friday, October 11, 1996Page 6

JUSICI, Bosnia- Herzegovina � Muslim vil-lagers in this remote mountain region agreedlate last week to temporarily leave their war-torn village. The agreement ended an emo-tional 13-day ordeal involving United NationsHigh Commission for Refugees and Imple-

mentation Force soldiers from the RussianBrigade. The villagers left to await properapproval from UN and Srpskan officials,granted Sunday, before returning to theirhomes.

The agreement called for a 72-hour wait-ing period for processing applications to ver-ify ownership of homes in the village. Un-der the agreement, only three of the 101

villagers were to remain in the villagearound the clock, while Maj. Gil Gilbertsonof the International Police Task Force andRussian soldiers provided security. Othervillagers were allowed to return during day-light hours to continue work on their war-damaged houses.

Returning for the first time since Bos-nian Serbs overran the village in 1992, therefugees were mostly elderly women andmen. Accompanying the refugees were Bos-nian Federation soldiers wearing civilianclothes and posing as refugees. They werecarrying weapons, including AK-47 assaultrifles, a Scorpion machine gun, and gre-nades. Bringing weapons into the Inter-En-tity Boundary Line is a direct violation ofthe General Framework Agreement for

By Cpl. LEN BUTLER100th MPAD

When armed Muslim refugees returned to their war-tornhomes, now in Republika Srpska territory, the ensuing ordeal

tested provisions of the General Framework Agreement forPeace. Those provisions held. By the time the villagers left theirhomes again, this time so they could return legally, one more thingwas clear: IFOR troops here are doing a tough job well.

Spc. Alejandro Cabello

The TalonFriday, October 11, 1996 Page 7

Peace. The weapons were immediately con-fiscated by Russian soldiers, who were dis-patched to the area to avert a possible con-frontation between the villagers and near-by Bosnian Serbs.

The villagers also failed to file for own-ership of their village homes before return-ing, a violation of a UN mandate made inearly September.

In that agreement, refugees returningto Srpska must submit applications toverify ownership of homes and eliminatepotential squatters.

In a move IFOR officials said showedwelcome restraint and confidence in estab-lished procedures, Bosnian Serb policemerely set up an ob-servation post on anearby hill whileRussian troopsmoved in.

When Russiantroops ordered thevillagers to leave,the villagers defiedthe orders and be-gan work rebuildingtheir homes.

�There are cer-tain procedures that must be followed,� Ro-sana San of the United Nations High Com-mission for Refugees said. �We cannot al-low the people of Jusici to derail the pro-cess we implemented in September.�

San said Bosnian Serb officials are nottrying to keep the refugees from returningto their homes. �All the Bosnian Serb gov-ernment wants is for the refugees to followthe procedures established,� San said.

Maj. John Kershaw, Task Force Eagle�sliaison officer to the Russians, was on-siteto assist the Russian soldiers.

Kershaw made it clear IFOR had no in-tention of getting involved in the negotia-tions. �IFOR�s primary role is that of a fa-cilitator. The agreement was reached withthe leader of this village, the canton leader,and in conjunction with the UNHCR,� Ker-

shaw said. The Ju-sici incidentreached crisis pro-portions when apreliminary agree-ment was reachedbetween Jusici vil-lagers and UN andIFOR representa-tives. Jusici mayorNekir Islamovicaddressed the vil-lagers about the

agreement, in which the villagers were toleave the village as dictated under the Sep-tember mandate. However, a man who waslater idientified by Task Force Eagle au-thorities as an officer in the Bosnian Fed-eration Army was observed inciting villag-ers to protest the agreement.

A Task Force Eagle spokesman said thecrisis was little more than a propagandaeffort and the incident was clearly orches-trated and incited by the Bosnian Muslimgovernment.

After the war, Jusici was within Feder-ation Territory; however, under the termsof the GFAP, the village was returned toBosnian Serb control after the IEBL wasredrawn.

When the final agreement was reachedbetween the villagers and authorities, therewere no protests. Saddened people, onceagain carrying belongings on their backs,walked away from their homes down amuddy road back toward the IEBL.

Izet Hadzic, governor of the Tuzla-Po-drinje Canton that includes Jusici, thanked

Brig. Gen. George W. Casey and Maj. Gen.William L. Nash, as well as the Russian forc-es for the handling of the situation.

�Because of the efforts of the Russians,and the efforts of Gen. Casey and Gen. Nash,we have reached a solution that will helpeveryone,� Hadzic said.

Casey, who was present at the signing ofthe agreement, said he was very pleased withthe outcome of the agreement.

�In order to get this situation resolvedpeacefully, it took a lot of effort from manypeople from all the international organiza-tions, the Republika Srpska, and the gover-nor�s office all working together. I think it isimportant that the first instance of conflicthere since the September elections has beenresolved peacefully. That is a big step for-ward for everybody,� Casey said.

Casey expressed appreciation of the pro-fessionalism the Russians exhibited. �Thedeterminationand perse-verance ofthe Rus-sian Bri-gade soldiersk e p tc o n -t r o lof thes i tu -at ionhere. It h i n kw e i i i i iwouldn�tbe heretoday if itweren�t forthe great jobthe RussianBrigade sol-diers did.�

(Left) An angry villager shouts as themayor of Jusici tells the refugees theywill have to leave. (Right) A refugeebegins the trek out of Jusici to a tentcity set up by the UNHCR. (Aboveright) Operation DOBRO DONUT, inwhich refugees returning after the 72-hour waiting period were treated tofresh donuts and coffee, marked thesuccessful resolution of the ordeal.

�We cannot allow thepeople of Jusici to derailthe process we imple-

mented in September.�

� Rosana San, UNHCR

Spc

. Ale

jand

ro C

abel

lo

Cpl. Len Butler

The TalonPage 8 Friday, October 11, 1996

Imagine: During the upcomingBosnian elections one ofthe former warring factions

decides they will not allow free-dom of movement. They block oneof the main voting routes withbarbed wire and an array of mines,attempting to defeat one of IFOR�sroles in the Bosnian elections.

Fortunately this hasn�t hap-pened, but that was the trainingscenario on Sept. 26-27 in the Brit-ish sector at Glamoc. Combat en-gineers from Companies A and C,16th Engineer Battalion; twosquads from the 40th and 23rdEngineer Battalions; and 12 sol-diers from the Danish Army prac-ticed one of their war-time mis-sions.

Capt. Frederic A. Drummond,commander of Co. A, 16th Engi-neers., also known as �The Out-laws,� brainstormed the idea togive his soldiers and other combatengineers real-life training thatwill enhance their skills down theline.

�I don�t want them to lose sightof real war-type combat engineertasks,� Drummond said.

�We�re here helping to keepthe peace, but that is not al-ways going to be our mis-sion.�

The training exer-cise provided eachcombat engineerplatoon withthe mostr e a l i s t i cl i v e - f i r etraining possibleusing the mineclearing line charge and the .50 cal-iber machine gun.

Most of the focus was on thesynchronization and integration ofcombat engineer drills at platoonlevel and .50 caliber machine gun.

To contribute to the real worldscenario, the 20th Explosive Ordi-nance Disposal team from the 1stArmored Division Engineer Bri-

gade added battlefield simu-lations enhancing

the realism of the assault.�This is a great opportunity for

our soldiers to train hands on withthis equipment,� Drummond said.�Some of my soldiers haven�t beenable to fire a live Mine-ClearingLine Charge, although they havehad training on it.�

�The MICLIC contains 1,840pounds of C-4 explosives,� said Sgt.Randolph S. Spohn, combat engi-neer and MICLIC expert of Co. A.�A strand of detonation chord runsthrough all 100 meters of the C-4.A fuse is connected to the end, whichis detonated by the 4-J powersource in the armored personnelcarrier. Once the charge is detonat-ed it blows a path through the ob-stacle. The path is 100 meterslong by 14 meters wide. The ex-plosion normally clears sur-face-laid mines, and al-most always uncoversburied ones.�

Spohn saidthat the MI-CLIC is notused form i n e

clear-ing op-

erations.�It is used by

the task forceto breach the ob-

stacle and assaultthe objective.��Our job as combat en-

gineers in the Army is to pro-vide mobility, countermobility

and survivability,� said Staff Sgt.Phillip A. Fritts, 2nd squad leaderof 1st platoon, Co. A. �When thetask force is conducting a deliber-ate attack, the maneuver com-mander will bring the maximumamount of combat power to bear onthe enemy at a decisive point onthe battlefield. If an obstacle is em-placed to stop us, we do what we�vebeen trained to do, breach the ob-stacle.�

�This entire operation is likeclockwork,� Fritts said. �The firstteam goes out and lays suppressivefire, the area is breached using theMICLIC, the lanes are proofed andmarked, and finally the assault

team moves through.�Each of the three platoons got a

chance to go through the exerciseand run the show, testing theircombat engineer skills.

�This is a good training tool forus,� said Drummond. �It tells uswhere our platoons lie in combatoperations. This is also quiteunique because it is the first timethe MICLIC has ever been fired inBosnia-Herzegovina.�

To add tot h e

noveltyof the

exercise,s o l d i e r s

from the Dan-ish army took

part. Pvt. ThomasE. Christiansen an

engineer and EOD spe-cialist, was one of the 12

Danes involved in the train-ing. �I was the gunner on the .50

Cal.,� Christiansen said. �My jobwas to destroy the targets and Idid just that. I can prove it to you,�he said with a grin. He proudlypulled out an expended .50 cal.round from his pocket. �You seethis? The commander pulled thisout of my target. I knew I was hit-ting it.�

�We were able to see how Amer-icans do things and learn some-thing from them,� Christiansensaid.

�I�ve realized the Americans�planning is more detailed thanours. I am not necessarily sayingtheir training is better, just a bitdifferent,� he said.

A month of preparation proceed-ed the operation. A blocked route,a checkpoint and strategicallyplaced bunkers were just part ofthe props built by engineers for Op-eration OUTLAW THUNDER.

The exercise was in addition totheir normal peace keeping mis-sions.

�It was a huge success,� Drum-mond said. �We got a lot of feed-back from the soldiers saying itwas the best training they hadreceived in the Army.�

Freedom of movementBy Sgt. NICOLE SMITH135th MPAD

The Talon Page 9Friday, October 11, 1996

equipment months ago and recall their ex-periences.

�What we find most interesting in theAmerican equipment is the computers inthe reconnaissance vehicles,� Spechilovsaid.

�We don�t rely on many computers be-cause they cause problems in tough fieldconditions.

�Most important is that even though ourtwo nations� vehicles are different in exactcapabilities, they protect our personnel fromNBC dangers and violent artillery at-tacks,� Kudryashov said.

By Staff Sgt. BRENDA BENNER100th MPAD

n RUSSIAN BRIGADE

Russians host NBC show-and-tell

UGLJEVIK, Bosnia-Herzegovina � Amer-ican soldiers lined up here to see and touchSoviet-made equipment they had only readabout in books. At last, this was the realthing.

It isn�t often that soldiers from twoformer enemy armies allow one another thechance to personally examine their militaryequipment.

The end of the Cold War has broughtsoldiers from Russia and the U.S. togeth-er, working side by side in a climate of mu-tual respect and budding friendships.

Russian nuclear, biological and chemi-cal specialists last week invited 1st Ar-mored Division�s Nuclear Biological Chem-ical specialists to Russian Brigade Head-quarters for a presentation of Soviet-madeprotection gear and instruments.

Maj. Victor Kudryashov, chief of chemi-cal services for the Russian Brigade, gaveDivision Chemical soldiers their first tourinside a NBC reconnaissance vehicle.

�The BTR-80 is a special NBC vehicle,not all Russian units have one,� Kudryash-ov said. �It can launch alarm flare rocketsand shoot contamination marker flagswhile in motion.�

Russian soldiers presented various de-tection instruments, alarms, protectivesuits, and offered demonstrations of theirvehicle mounted decontamination capabil-ities.

�I showed the American soldiers how weuse the chemical detection kit,� said Se-nior Lt. Oleg Spechilov. �We only have tobreak the tubes and pump air into them. Itis very easy.�

Logistics NCO, Sgt. 1st. Class Tad D.Olson, 30, from Houston, enjoyed his first�show-and-tell� and hopes he will have asecond opportunity to see more equipmentdemonstrations.

�Their protective suits are made of rub-ber and therefore can withstand more chem-ical contact than ours, but they are very ex-hausting to work in,� Olson said. �Russianprotective masks look similar to the M-40swe have now.�

Division chemical Sgt. Maj. James H.Keck, of Covington, Ky., enjoyed the oppor-tunity to meet his Russian NBC counter-parts and view their chemical detection in-struments.

�This is the first time that I�ve been ableto actually put my hands on their equip-ment,� Keck said.

�We�ve always had photographs anddrawings, but its different when we get totouch and observe Russian-made items. Ifind it very exciting.�

Some of the Russian soldiers viewed U.S.

Staff Sgt. Brenda Benner

(Left to right) Sgt. 1st. Class Tad D. Olson, Staff Sgt. Fred L. Workman, andRussian NBC platoon leader Senior Lt. Oleg Spechilov examine detectionglass tubes.

In between demonstration periods mostof the soldiers compared uniforms and per-sonal gear.

They communicated through translatorsor resorted to hand gestures when neces-sary.

All of them enjoyed each other�s compa-ny, although it was short lived.

�The bottom line,� said Keck, �is thatwe had soldiers from both countries outthere together. There wasn�t a division be-tween us, we were just one big group of GIs.A soldier is a soldier, and a person is a per-son above all else.�

The TalonPage 10 Friday, October 11, 1996

Arijana Salihbasic learned tosnow ski when

she was four years old.Every summer she vaca-tioned on the warmCroatian coast. Shestudied music for 11years, hoping somedayto find a career as a per-forming artist. Life wasgood, and she had greatexpectations for a hap-py and prosperous fu-ture.

All of that changedwhen war broke out inher homeland, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

�Until the last day, my friends and Icouldn�t believe that war would really start.Then when the fighting began, the worstthing was now knowing when the war wouldfinish,� Arijana said.

Born in Tuzla, the 21 year-old was raisedby a Bosnian Muslim father and a BosnianCroat mother. Until 1991, however, ethnic-ity was �not an issue.�

�Before the war we had everything, butthe fighting ruined our lives and our coun-try,� Arijana said.

Two months before the shooting start-ed, Arijana�s father sent his daughter awayto live with friends in safety. But when Ar-ijana saw Tuzla burning on television, shedecided to return to her native city.

�The night I arrived, the city was empty.It was like a horror story. My father told

By Capt.TERRY L. CONDER100th MPAD

me to never go outside. I spent the next 10months in our building or in the basement.�

For the next two years sirens heraldedincoming shells from Bosnian Serb artil-lery and mortars surrounding Tuzla. Theattacks forced the closure of the airport, andat times the city was completely blockad-ed.

�We lost electricity and other services,�Arijana said. �We had no money, or any-thing.�

Tuzla�s worst day came May 25, 1995when a single mortar shell exploded in aheavily congested downtown market. Theblast killed 71 people. Arijana lost one ofher best friends.

When politicians met in Dayton, Ohio todiscuss the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ar-ijana didn�t have much hope for a meaning-

ful agreement.�I was only hoping for

peace. Those leaders couldmeet a million times, andI didn�t care. I only wantedto live like before,� shesaid.

But unlike previouslybrokered peace agree-ments, Dayton worked. �Iremember watching TVand seeing a HMMWVdrive out of an airplane.My God, they are ugly, Ithought.� Then I saw anAmerican tank and Ithought, it is huge.�

Unlike the United Na-tions Protection Force,IFOR showed up with high-powered weapons, and lotsof them. The show of forcecoupled with a commit-

ment to peace by the parties to the agree-ment have given the people of Bosnia-Herzegovina an opportunity to hold elec-tions and work toward a lasting peace.

That�s what Arijana is counting on. Last-ing peace.

Last week she married her �high schoolsweetheart,� Almir. Arijana has given updreams of a music career, but she hasn�tlost hope of �living happily ever after.�

�We want to get good jobs, and live thelife we want,� Arijana said. �Almir has agood talent for languages, and I have stud-ied economics.�

Asked to compare life to year ago, Arija-na responded quickly and bluntly. �It is muchbetter now. You can�t even compare then andnow. IFOR helped make peace. No one elsedid anything, and that�s the truth.�

Wedding heralds return to normalcy

Spc. Daniel Paschall

Newlyweds Arijana and Almir Salihbasic greet family and friends attheir Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegonvina wedding held in September.

May God bless our outgoing commander, Captain Apicella, to continue in excellence.contending, always, for the valor, strength and courage that has made our country great.

May God bless our incoming commander, Captain Miller, and give him the wisdom andunderstanding to be the portrait of infallible leadership that you have so graciously blessedus with in the past. For with wisdom you founded the earth, and with understanding youestablished the heavens. Please grant him these tools of success.

May both of these outstanding officers seek your guidance, oh Lord and may their waysbe ways of pleasantness and their paths be of peace.

The joy and burden of command

- Spc. Michelle A. Wright, at the 501st Military Police Companychange of command ceremony in September.

The Talon Page 11

n PERSONALITY OF THE WEEK

Friday, October 11, 1996

By Staff Sgt.ANNA M. PRUSAITIS100th MPAD

Staff Sgt. Anna M. Prusaitis

Spc. Kevin E. Hanley, multichannel systems operator with the 440th Signal Battalion,makes signs out of recycled, broken pallet boards. Hanley uses a scroll saw to carefullycut the letters out of the recycled wood.

WOODEN IT BE NICE TO RECYCLE?

name signs was provided by Spc.Aurelio C. Vargas, signal sup-port systems specialist, alsowith the 440th and a residentof Laton, Calif.

�I had some experience inwoodworking from high schooland college,� Vargas said.�When I heard they needed somehelp in making tables, chairsand signs, I volunteered to help.�

The broken pallets used increating the signs were taken

apart and the letters were free-handed onto the boards.

Hanley carefully cut the let-ters out using a scroll saw thenthe signs were sanded smoothby Vargas and prepared forstaining.

Originally the signs were tobe temporary, made to identifyoffices.

After seeing the caliber ofcraftsmanship used in makingthe signs the battalion staff

decided they would be takenback to Darmstadt, where theunit is based.

�It�s good to know these signsare not just being used for thedeployment,� Hanley said. �I�mglad they�re going to be takenback to the battalion, it makesthem even more special.�

Hanley, his wife and chil-dren, Mark, 3, Dersire, 11, andKenneth 5, reside in Darmstadt,Germany.

SLAVONSKI BROD, Croatia� In just about any field envi-ronment making something�crude but effective� seems tobe the standard method for over-coming logistics shortages.

Rare indeed is the opportu-nity to see a craftsman take thenormal �crude but effective�method and create somethingsmooth and refined, especiallyin a field environment.

But that is exactly what afew soldiers at Camp SavaNorth have done. They haveskillfully taken tattered andbroken wood pallets and creat-ed smooth and refined signs tohang over the unit�s office doors.

Spc. Kevin E. Hanley, multi-channel systems operator,Headquarters and Headquar-ters Company, 440th SignalBattalion, had some help fromhis wife, Lori, in acquiring someof the tools needed. � I told herwhat I needed, she got it andmailed it to me. I couldn�t havedone this with out her,� Hanleysaid.

Hanley, who has 12 years ofwoodworking experience is theassigned driver for the battal-ion commander and when hedoes not have to be on the roadhe works on signs.

Additional assistance withsanding and staining the office

By Capt. JOHN V. STRAHAN100TH MPAD

EAGLE BASE, TUZLA, Bosnia andHerzegovina � Reserve componentmembers of Task Force Eagle werevisited by the Honorable Deborah Lee,Assistant Secretary of Defense forReserve Affairs. Secretary Lee�s re-cent informal lunch meeting with re-servists gave attendees a chance tospeak directly with the distinguishedvisitor.

The secretary abandoned her placeat the head table and moved around

the room asking questions about liv-ing conditions, duty assignments,hometowns, and civilian employment.Lee brought with her encouragingwords from Washington, �Dr. Perry isvery proud of the Guard and Reserveand their role in Operation JOINT EN-DEAVOR,� Lee said.

Lee entertained questions from re-servists about pay, redeployment, andthe length of an active duty tour. Dur-ing the Gulf War reservists were gen-erally called up for 180 days. Subse-quent legislation has increased thatnumber to 270. �We learned that 180

days was not enough time, consider-ing mobilization and training. It�s myguess that 270 is here to stay,� Leesaid.

Addressing a question about re-peated call-ups Lee said a key to re-tention is to spread the work around.

As a group of reservists lined up tobe photographed with Lee, she endedher visit with praise for the �totalforce� concept. �Reservists in IFOR filla variety of roles, and they are a veryimportant part. We cannot do a majormilitary operation without the Guardand Reserve.�

Reserve Affairs� Deborah Lee visits

The Talon Friday, October 11, 1996Page 12

REDEPLOY from page 1

ELECTIONS from page 1

Fact: During the municipal elections, re-deployment will slow.

Fact: Full flow to Central Region willresume immediately after the election.

Fact: The goal of redeployment is to getevery soldier home before 365 days.

Fact: Not all units will be out of Bosnia-Herzegovina by Dec. 20.

IFOR�s mandate ends Dec. 20 and NATOcommander Gen. George A. Joulwan hasmade it clear that IFOR will maintain afully capable force in theater up to that date.

He said that sufficient forces will be inplace until the mission ends.

That means some units will not leaveBosnia-Herzegovina until after Dec. 20.

The rate of redeployment will depend on

the security situation in Bosnia-Herzegov-ina after the municipal elections. No deci-sion has been made concerning a possiblepost-IFOR follow-on force.

After IFOR�s mandate ends, Americanmilitary forces will follow prescribed oper-ational doctrine for withdrawal and rede-ployment.

Elements of the 1st ID, known as theBig Red One, will provide a covering forceto overwatch 1st AD�s withdrawal.

Currently deploying from Central Re-gion, the Big Red One will assist in main-taining a safe and secure environment formunicipal elections in November.

The 1st ID will also maintain force pro-tection and security for the withdrawal of1st AD and its supporting units.

By doctrine, a covering force conductsoverwatch and security operations for a

withdrawing force. The transfer of authori-ty to 1st ID will allow 1st AD to focus onwithdrawal.

The 2nd Brigade of the Big Red One willform the basic component of the coveringforce.

The 11th Aviation Regiment; 1st Bat-talion, 18th Infantry; 1st Battalion, 26thInfantry and the 3rd Brigade headquarterswill add to the force.

Both the 720th and the 519th militarypolice battalions that deployed as part ofthe force reshaping this summer will roundout the covering force.

Defense Secretary William J. Perry saidcurrent plans call for up to 7,000 Americansoldiers to remain in Bosnia-Herzegovinathrough Feb. 1.

The number will drop to 3,000 by March1, and zero-out by the middle of the month.

Capt. Steven E. Metze

Col. Evgeniy Shamilin, deputy commander of the RussianBrigade, and Capt. Charles J. Mclaughlin, liaison officerto the Russians, discuss recovery operations in the ZOS.

KRSTAC, Bosnia-Herzegov-ina � When the Predator, anAir Force unmanned aerialvehicle went down in the zoneof separation recently ,American and Russiantroops rushed to the locationto support recovery opera-tions.

First, engineers movedinto the heavily mined ZOS,sweeping fields surroundingthe recovery site for landmines. Then they usedsticks, metal detectors, anddogs to proof the location.

By Capt. STEVEN E. METZE100th MPAD

Russian troops aid Predator recovery

was taken in full knowledge that we will be engaged in a high-risk operation program.

There is very little time to restore personnel require-ments at full strength, ensure higher standards thanprevailed in the six levels of elections on Sept. 14, fund-ing and so on.

But the international community, as represented atthe Peace implementation Council Steering Board herein Sarajevo on Oct. 2 and the Organization for Coopera-tion and Security in Europe Permanent Council in Vien-na, has pledged full support for a Provisional ElectionCommission decision to go ahead.

The reorganized OSCE Mission elections cadre is un-

der the leadership of Mr. Patrick Bradley.They believe that, provided the promised international

support is forthcoming, it will be technically possible tosupervise preparation of the elections in an acceptablemanner.

My principal reason for staying on track with munic-ipal elections before the end of the year is to take fulladvantage of the strength of the international commu-nity�s presence, in both its civil and military dimensions,before that international presence is significantly di-minished in 1997.

It is essential to continue to overcome perniciouseffects of the centrifugal political forces across thecountry through the electoral process while the inter-national community retains the strength to do so.

Once the area was de-clared mine-free, CompanyC, 3rd Battalion, 12th Infan-try arrived via helicopter.

�We got of f the birds,pulled security, and startedsetting up OPs� said Spc.Quentin V. Fenderson, a res-ident of Demopolis , Ala.Fenderson said his companywas training in the areawhen the UAV went down.

Col. Evgeniy Shamilin,deputy commander of theRussian Brigade, and Col.Alan W. Thrasher, divisionartillery commander, super-vised the sensitive opera-tion. Russian and American

soldiers swept through thearea recovering parts andloading them on Russiantrucks for transport to EagleBase.

Once the job was done,loadmasters from Co. A, 7thBattalion, 227th Aviationlaid out slings and nets, and

When the Predator, a U.S. Air Forceunmanned aerial vehicle, went down inthe ZOS last week, Russian andAmerican soldiers rushed to the scene.Their cooperation exemplified thesuccess of their IFOR partnership.

in a group effort, soldiersjoined together to roll thetwo thousand pound aircraftinto place.

After carefully wrappingthe UAV fuselage in ropesand chains, a UH-60 BlackHawk transported the Pred-ator safely out of the area.