Insid

e COMMENTARY . . . . 2IMPRESSIONS . . . 3MOUNT VIS . . . . 4AVENGER . . . . . 5FEAR NOT . . . 6-7RUSSIANS . . . . . . 9SWEDES . . . . 11

Talonthe

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

Volume 3, No 1 Friday, January 3, 1997

This is a story about 4th Battalion,3rd Air Defense Artillery. It’s abouta combat unit sent to keep the

peace. It’s about adapting. Overcoming.Taking care of soldiers and building lead-ers for the future.

This is a storyabout a unit that —on a smaller scale —reflects much ofthe chal-l e n g ea n dpromiseof today’sArmy.

“It’s one thing to prepare for opera-tions other than war, it’s another to getout here and actually do the job,” saidCapt. William T. Hunt, the artillery unit’sassistant plans, training and operationsofficer. “There’s very little air threat here,so we do perimeter security.”

But guarding the Eagle Base perime-ter is just one ADA mission. The battal-ion also provides the base quick reac-tion force, or QRF, as well as the divi-

sion reserve. The battaliontactical operations centerserves as an alternate to the

division TOC, and, like

the commanding general’s staff, the bat-talion staff runs two battle update brief-ings everyday.

Air defense artillery soldiers patrolboth the interior and the exterior of Ea-gle Base, and through Battery D’sAvenger platoons at Camp McGovern,they keep an eye on the night aroundthe still-troubled town of Brcko.

“This is not a traditional ADA mis-sion,” said Hunt, a Miami, Fla., native.“It’s a challenge.”

Like many units in the post-draw-down Army, 4-3 ADA is being tasked todo more with less. One way the battal-ion has met this particular challenge isby decentralizing responsibility, a phi-losophy Hunt called “power-down.” Ina power-down atmosphere, sergeants,specialists and privates brief troops.

Specialists leadteams and everyone

benefits.For instance,

Combat soldiers power downBy Spc. AARON REED100th MPAD

See ARTILLERY , page 12

BRUSSELS—Arresting war criminalsis not a job for the NATO stabiliza-tion force, but for civilian police, U.S.Army Gen. John M. Shalikashvili saidrecently.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs ofStaff, speaking in Bosnia-Herzegovina

By LINDA D. KOZARYNAmerican Forces Press Service

before arriving here for NATO meet-ings, said officials should form an in-ternational police force to go after in-dicted war criminals who have not beenturned in as required by the Daytonpeace agreement.

SFOR will follow the same rules asIFOR regarding war criminal saidU.S. Army Gen. George S. Joulwan,supreme allied commander, Europe.

SFOR mission stays the course

Sgt. CharlesBennett, a Stingerteam chief with Battery B,4th Battalion, 3rd Air DefenseArtillery, stands ready to block accessto Eagle Base in his M2 Bradley Stinger Fighting Vehicle.

The Talon Friday, January 3, 1997

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. THE TALON is published weeklyby the 1st Infantry Division (Task Force Eagle) Public Affairs Office, Eagle Base,Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina APO AE 09789, Telephone MSE 551-5230. E-mail:condert@pop1-email.5sigcmd.army.mil. Printed by Print Com Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina. Circulation: 4,500.

The Talon

Page 2

1st Infantry Division Commander . . . Maj. Gen. Montgomery C. MeigsEditor in Chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maj. William L. DuPont100th MPAD Commander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maj. Victoria D. WoodOIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Capt. Terry L. ConderNCOIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Staff Sgt. Patrick SummersEditor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Spc. Daniel M. PaschallDesign Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sgt. 1st Class Stephen M. LumFeatures Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Spc. Aaron Reed1st Infantry Division PA NCOIC . . . . . . . . . Sgt. Gregory W. BinfordTranslator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arijana Sabanovic

CommandSgt. Maj.

James W. Laws1st Infantry

Division

LAYING DOWN THE LAWS“SFOR is not a policeforce, and therefore it isnot going to be chasingwar criminals; that is veryclear.”

— Javier SolanaNATO Secretary-General

Wha

t th

ey�re

say

ing

By ROBERT MENTETFE Safety Office

SAFETYTIPS

I would like to wish a Happy NewYear to the soldiers and augment-ees of the Big Red One.

As per tradition, New Year’s is atime when individuals make reso-lutions for their personal lives.

In this upcoming year, I wouldlike to ask Task Force Eagle mem-bers to resolve to better themselvesboth as individuals and as soldiers.One way one can do this is to takeadvantage of the various education-al opportunities available while ondeployment.

Each base camp in theater hasan education center where soldierscan take courses for college credit.Military correspondence coursescan also be worked on in theater.

Continuing both your civilian andmilitary education carries with ittremendous benefits.

Besides bettering yourself, edu-cation completion provides points for

promotion thatcould lead tomilitary careeradvancement.

S o l d i e r smust take ad-vantage of theeducational op-p o r t u n i t i e savailable tothem if we aregoing to contin-ue to be a strong,competent and

viable fighting force.The First Infantry Division has a

long, proud tradition of excellence.With each individual soldier workingto improve himself through educa-tion, that tradition will continue.

Use your chain of command andconsult the education centers andcounselors at your base camp to finda schedule that can fit yours.

Cold weather injury is 100 per-cent preventable. All too often,we focus on recognizing andtreating cold injuries; however,the more important issue is pre-vention.

Well-trained and disciplinedsoldiers can be protected in eventhe most adverse conditions ifthey and their leaders are knowl-edgeable concerning the hazardsof cold exposure, and informed re-garding the importance of person-al hygiene — especially care ofthe feet, exercise and use of pro-tective clothing.

A soldier is more likely to suf-fer a cold weather injury if he isimmobile for long periods (suchas riding in a vehicle convoy with-out a working heater) if kept outin the cold for long period of timewithout warming or if he is not

given the opportunity to carry outpersonal hygiene. Vulnerability tocold weather injury tends to goesup with fear, fatigue, dehydration,and lack of nutrition.

Most soldiers who suffer inju-ry are improperly dressed. Lead-ers must require troops to dressas lightly as possible consistentwith the weather to reduce thedanger of excessive perspirationand subsequent chilling. It is bet-ter for the body to be slightly coldand generating heat than exces-sively warm and sweltering to-ward dehydration.

Tight garments lessen the volumeof trapped air layers, and therebyreduce the insulation and ventilationavailable to the body. Headgear is es-pecially important as heat loss is of-ten greatest from the head.

Many soldiers suffer cold inju-ry without knowing what is hap-pening to them.

Take the time to review thecause, symptoms and first aid forcold weather injuries.

“SFOR wil l help Bos-nians assume full respon-sibility for their future —a future without an out-side military presence.”

— President William J. Clinton

“They served a noblecause, they did make a difference.Their sacrifices were not in vain.They will not be forgotten.”

— Gen. George A. JoulwanNATO Commander in Chief

(on the 55 soldiers who werekilled during the just completed

year-long IFOR mission)

“At 18 months, the mission willbe completed, and in June 1998we will withdraw all of the stabili-zation force.”

— Gen. George A. JoulwanNATO Commander in Chief

“In the past year alone, count-less lives have been saved andcountless others have been im-proved because of your dedicat-ed efforts and devotion to duty.”

— President William J. Clinton

The TalonFriday, January 3, 1997 Page 3

News briefs

Clinton calls Bosnia

The seconds start ticking as I set thetimer on my watch and start a morn-ing run from the education center

at Tent City Two on Eagle Base. It’s avery fall-like Sunday morning with lightfog, the kind thatpromises to burnoff to produce aclear day.

As I pass conexcity, a newly in-stalled collection ofprefab buildings,only a few soldiersare venturing outto the showerssince it’s the onlyday many can sleepin. (Later, when Ifinish running, will there be hot water,any pressure? Since it’s Sunday, I’m op-timistic.)

At about the two-minute mark, I hitthe boardwalk and head in the directionof the headquarters building. Not every-one’s sleeping; many soldiers carrywhite paper plates filled with breakfast-to-go and are heading somewhere. (Theymust be going to work; where else couldthey be going, especially in all that gear?I still can’t quite get used to being sur-rounded by soldiers in Kevlars, flakvests, LBE’s and M-16s over their shoul-ders.)

At the intersection by the “WhiteHouse,” I veer to the right and check outa camouflaged area occupied by Compa-ny D, 440th Signal; they’re from Darms-tadt, my home duty station.

Then it’s slightly uphill, past thechapel and towards the dining facility.More soldiers carrying plates, fruit andlarge plastic bottles of water pass by andsay good morning or encourage me. (Thefriendliness of strangers is still a pleas-ant experience. Is it a characteristic ofdeployments?)

After about six minutes, I arrive atthe laundry and chow hall. I pop intothe laundry where Turkish-style musicfills the air and show the woman myslip, but she advises me to return in twohours.

From there I head down to the stag-ing area in the direction of the pedes-trian gate where Bosnian workers, manywearing Operation JOINT ENDEAVORwindbreakers, carry plastic bags ontheir walk to work. (I wonder what’s inthose bags — other than big chunks ofbread, that is?)

I usually like to run up to the lastbarriers and look out to the “outside” or,in the evenings, listen for the call to

By CHRISTINE WENK-HARRISONEagle Base Education Center prayer from a nearby mosque. This

morning it’s quiet and foggy, so I changedirections and pass the White House.

After about eight minutes, I am at thenext intersection and head up a scenicroad with woods on both sides. (Couldthere be mines in there somewhere? Af-ter all these months, they’re still finding

them.)I follow the road

which leads to theflight line, passinga so-called parkinglot on the right. (Ican’t believe allthose assorted vehi-cles in there will re-ally drive out ofthat mud they areparked in .) I can’tstop to find out.

I speed up mypace to the airfield where the C-130s,UH-60 Blackhawks, AH-64 Apaches andanything flying never cease to fascinateme. (Maybe I should have taken theAFAST exam we give Sunday eveningsat the Education Center.)

For now, I have to watch. But run-ning along the flight line with the heli-copters taking off against the Bosnianmountains gives me a real high. (That’sOK, since it’s not the kind prohibited byGeneral Order Number One!)

As I return on the main road, theshuttle bus from Tuzla West overtakesme with ease, and to my delight Me-hmed and Samir are on board and wavewith gusto. On my daily trips to TuzlaWest, they have become my primary con-tact with the Bosnian people and I likeriding their bus best.

By now I’m over the 25-minute mark,but as I circle back by the education cen-ter, not quite ready to quit, I take asight-seeing jog through the tent city tocheck out the newest additions.

I pass the French quarters, completewith French flag, the “Tool Time Tuzla”tent, “Dirk Mueller Strasse,” and “AirForce Country” to my favorite: a coupleof marigolds growing in a sandbag pro-tection wall and bearing a small signproclaiming “Tuzla Air Base Yard of theMonth.” (The humor and ingenuity of thesoldiers rarely fail to surprise andamuse me.)

Christine Wenk-Harrison, a civilianemployee attached to the 104th Area Sup-port Group, is deployed as a guidancecounselor in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Shesays she came to Bosnia-Herzegovina toprovide educational services to the sol-diers and has ended up learning a lot:about a tragic, war-torn country, mili-tary operations, soldiers and above all,herself.

Running and learning

“I still can’t quite getused to being sur-rounded by soldiers inKevlars, f lak vests,LBE’s and M-16s overtheir shoulders ..”

— Christine Wenk-Harrison

“And what do you want forChristmas?” Santa asked the sol-dier. The reply was swift and sure,“I want Halle Berry’s autograph!”

Well, that wish came true formany soldiers this Christmas Eveas the actress visited Eagle Basein Bosnia-Herzegovina.

As Berry was escorted into 1stInfantry Division Headquarters, sol-diers greeted her like an old friend.Almost lost in the sea of camou-flage, the diminutive actress slow-ly made her way to the Battle Startent where she signed autographsand made an impromptu speech tothe crowd.

“People ask me why I camehere at Christmas,” Berry said. “Iknow it sounds like a cliche, butI really feel that it’s important, es-pecially this time of year, to givesomething back. The receptionI’ve had and seeing all the smil-ing faces has been a wonderfulpresent for me, and I hope my be-ing here can bring a little bit ofChristmas to you all.”

It’s not every day you get aphone call from the president ofthe United States. Then again, ev-ery day isn’t Christmas.

As tradition holds, the com-mander in chief makes a pointeach year to call up a few remote-ly located U.S. service membersand personally wish them the bestof the Yuletide season.

One of this year’s lucky servicemembers was Tech. Sgt. PaulRutzinski, 33, chief of informationmanagement and administrativesupport for the commander of the4100th Air Support Group, Provi-sional, at the Eagle Air Base con-trol tower.

“I consider this a great Christ-mas present,” Rutzinski said.

The conversation lasted a fewminutes. Rutzinski said PresidentClinton was very personable.

“He talks to you like you’re areal person and makes you feelgood when you’re talking withhim.” Rutzinski said.

“He seemed really concernedabout the morale of the troopshere. He wanted to know how wewere doing, and mentioned howimportant our role here is in keep-ing the peace.”

Halle Berry visits

The Talon Friday, January 3, 1997Page 4

The quality of life on Mount Vis hasdrastically improved over the lastfew months. Soldiers can now walk

on a boardwalk, eat in a real dining facili-ty, and enjoy the comforts that soldiers inlarger camps so often take for granted.

The conditions here were once referredto as “Vietnam like”. Tents leaned to theside from sinking in the mud. Soldiers per-formed the old latrine ritual of “burningthe barrel”. Showers were virtually nonex-istent, and the meal of the day was anMRE, with an occasional T-ration for goodmeasure.

With assistance from Brown and Rootand the hard work performed by soldierson the “hill”, the basecamp was brought outof the dark ages, and into the 90’s.

“Everything here was literally built fromthe ground up,” Master Sgt. Dave W.Wright, 40, of Belen, N.M. said. Wright,the mayor of the Mount Vis basecamp, saidimprovements to the basecamp began inearly November.

“This is our own little piece of Bosnia-Herzegovina,” said Staff Sgt. James S.Moudy, 28, of Newark, Del. “We’ve done alot of work up here, and we’re pretty proudof what we’ve done.”

“However long we Americans stay here,this hill will always be something that ev-eryone pitched in for and accomplished,”Moudy said. “We’ve left our signature onthis hill.”

MRE’s and T-rats are gone, replaced bya shiny new dining facility.’ “Actually it’snot new,” Sgt. Charles T. Mangus, 38, ofSlidell, La. said. “It just looks that way.”

Mangus, of Headquarters and Head-

By Cpl. LEN BUTLER100th MPAD

Cpl. Len Butler

Staff Sgt. James S. Moudy of 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry’s mortar platoon, keeps a watchful eye on activity and thebase of Mount Vis. Moudy and soldiers from his mortar platoon provide security for the basecamp.

quarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 7th FieldArtillery Regiment, and his assistant, Pvt.Billy Armstrong have transformed a din-gy, dirty conex into a place that soldierscan come to enjoy a meal, prepared byMangus and Armstrong three times a day,seven days a week.

“Armstrong and I did all of this our-selves,” Mangus said. “We added cookingequipment, and got the place cleaned up.”

According to the soldiers here, the rageof the basecamp is the food that Mangusand Armstrong pre-pare. “I’m just hav-ing a good time withthis,” Mangus said.“I like to cook in thefirst place. I makealmost everythingfrom scratch, andArmstrong and I liketo mix our menus upa little.”

Mangus said hefollows the recipesfor the most part.But sometimes he may add a few extra in-gredients to make it spicier. “The guysaround here like it,” Mangus said. “Onething’s for sure, they never go away hun-gry.”

The back door of the dining facilityopens to a wooden porch overlooking theTuzla Valley, offering one of the most sce-nic views around.

“The sunrises and sunsets are gor-geous,” Spc. Lisa M. Horning, 22, ofCoeurd’alene, Idaho said. “When theclouds hang low in the valley, I imaginebeing a god on Mount Olympus lookingdown on all the mortals.”

“I used to have to take a bottle of water

outside just to wash my hair,” Horning,who is one of only three females on thehill, said.

Horning said when she first arrived inSeptember, there was no running water,let alone a shower facility.

For a long time soldiers, here didn’thave access to a telephone to contactloved ones.

That changed when a DSN line wasinstalled in November. Soldiers are nowable to make 10 minute calls.

Thanks to Brownand Root, the oncemuddy, leaningtents gave way tohard-backed tents.Now tents are stabi-lized on pedestalswith walls, andflooring throughout.

One of the tentsis a recreationaltent, complete withweights, stair-step-pers and stationary

bikes. In the corner sits a television, videocassette recorder and movies.

Spc. Brian S. Taylor, 26, of Enter-prise, Ala. has been here longer thanany soldier on the hill. Arriving in April,Taylor said soldiers in the larger basecamps should not complain too loudlyabout their conditions.

Taylor said he and some other sol-diers here had a good laugh when theyread a complaint from a soldier atSlavonski Brod to the “Letters” sectionof the Stars and Stripes.

“Someone wrote that they were unhap-py, because Popeye’s Chicken didn’t havebarbecue sauce,” Taylor said.

Life: from bad to better at Mount Vis

“This is our own littlepiece of Bosnia-Her-zegovina. We’ve done alot of work up here, andwe’re pretty proud ofwhat we’ve done.”— Staff Sgt. James S. Moudy

The TalonFriday, January 3, 1997 Page 5

They keepwatch whileyou sleepBy RENATE BOHLEN98th Area Support Group

Soldiers of Company C, 101stMilitary Intelligence Battalion, atCamp Colt, spend their nightswatch ing over the sa fe ty o ftroops.

Ground surve i l lance radarteams start their workday whenthe sun goes down by climbingthe guard towers overlookingthe camp.

“We sit up here until the suncomes up, ” Pfc . Aaron Dunnsaid.

Any movement they detect onthe radar screen is reported tothe tactical operations center.

The TOC has an overview ofall activities in the area and candetermine whether it is neces-sary to send out a team to inves-tigate.

“The real ground support ra-dar mission is to provide earlywarning about the enemy to thesupport unit. We provide secu-rity for the camp,” Staff Sgt. Ed-win Caraballo said.

The MI soldiers trained hardfor two and a half months priorto deployment and are well-pre-pared to do this or any othermission, Caraballo said.

“The living conditions here atCamp Colt aren’t bad,” he said.“We live in a tent with plenty ofspace and we have all the facili-ties we need. I really don’t thinkit’s bad to be here.”

“I was amazed at the amountof weight lifting equipment theyhave for us,” Dunn said.

When asked what they thinkabout being part of the peace-keep ing miss ion in Bosn ia -Herzegovina, answers varied.

“I’m really proud to be here asa peacekeeper for NATO. It givesme an opportunity to do some-thing for people,” Caraballo said.

Dunn agreed. “ I l ike i t outhere. It’s a great money-savingopportunity,” he said.

Sgt. David B. Coulson wasn’ten thus ias t i c about be ing a tCamp Colt. “But right now that’smy job, and I put everything intoit,” he said.

“It’s hard to hide from us,” Pvt. LelandJ. Johnson said.

Johnson, 19, is an Avenger gunner, andhis voice comes over the combat vehiclecommunications as he speaks from thespecially adapted HMMWV’s turret.

It’s pitch black on a cool night in Brod,a town which lies within the zone of sep-aration near McGovern Base in northeastBosnia-Herzegovina.

The Carson City, Nev. native sits in hisheated turret, stinger missiles in pods oneither side of him.

He’s scanning the houses, roads andcountryside. The two Avenger weapon sys-tems on this evening’s patrol are operat-ing temporary observation points, whileother soldiers in M2 Bradley InfantryFighting Vehicles roll down side roads.

The Avengers that comprise the 3rdPlatoon, D Battery, 4th Battalion, 3rd AirDefense Artillery Regiment, run missionssimilar to this almost daily — and night-ly.

From the screen which sits beside himin the cab, team chief Sgt. Robert M.Brown, sees everything Johnson sees.

“Tonight we’re on a mounted patrol,conducting a temporary observation pointto monitor and survey any movementwithin the ZOS, including our own dis-mounted patrols,” Brown said.

All the troops — whether in Avengersor Bradleys — are there to monitor move-ment within the ZOS. Civilian travel isnot allowed between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.,and even those scant few who live amongthe war-ruined structures are told to stayin their homes.

The demilitarized zone is truly a no-man’s land after dark. Soldiers sit in theirvehicles or walk deserted streets to watch

By Sgt. JACK SIEMIENIEC350th MPAD

Avengers light up the nightand listen for anything that shouldn’t bethere.

The addition of the Avengers to nightpatrols in the ZOS is in response to re-cent house bombings in the area. Homesunder reconstruction by former refugeeshave been targeted; soldiers have steppedup their surveillance in an attempt tocatch those responsible for the bombings.

The Avenger platoon is part of TaskForce 1-18, augmenting the capabilitiesof the infantry companies of the 1st Bat-talion, 18th Infantry Regiment.

As the gunner pivots his turret, rais-ing and lowering the infrared system,watching near and far, he gives a com-mentary of what he sees on the screen.

“Someone’s home out there, see thechimney smoke.”

“That little bit of white on those trees,that’s light reflected from McGovern.”

“There, see that white spot, that’s afield mouse. He’s moving.”

Seconds later, he rotates the turret,zooms in, refocuses and, it’s suddenlyclear the white blob on the screen is actu-ally another soldier from the patrol stand-ing on the roof of his HMMWV, hundredsof meters across an open field.

The soldier is using his night visiongoggles.

Here in the McGovern area, the pla-toon has run over 30 night surveillancemissions since they arrived in late Octo-ber.

Blaney said that while normal nightpatrols are effective, they are definitelyenhanced with the addition of Avengers.

“The platoon has also been incorporat-ed into perimeter defense here at McGov-ern to keep our ‘eyes’ on at night. We callourselves ‘Watchdog,’” he said.

With their night eyes, the Avengershead out the gate in the evening to sit inthe dark to watch and wait.

Sgt. Jack Siemieniec

Pvt. Kingston McCaden, left, and Sgt. Daniel Gonzales mount a .50-calibermachine gun on their Avenger.

The Talon Friday, January 3, 1997Page 6

Combat hospital banishes fBLUE FACTORY — During World War II, the21st Medical Battal ion earned campaignstreamers in Sicily, the Rhineland, Naples Fog-gia and Ardennes-Alsace. The unit adopted themotto “Fear not.”

The old 21st Med. Bn. is now the 21st Com-bat Support Hospital. Sick or injured troops ofMultinational Division — North, like their pre-decessors more than half a century ago, can“fear not.”

“The 21st is the best, most powerful combatsupport hospital in the universe,” Col. (Dr.)Harold P. Ducloux said. Ducloux, a family practi-tioner from Mobile, Ala., commands the 21st CSH.

The 21st CSH boasts a helical computer-ized tomography (CT) scanner, ultrasoundscanner, and radiograph (x-ray) machine. Allthree are connected to computer worksta-tions. The hospital can send the images toLandstuhl Regional Army Medical Center inGermany or Walter Reed Army Medical Cen-

ter in Washington, D.C., for real-time consul-tation.

“That puts us at a great advantage over any-thing in the country,” Ducloux said. “There’snothing in Bosnia that can touch us.”

Staff Sgt. Ronald K. Nash, radiology non-commissioned officer in charge, agreed withthe commander’s assessment. “We’re at thelevel of technology where every hospital in theStates wants to be.”

But good medicine is more than good tech-nology. Fixing broken soldiers requires a hu-man touch, and among the specialists on hisstaff Ducloux counts a radiologist, an internist,an orthopedist, an additional family practitio-ner and two general surgeons.

“Given that mix, I can do pretty much any-thing you’d find in a community hospital you’dfind in Lawton, Okla., or Killeen, Texas,” Du-cloux said.

Ducloux said because the 21st CSH servessoldiers from all over the world, the unit mustbe prepared for almost anything.

“Just recently we’ve had two cases of ma-

laria, some tuberculosischicken pox,” he said. “I nwe do is community medi cprepared for the high-sp ecasualty scenario. That’s for.”

Normally, the hospita lcombination of expanda btemper tents and internat inization units, or ISOs. Bgovina, the bulk of the 21 san old truck stop buildin g

Patients are transport ebus, ambulance and heli c

Ducloux said the prefe rgency transportation is a 45th Medical Company (A iflying conditions are mar gmultaneously launches asonnel carrier ambulance Medical Company’s APC M

Either way, injured trospeedy evacuation. “From here, we average about 15 m

By Spc. AARON REED100th MPAD

The TalonFriday, January 3, 1997 Page 7

fears, and two cases ofn fact, most of whatcine; however, we’reeed, low-drag, mass really what we train

al would set-up in able, centrally-heatedtional standard orga-But in Bosnia-Herze-st CSH is occupying

g.ed to the hospital bycopter.rred method of emer-a helicopter from theAir Ambulance), but ifginal, the hospital si-a SISU armored per-e from the Norwegian

Medevac Platoon.oops can count on a

notification to arrivalminutes,” Ducloux said.

A 45th Medical Company (Air Ambulance) aircrewpractices snow landings in their UH-60 Blackhawkat the 21st Combat Support Hospital airfield. (Left)Col. (Dr.) Harold P. Ducloux, commander of the 21stCSH, takes a call. (Below) A 21st CSH surgical teamperforms surgery on a soldier suffering from ahernia. (Photos by Spc. Aaron Reed)

The Talon Friday, January 3, 1997Page 8

GUARDIAN BASE — The 299th ForwardSupport Battalion is bringing many chang-es to Guardian Base. As the camp expands,the hospital at the Blue Factory will beincorporated into Guardian’s main perim-eter as both camps prepare to accommo-date over 900 SFOR personnel.

All the changes are requiring a new out-look on force protection requirements. Newevaluations regarding physical securityare currently underway to compensate forthe expanding perimeter.

Staff Sgt. Joel J. Fenske, 32, of Grafton,Wis., the force protection sergeant forGuardian Base, is welcoming the chang-es.

“With the combined camps, all theguards are now rotating on the same guardforce,” Fenske said. “Previously, the mili-tary police provided guards, but they’ve re-deployed, so now it’s done internally byGuardian and Blue Factory personnel.”

Modifications to the perimeter have ne-cessitated changes to public access onto thebase. Having one controlled access point willmake it easier to monitor traffic.

“We closed off the main road goingthrough here,” Fenske said. “The local na-tionals can no longer use the road as a thor-oughfare. This keeps people farther awayfrom our entrances. Our main concern isto keep the children away, keep them safe... outside of the perimeter, because theycluster around our vehicles.”

Carpenters from Company B, 62nd En-gineers are doing their part for force pro-

By Staff Sgt. BRENDA BENNER100th MPAD

tection by building new el-evated guard towers to cov-er the expanded perimeter.

Spc. Christopher P. Lat-tin, 23, of Carrollton, Ohio,is one of a dozen carpen-ters tasked with this im-portant mission.

“We’re using materialsfrom the old guard towersthat were taken down,”Lattin said. “Most of uswill be working in shifts tocomplete them. We don’tneed everyone working atthe same time because dif-ferent people have certainabilities and specialties, sowe trade off. We’ll com-plete these towers as soonas we can, keeping all safe-ty considerations in mind.If it gets too icy to work upon top, we will wait untilconditions improve.”

The fields of thick mudcreated by recent snowsadd an element of uncer-tainty.

“We have to make surethe ground site is level; wedon’t want the base to shift as the muddries,” said interior electrician Sgt. Co-rey R. Phillips. “Tower construction is notcomplicated, but if we start off wrong, itcan cause problems the whole waythrough. There’s certainly a lot of wood,nails, spikes, and bolts involved.”

“The toughest part of it all is getting

Blue Factory facestowering changes

Staff Sgt. Brenda Benner

Spc. Christopher P. Lattin, a carpenter withCompany B, 62nd Engineer Battalion, prepares theplatform for an elevated guard tower.

the 8x8 beams exactly straight and up-right,” Lattin said. “We use huge bolts tostabilize them.”

Completion of the raised towers willgive the Guardian Base guard force newand improved vantage points while pro-tecting the ever-growing community ofpeacekeepers.

SLAVONSKI BROD, Croatia –From the onset of OperationJOINT ENDEAVOR to the cur-rent Operation JOINT GUARD,ensuring that troops are protect-ed is usually an additional dutyperformed by soldiers on a se-curity force detail.

Task Force Pershing at SavaNorth is no exception. It is pro-tected by an assigned securityforce provided by soldiers fromBattery C, 5th Battalion, 2nd AirDefense Artillery, 69th Brigade,V Corps, based in Bamberg, Ger-many.

By Staff Sgt.ANNA M. PRUSAITIS100th MPAD

Arriving in mid Novemberand augmented with soldiersfrom other batteries to createthe 75-member Task ForceBlackjack, Battery C immedi-ately took over the mission ofproviding a fixed security forceat the tank factory. Their tasksinclude providing a roving ve-hicle patrol, a roving foot patroland manning the checkpointsaround the base camp’s perim-eter.

A demanding schedule is ad-hered to by the four squads ofTask Force Blackjack’s guardforce. Second Lt. Patrick B.White, guard task force officerin charge, said the two squadteams alternate, having one full

day working and then the nextday off. One squad pulls guardduty, while the other squadworks the quick reaction force.Then they switch. “The reasonfor the change is to avoid com-placency, and boredom,” saidthe resident of Shaker Heights,Ohio. “When the squads are onQRF, it also allows time to con-duct training,” White said.

The guards are constantly ro-tating between all of their as-signed tasks which make forsome long days.

Having long days on guardduty is turning out to be a goodexperience according to Pfc. Jay-son K. Hauer, an Avenger crewmember. “I like working with

people that I don’t usually workwith,” said the resident of Smyr-na, Tenn.

Another task for of the securi-ty force, is to operate a redeploy-ment staging onward movementtactical operating center. Essen-tially the TOC handles all convoysgoing in and out of Sava North. Itis a central point for coordinatingthe refueling of vehicles. They alsodetermine the designated stagingarea for vehicles based on thenumber and type. The TOC alsoensures the mayor’s cell is awareof the number of convoys withtroops requiring billeting. In ad-dition, the TOC provides informa-tion on the current force protec-tion level White said.

Security force protects Task Force Pershing

The TalonFriday, January 3, 1997 Page 9

CAMP DOBOL—Curious villagers whostopped to watch the convoy of U.S. HM-MWVs and Russian BTR-80s were accus-tomed to seeing the SFOR vehicles. Butthey were unaccustomed to seeing thesevehicles together.

What villagers witnessed was the firstjoint patrol between the scout “reconnais-sance” platoon of 1st Battalion, 26th In-fantry and soldiers of the 1st Platoon, 1stCompany, 1st Battalion, Russian Air-borne Brigade.

“There’s a perception in the eyes of somelocals that there’s some tension betweenU.S. and Russian forces,” said reconnais-sance platoon leader 1st Lt. Nathan J.Wasser, from Castle Rock, Colo. “Opera-tions like this show that SFOR is a multi-national force, accomplishing the samegoals—planning and working together.”

Prior to the patrol U.S. scouts and theirRussian partners discussed joint actionsin the event of hostile contact. They sharedintelligence information about the areasinto which they would be traveling, andthey exchanged troops so a scout could ridein a BTR-80 and a Russian soldier couldtravel in a HMMWV.

“In this HMMWV I have a Swedishsoldier on one side of me and a Russiansoldier on the other,” said gunner Spc.Eric Templeton, 20, from Philadelphia.

By Capt. TAWANNA R. BROWN350th MPAD

Templeton said he did not notice signifi-cant differences between the groups’ op-erations. “It’s clear they know whatthey’re doing. I guess, in some ways, a sol-dier is a soldier.”

Aside from working with other SFORsoldiers, inspecting Russian vehiclesproved to be one of the highlights for thescouts. “As scouts, we study vehicles,”said Sgt. 1st Class Fernando Lopez, 41,

from Livermore, Calif. “Our job is to learnand know everything about militaryequipment from other armies. This is thefirst time I’ve actually seen the BTR-80,other than in pictures.”

Sgt. John H. Silber, 30, from Beeville,Texas, was the fortunate soldier selectedto ride in the BTR-80.

When the Russian commander askedwhat Wasser thought of the Russian sol-

diers, Wasser said, “They’revery professional. They knowhow to conduct themselves.They handle their weaponscorrectly. They take ordersand they move out. I’m veryimpressed.”

Capt. Vadim Slusakenko,the Russian commander,was equally impressed withthe scouts. “Professionals!We understand each other.”He said, pointing to himselfand Wasser.

The scouts hope to contin-ue the joint patrols. Staff Sgt.Gerald E. Resmond, 25, fromPalm Beach, Fla., and Spc.Edward A. Hodgson, 23, fromBridgewater, Mass., bothagreed that the operation wasa great morale builder.

“It’s good getting to knowthese guys,” said Spc. HarrySchroeder, 22, of Reno, Nev.“I grew up learning about thebig, mean Russians; now I’mseeing that they’re just peo-ple too.

“They’re soldiers doingtheir jobs. They’re a lot likeus.”

Capt. Tawanna R. Brown

Leaders from 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry scouts and a Russian AirborneCompany confirm their route in preparation for a joint patrol.

Capt.Tawanna R. Brown

First Battalion 26th Infantry scouts talk with Russian soldiers upon completing adismounted patrol.

Americans, Russians patrol together

The Talon Friday, January 3, 1997Page 10

GUARDIAN BASE — The unmis-takable sound of whirling rotorblades passes overhead. You no-tice the bright red cross on theside of the helicopter. Perhaps itis a training mission, or worse, adire medical emergency. Eitherway, you can rest assured thatyou will hear those rotors whenyou need help the most.

The 45th Medical Company(Air Ambulance), flying out of theBlue Factory, provides peace ofmind for military personnel sta-tioned at base camps or remoteobservation posts. Their purposeis to do whatever it takes to reacha patient, and to keep them alive.

These medical experts have re-sponded to 22 medevac missionssince arriving in Bosnia-Herze-govina Oct. 28. Their mission alsoinvolves movement of medicalsupplies and whole bloodthroughout the theater, includingHungary and Croatia.

“We can take off at a moment’snotice,” said company command-er Maj. John P. Cook, 42, of Seda-lia, Miss. “Our aircraft are in hang-ers, safe from ice, so we are ready24 hours a day, seven days a week.We can reach any base camp with-in 30 minutes flight time. Our pi-lots don’t have the option of wait-ing out bad weather, they have tofly. We have to go if someone isout there dying. I feel totally confident thatmy pilots will find a way to get to that pa-tient. This theater of operation has the bestmedevac company watching over it.”

There are two possible methods of evac-

uation in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Besides airambulance support, the NORMEDCOYautomatically launches a SISU, an am-phibious, six-wheeled, armored personnelcarrier with a medevac configuration.

“SISUs are totally equipped formedical emergencies,” Cook said.“They can bring a doctor or anurse along inside them. While intransit, we’re in constant commu-nication with the Norwegian med-ical personnel from our aircraft.We both arrive at the same point.If the helicopter can’t get to thescene, the SISU will continue onand get the patient. We then un-dergo a patient exchange at aplace where we both have access.We then take the patient to thehospital by air from that time on.We work in tandem with each oth-er.”

When not on medevac mis-sions, the flight medics spendtheir spare time reading medicalmanuals and practicing tech-niques with life saving equipment.

“Everyone here is highlytrained,” Cook said. “The pilots,flight medics, and crew chiefs con-stantly train to be prepared whensomeone needs us. We want ev-eryone here to take great comfortin knowing that if something hap-pens, we will be there preparedas quickly as possible. That is ourentire mission in life. We are to-tally dedicated to providing emer-gency health care.”

“If our American soldiers aredeployed somewhere, I think weshould also be there to provide oursupport even though other nationshave medevac capabilities,” StaffSgt Michael A. Bowie said. “I want

to be here to help them.”If a medical emergency occurs and you

have no radio access, there is a dedicatedemergency MSE line directly to the mede-vac company: 558-9999.

By Staff Sgt. BRENDA BENNER100th MPAD

Staff Sgt. Brenda Benner

Medical flight instructor Staff Sgt. Michael A. Bowie(left), of the 45th Medical Company (Air Ambulance),teaches medevac hoist operations to Danishengineers with the help of his demonstrator, Pvt. JanLouborg.

Medical unit specializes in emergencies

When the 101st Military IntelligenceBattalion came to Bosnia-Herzegovinain November, they inherited two mis-sions from the outgoing 205th MI Bde.— provide tactical intelligence for TaskForce Eagle and attend school.

On Dec. 9, a dozen members of the101st traveled to Tuzla to visit PazarElementary School. Their purpose wasto continue a tradition of service andcultural exchange.

“The 205th established this relation-ship in early 1996,” said Capt.. Kent L.

By Sgt. JANET S. PETERS350th MPAD

Military intelligence soldiers go to schoolWebber, logistics officer in charge forthe 101st. “When we inherited theirmilitary mission we also decided tocontinue their sponsorship of theschool. We’re not only interested inhelping with donations from our fami-ly support group, we’re also interest-ed in learning from them about the richBosnian culture.”

During their visit, the soldiers metwith Principal Emin Sisic and severalteachers at the school to discuss theirneeds. After a short tour to severalclassrooms, the soldiers unloaded box-es of clothing donated by their fami-lies back home in Germany. Exuberant

school children were more than eagerto help.

“It was a very positive experience,”said Battalion Commander Lt. Col. MarkVolk. “Being able to interact with peo-ple, especially the kids, is one of themost rewarding things we can do here.”

Sisic told his guests that 10 percentof their 561 students are without par-ents and very poor. He is attempting toteach the children to work, have initia-tive and earn the goodwill donations.

“They have better living now andhave cheered up,” Sisic said. “Beforethe Dayton Agreement the situation wasmuch, much worse — dangerous.”

The TalonFriday, January 3, 1997 Page 11

CAMP DOBOL — Show and tell isn’tjust for school children. It’s for soldiersas well. Company C, 1st Battalion, 26thInfantry soldiers, brought out some oftheir equipment for visiting soldiersfrom the Swedish Battalion.

“Monthly, we exchange 15 soldiersfrom the Swedish Battalion and 15 ofours,” said 2nd Lt. John M. Grantz, 24.“We review some of the differences andsimilarities in combat and peacekeep-ing techniques and tactics.

“The big thing is to show them ourvehicles and weapon systems,” saidGrantz, a native of Spotsylvania, Pa.

The first vehicle they looked at wasthe M981 FIST V, the fire support ele-ment’s vehicle that typically fires cop-perhead missiles.

“We focus on capabilities of the equip-ment and the vehicle,” said Staff Sgt.Anthony Medina, the fire support non-commissioned officer from Lake Gua-jataca Quebradillas, Puerto Rico.

“The soldiers seem pretty satisfiedand happy about it (the exchange).”

Swedish soldiers also had an oppor-tunity to see an M1A1 Abrams MainBattle Tank.

For some, it was a first. “We haven’tany tanks in Latvia.

“Now I know what a tank is and what

By Spc. J. CRAIG PICKETT350th MPAD

Spc. J. Craig Pickett

Swedish exchange soldiers exit an M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicleat Camp Dobol after they spent the day with members of Company C, 1stBattalion, 26th Infantry. The soldiers were given a ride to checkpoints inthe area.

Scouts work with Swedes

CHECKPOINT W30 — CheckpointWhiskey-Three-Zero has risen tonew heights with the changing ofthe guard.

Each rotation of soldiers takingover the checkpoint continues toimprove force protection levelsand the comforts of life.

“We’ve restructured the en-tire force protection to our bat-talion standards,” said Staff Sgt.Rob J. Canarios, of 1st Platoon,Team B, 1st Battalion, 26th In-fantry Regiment. They have alsoadded more concertina wire, re-placed old tr ip f lares and in-creased the lighting to give abetter view at night.

“Our main purpose is to allowfreedom of movement,” said Ca-narios, 32, from Seattle, Wash.“It’s also to make sure contra-band, such as small arms and gre-nades, aren’t transported acrossthe zone of separation.”

The checkpoint is located inthe ZOS on route Mississippi.

Soldiers monitor it 24 hours aday, seven days a week, promot-ing freedom of movement.

“Whenever a civilian comes up,a translator is called to the gateand makes it clear they can passthrough the ZOS,” Canarios said.

When a convoy comes throughthe checkpoint, the guard notesthe number of vehicles and per-sonnel, where the convoy is com-ing from, and where it is headed.

All of this information is loggedand could be useful in case an in-cident occurs.

Taft said they alternate shifts.“No one gets stuck with the grave-yard shift at night, and no onegets the best shift during the day.It rotates everyday. You get anight shift, then a day shift. Itworks out best for everybody.”

The dining facility is the cen-ter of most activity. Soldiers con-gregate to talk, eat and watchmovies.

Food is brought to the check-point once in the morning andagain in the evening.

The logistical support vehiclethat brings the meals also ferriestroops back and forth to CampDemi so they can take showers,shop at the PX and use thephones.

it can do,” said Lance Cpl. Evo Svikis, aLatvian soldier who is serving with theSwedish Battalion.

“Now, when I go home, I’ll be able totell about them,” he said

And that’s the whole idea behind theexchange program — allowing soldiersto see how other soldiers do their job.

“It’s a good way to get involved withother member nations of SFOR and it’sbeen a pretty good morale boost for thetroops,” Grantz said.

After the tour of Camp Dobol, Grantzand members of Company C took the ex-change soldiers for a ride in their M2Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles.

They rode out to checkpoint Sierra 10and Rock Observation Post near CampDobol. They toured the mess tent, livingquarters and various fighting positions.

Svikis said the Bradleys would be ef-fective in battle and had impressiveweaponry, but found the back to becramped and noisy.

Judging by the smiles on the soldiers’faces though, it was evident that theyenjoyed their ride.

At the end of the day, Grantz said,“I’ve learned that people are prettymuch the same everywhere. Their sys-tem is very similar to ours.”

With this Swedish unit fast becom-ing the sister unit of Company C, themen are looking forward to more ex-changes.

New rotation improvescheckpoint conditionsBy Spc. J. CRAIG PICKETT350th MPAD

The Talon Friday, January 3, 1997Page 12

ARTILLERYfrom page 1

Spc. Aaron Reed

Pfc. Patrick M. Kelley, a scout with HHB, 4-3 ADA, keeps a close eye on his sectionof the Eagle Base perimeter from Observation Post Quebec.

“When we get back, wemight not want to cookanymore.”

— Sgt. Larney Hoking

in the battalion’s dailyBUBs, enlisted soldiers putout the same informationcaptains and majors brieftwice-a-day at division head-quarters. “Why not?” saidHunt. “Say I’m taken out ofthe loop for some reason.These soldiers are all lead-ers. That’s our philosophy.All I do is make sure the in-formation is straight and cor-rect and the soldiers are com-fortable giving a briefing.”

“Power-down impressesme,” said Sgt. Enrique Carde-nas, a Btry. D Avenger teamchief from Branson, Mo.“Usually it’s the job of theleader to throw out all thatthunder; it’s hard for him toshare it. Power-down keepseveryone informed. I could bekilled, and my gunner, a spe-cialist, can step up. It takesaway a weakness.”

Spc. Ethan M. Weeks, adriver from Lockport, N.Y.,also assigned to Btry. D, saidpower-down is a career-booster for him. “What theyused to do, they’d take theJoe out of the loop,” he said.“Here, in our convoys, every-one gives a safety briefing.For someone like me, that’sreal nice. Now I’m more pre-pared for the next level.”

Another benefit, Cardenassaid, is that sharing the re-sponsibility makes soldiersthink more. “Before, thingswere just dictated. Soldiersweren’t retaining informa-tion, because they knew theywould be told again.”

Sharing information andresponsibility is one way theair defenders stay sharp. An-other is doing a job — even ifit’s not a traditional air de-fense mission — day in andday out and boning up oncommon task training duringlong guard shifts.

“As far as ADA skills, wedon’t get to do much of that,”said Capt. Brian M. Brandt,Battery B commander and St.Petersburg, Fla., native.“We’re doing a lot of individ-ual soldier training. We’relearning infantry skills, andby doing QRF with the Brad-

leys, it enables the soldiers tokeep up their skills withthose.”

Brandt said that, after re-covery and leave time, itwould take only 4-6 weeks toretrain his soldiers for theirwartime mission. “We’re do-ing about 75 percent of whatwe normally do,” he said. “Wedo have the Stingers (a man-portablesurface-t o - a i rmiss i lesystem)out hereand thesoldierspracticeuploading, using the IFF (iden-tification, friend or foe) sys-tem, and so on. Any retrain-ing would just be time spentgoing out and doing some pla-toon exercises.”

But for some members ofthe battalion, their military oc-cupational specialties are onlymemories.

Take Sgt. Larney Hoking forinstance. A food service su-pervisor from Marietta, Ga.,Hoking now works as a scoutin Headquarters and Head-quarters Battery. “I had nochoice,” he said, while onguard at Observation PostQuebec last week.

“I had to adapt and over-come quickly. Our mission

right now is to guard this air-field. It’s the only one we’vegot in this part of the country,and we have to make sure noone comes through the perim-eter.”

Pfc. Patrick M. Kelley, anearly warning system operatorfrom Reno, Nev., also is work-ing as a scout. “For me, sinceI got to Germany, this is all I’ve

b e e ndoing,”he said.

Kelleys a i dthere isa brightside tonot be-

ing able to do the job he signedup for. “All we can have outhere at the OP is military liter-ature, so we do a lot of study-ing. And between the gym anddismounted patrols, you keepin pretty good shape.”

Hoking added that not be-ing able to practice his militaryprofession has had a big im-pact on him. “I’m definitely af-fected; I think all the cooksare,” he said. “When we getback, we might not want tocook anymore.”

Sgt. Ian P. Bush, a Btry. Bheadquarters squad leadermanning a M2 Bradley StingerFighting Vehicle at the EagleBase West Gate, said the vari-ety of jobs he gets to do keeps

him from getting compla-cent.

“One week is Bradleyweek, the next week we’llrove, and the week after thatwe’ll move to a different po-sition,” he said. “It’s a goodway to judge how longyou’ve been here.”

Bush, a Mineville, N.Y.,native, said superior plan-ning and training before thebattalion’s deploymenthelped the soldiers adapt totheir unorthodox role in Bos-nia-Herzegovina.

“It’s the commander’s in-tent that this operation is pri-marily NCO-run,” he said.“The officers issue op or-ders and it’s up to the NCOsto see that the mission is ac-complished.”

Bush said he thinks en-listed soldiers can’t help tak-ing a greater leadership role.“We’ve got young special-ists doing the jobs of juniorNCOs — and they’re doinggreat.”

“The 4-3 ADA family sup-port program makes doinga tough job a lot easier. Thefamily support group back inthe rear is great — they sendus newsletters so we don’tlose touch with what’s go-ing on back home. Our fam-ilies have been really under-standing. The battalion itselfis like a family.