Indiana National Guard – SFOR 15 Bosnia - Herzegovina

Many fine books and articles exist to tell the story of the history of the war in Bosnia in the early 1990s. Two good ones that I read during our training period for this mission were “Yugoslavia, Death of a Nation” by Laura Silber on the causes of the conflict and “Balkan Battlegrounds” on the war itself. In Bosnia’s civil war, the number killed is somewhere between 50,000 and 250,000 depending on which organization gives the numbers. Bosnia's state Health Protection Office gives the following casualty figures for 1992-1995: “Killed/missed are 278,000 people (6.37% of pre-war B-H population), and displaced 1.37 million residents of B-H (31.39%).” The ratio of wounded (attended by a doctor) to killed is roughly 4 to 1, so there were more than a million wounded. Similar percentages applied to America would mean more than 17 million dead, 65 million wounded and 80 million homeless. Though beautiful, Bosnia’s rugged terrain can mean that homelessness is a death sentence. The process was labeled as “ethnic cleansing”.

The United Nations was ineffective in stopping the conflict, and at times seemed to make the situation worse. One of the worst examples of this is found in the story of Srebrenica. Fighting between Bosnians and Serbs swirled around the small town. The United Nations offered the Bosnians “safe haven” at Srebrenica if their soldiers would lay down their arms. Thousands fled into town. However, when one Serb paramilitary group approached the area, the United Nations ordered its peace keepers to stand aside and not interfere. When the gunfire ceased, several thousand Bosnian men and boys were dead. The dead are buried in a small valley near the town of Potocari. Because the killers sought to hide many of the mass graves, bodies are still being found.

The siege of Sarajevo caught the world’s attention. Sarajevo is the capitol of Bosnia-Herzegovina. I first learned of it in history class as the city where a Serb assassin killed Archduke Ferdinand of Austria and sparked the First World War. It embraced a happier place in history when it hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics. With the collapse of the USSR, the countries of Eastern Europe found themselves in a power vacuum. Several, notably Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, were home to a variety of strong ethnic groups. Unfortunately for Yugoslavia, politicians and military leaders grabbed for power, and some of the most successful were the most ruthless. On March 3, 1992, political leaders in Bosnia-Herzegovina declared independence from Yugoslavia and named Sarajevo the capitol of the new republic. The Yugoslavian military, seeking to keep Yugoslavia intact, opposed this. For two months, tensions heightened. On April 5, 1992, Serbs opened fire on a peace march and killed two young women as they crossed a bridge in downtown Sarajevo. Some consider this the official start of the siege, though the city was not effectively ringed by Serb military until the end of April.

The Yugoslavian military had the artillery and the tanks, but the Sarajevans effectively used the maze of the city to hold them off. They would wait until a tank was in a narrow street and blow its treads. Then it sat like a cork in a bottle. The Sarajevans would not give in. Many were shot by snipers or killed by artillery and mortars as they sought water and food. Open air markets were the only places to find food, clothes etc. There were times when artillery and mortar shells from the besiegers hit those markets. Courageous news crews reported the siege from within the city. This picture (left) shows the body of seven-year-old sniper victim Nermin Divovic (Photo by Enric Marti).

Individual deaths by sniper bullet were so common they dulled the sense of outrage. But film crews succeeded in showing the West the footage of what happens when a large artillery or mortar round smashes into a market filled with shoppers. Sarajevans made simple monuments to the victims of such massacres. At every site where a shell killed more than 5 people, they filled the crater with red cement to create what is called a “Sarajevo rose.” Unfortunately, there are many Sarajevo roses in this city. The picture on the right shows one at the wall of the Catholic Cathedral in Sarajevo. Deep shrapnel scars on the wall give an idea of the force of the metal fragments that tore though the people there.

Here is a listing I compiled of some of the worst events: May 27, 1992 a mortar shell killed 16 people in a bread line; June 1, 1993 mortar kills 15, wounds 100 at soccer game; June 12, 1993, artillery kills 8 at funeral; June 27, 1993, mortar kills seven youths aged 4-22; January 22, 1994, mortar kills six children sledding; February 4, 1994, mortar kills 10, wounds 18 in food line; February 5, 1994, mortar kills 68 and wounds over 200 shoppers at the Merkale Market. The numbers of dead and wounded in each event are disputed, but the thousands of graves in the field outside the Olympic stadium speak volumes, as do Serbian news reels showing Serb snipers and artillery firing into the city.

Unfortunately, the United Nations again was ineffective in stopping the killing. One old man, interviewed in a newsreel said, “We have no use for peacekeepers, there is no peace to keep. We need someone to be a peacemaker.” After the Merkale massacre the United States and countries of Western Europe decided intervention was necessary; a peacemaker had to come from outside Yugoslavia. They brought political will and the military force of NATO into action. The result of NATO action and political mediation led by United States President Bill Clinton, was the Dayton Peace Accords signed on December 14, 1995. An international organization with political, judicial, monetary and military powers would enforce the peace and create conditions for continued peace maintained by the Bosnians themselves. IFOR and SFOR were to implement the military portion of this organization.

The United Nations was displaced by a 60,000 soldier NATO-led Implementation Force (IFOR) which worked to stop the fighting and create zones of separation. There would be one country, Bosnia-Herzegovina, but it would have two entities, the “Federation” and the “Republic of Srpska.” with a demilitarized zone between them. Their weapons went to specified sites for storage or destruction. Illegal weapons caches were rooted out and destroyed. IFOR also opened the roads and repaired or replaced bridges so that commerce, relief agencies and people were once again free to safely move about. Bosnia-Herzegovina did not revert to its prewar state. Ethnic cleansing had been too successful, as is shown if you compare the ethnic distribution before the war (left) and after the war (right). At least now, however, there would be peace, the opportunity to rebuild, and justice instead of revenge.

The first peaceful elections were the signal for the Stabilization Force (SFOR) to replace IFOR. SFOR troops came from NATO, the British Commonwealth countries and many non-NATO countries interested in stability and peace in the region. SFOR organized into three regional task forces with overall NATO headquarters at Sarajevo. An American unit has typically led those troops in the north eastern sector of Bosnia-Herzegovina. This sector has been named Multi-National Division (MND), Multi-National Brigade (MNB) and Multi-National Task Force (MNTF) North. Each denotes that the number of SFOR troops has continually decreased as Bosnian systems assumed more and more control. The goal was that eventually SFOR would no longer be needed. Our SFOR 15 signaled that Bosnia had reached that goal; we were the last SFOR force. The units that served as the primary force in our sector are a proud roll call of the United States Army. We in the 38^th Infantry Division were proud to take our place in the line when our time came. This picture shows their unit crests while our Task Force Sergeant Major, CSM Severe stands guard.

SFOR had several tasks. One was to continue the drawdown in weapons held by proper Bosnian forces and ensure there was no need for an arms race. SFOR also worked to find, seize and destroy illegal weapons. SFOR assisted in the discovery and removal of mines and unexploded ordinance (called UXO). This took on a rather unusual twist for our engineers when a very low river exposed a World War II heavy bomb next to a vital bridge. They could not explode it without damaging the bridge, so they burned it out as one would a flare, just a very giant flare.

SFOR did not take sides. Bravery and humanity were present in all groups. Croats, Bosnians and Serbs risked their lives for peace. Unfortunately all of the groups also had criminals in their midst. We SFOR peacekeepers were there to protect and aid those seeking peace and justice instead of power or retribution. SFOR did an excellent job at this. It gained a reputation for honesty, courage and impartiality. The people learned to believe they were safer with us than with their neighbor who had the secret arms cache. Many of our discoveries were made possible by tips from the Bosnians who wanted the safety and peace we offered. Another thing I noticed was that many of the discovered weapons were in a very sorry, often ruined state. SFOR had been so good at finding them that die-hards resorted to burial and other methods of hiding that led to rapid deterioration. So, even though some weapons probably escaped our vigilance, there is a good chance many will no longer function.

I believe SFOR’s primary task was its support of the civilian agencies working to restore the various civil organizations needed for a lasting peace. This meant the reestablishment of rule of law, support for honest judges and police and removal of the corrupt, free flow of commerce for food and jobs and assisting many international civilian aid agencies. To do this SFOR needed to be among the people. SFOR patrolled to discourage illegal activities and keep still-raw feelings from igniting conflict. Patrols could also gather information that led to the seizure of illegal arms or possible war criminals. As the people responded to the work of peace, SFOR responded by decreasing its presence. Besides decreasing troop numbers, troop convoy size decreased, as did armament. The Chaplain of an earlier SFOR expressed surprise when he learned our Chaplain teams went out in single vehicles with just two armed personnel. We had our body armor with us but did not wear it. In his time Chaplain teams were in two to three vehicle convoys, heavily armed and armored. We knew there was some risk to going out lightly armed, but part of what we were doing in SFOR 15 was to show the Bosnians our confidence that they could maintain the peace once we left. During SFOR 15 we also transitioned our forward troops from walled camps to local houses in the communities. We called them LOT houses. People with a need, complaint or exposed mine knew they could go to one of these houses and our soldiers would work to get them the remedy they needed. One of our LOT houses turned out to have been a bordello at one time. This caused some concern until we found it was one of our most effective houses. Just about everyone in that city knew where it was.

SFOR preached mine awareness. Nine years of peace meant that the children had become ignorant to the appearance of mines, shells and grenades. This was a good sign since it meant they were learning war no more. But it also meant danger because so many mines and unexploded shells remained.

This task included digging out and destroying illegal arms caches, and assisting in the apprehension of those war criminals still at large. We also provided stability and security for businesses to reopen and rebuilding to begin.

SFOR did an outstanding job in Bosnia. Those willing to believe well of America and democracy would benefit from studying our intervention here. Twice in the last century instability, nationalism and ethnic grievances in this part of the world plunged the whole world into war. Here an international coalition prevented that. There was no immediate financial prize here for those peacemakers. There is no oil under Sarajevo, Tuzla or Zvornik. For those interested in appearances there was nothing to gain and much to lose. There could be no triumphal victory parade because prevention is unprovable, but there would be recriminations if the mission failed. Here the solution involved military might, but only as a balanced part of political, financial, religious and social efforts. Here America, the British Commonwealth and Western Europe were patient and kept up the effort until the peacemakers had truly routed the warmongers. The warmongers had tried to say different cultures could not live together in peace. The NATO coalition was a multicultural effort. When the Bosnians saw American troops they saw the colors of the rainbow in our skin. Our dog tags spelled out over 50 different religious faiths. Whenever I spoke to civic groups or religious leaders in Bosnia I pointed to America’s strength. I liked to explain how we were strong because of our differences, not in spite of them.

As did their predecessors, SFOR 15 soldiers went above and beyond. The Bosnians, being mostly Moslem, had a special kinship with our Turkish Battalion. The Turkish soldiers helped rebuild and furnish schools and did medical missions to isolated communities. American units did such missions (called MEDCAPs) as well. I was privileged to participate in one MEDCAP that was a joint Turkish and American effort. We drove back into the mountains to a small village with a school large enough to serve as the clinic. The people walked in from miles around. They served us their special coffee and sweet pastries the whole time we were there. The kids talked the Turkish commander into an impromptu soccer game. It was an international effort as Turkish and American Docs, Dentists, Medics and Nurses healed many a person that day. I gave out toys to the youngsters who faced a needle or getting their teeth worked on. Mainly I tried not to get in the way. SFOR soldiers found those aid organizations that were doing an especially good job or a school or hospital that needed help. They then helped them with their spare time and by having family and friends send support from back home. One such group that our Chaplain teams adopted was “Friends of Bosnia” which was run by Edmina of Bosnia and Chris Bragdon of the U.S. Chris and Edmina worked from a closet-size office to promote education, especially in computer skills, for jobs. The Chaplains got them computers, programs and funds, all donated. As GIs always have, our soldiers bought candy and cookies with their own money and gave them out to the children during patrols. These efforts by our soldiers were not propaganda; most were never recorded. They were works of genuine goodwill for a fine people who had gone through a rough time – one human being to another.

The Department of Defense tagged the 38^th Infantry Division, Army National Guard, to lead the United State’s portion of SFOR-15 in, Multinational Task Force – North (MNTF (N)). We had responsibility for the northeast third of Bosnia-Herzegovina. SFOR headquarters was a NATO force in Sarajevo. Our primary base became Eagle Base south of Tuzla. Our Task Force leadership came mainly from the National Guard in Indiana, Kentucky and Michigan. Ours was just one of three major efforts involving the 38^th Infantry Division and Indiana National Guard in 2004-5. Other 38^th Infantry Division troops, mainly from Ohio units, would train and then deploy to Kosovo as part of the KFOR effort there. Indiana’s 76^th Infantry Brigade was in training and would deploy to Afghanistan. Those called up for Bosnia trained throughout 2003. We mobilized on 2 January 2004, trained at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, and then crossed the pond in February for further training at Hohenfels, Germany. There our training included specially built “towns” populated with German civilian actors. There we honed our skills at negotiation, crowd control, patrolling and even dealing with reporters. It was as close as possible to situations, organizations and people we would encounter in Bosnia. The Army certified us as ready and we entered Bosnia in March of 2004.

Indiana soldiers had been in Bosnia several years earlier as part of other SFOR deployments. During one of his visits, MG Umbarger, Indiana’s Adjutant General, mentioned that from Sept 11, 2001 to that summer day in 2004 over 8,000 of Indiana’s 12,000 Guard soldiers had been deployed. Our service to country did not stop there. Indiana’s 76^th Brigade deployed the entire Brigade to Iraq in 2008, Indiana Medical, MP and Aviation units have deployed to Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan and headquarter elements of the 38^th Combat Aviation Brigade and 38^th Infantry Division are deploying to combat zones before the end of 2009. Last year Indiana had the highest percentage of National Guard soldiers deployed of any State in the Union.

For SFOR 15, our main military units were American, Polish, Turkish and Portuguese. Though most of our American soldiers were from Indiana National Guard Infantry units, we were a full-spectrum force with many specialties and from many States in the Union. Many Army units have had the honor of service and leadership in our sector. Initially the U.S. units were in division strength. They did their job so well, and the Bosnian effort was so effective, that our U.S. troop needs diminished over the years as the Bosnians assumed more and more of the peacekeeping and security roles. Our predecessors were members of the 34^th Infantry Division (Red Bulls), another National Guard unit. I saw this rich history every time I did services at the base Chapel, because their unit crests were embedded in the chapel floor.

Eagle Base was once a major Yugoslav air base for MIG and Sukhoi fighter planes. It was our main base in MNB-N. Earlier SFOR rotations had a number of major bases, including Camp Comanche and Camp McGovern as well as many smaller camps. With the draw-down of U.S. troops, many of these bases were closed and turned over to the Bosnians. By the time we arrived we were down to Eagle Base and two company-size camps, Camp Morgan and Camp Clark. Though these had fewer comforts, the soldiers liked them because they didn’t get so many visits from the “brass”.

I found that one of the benefits of being a peacekeeper was that I had an opportunity to learn of other cultures and see parts of God’s creation I would otherwise have missed. I love the country. It’s as though God, after spreading beauty over the planet, still had one sack left and emptied it here. If you took the finest natural parks in America and packed them into the State of Indiana, you would have Bosnia – Herzegovina. Click here for a fuller description.

. Bosnia shows more progress toward recovery than I saw in Kosovo. In the three hour drive from Skopje to Pristina, Kosovo through the mountain passes there were few restaurants, inns or shops. Here, going through the passes on the way to Sarajevo we drive by a series of “Scenic Overlook” Restaurants. Lambs turn on open flame spits powered by water wheels

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