THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, March 11, 1996 TAG: 9603110041
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: Bosnia: Operation Joint Endeavor
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CAMP KIME, BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA LENGTH: Long : 129 lines
So real was the threat that Bosnian Serbs planned to abduct NATO military personnel that no one in the American sector traveled the roads without loaded weapons last week.
``We take showers with our helmets on, and our flak jackets are nearby,'' said Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Jim McPherson, riding shotgun in one of two American Humvees being escorted by two others, both armed with .50-caliber machine guns.
Drivers pace the distance between vehicles, weary of unexpected stops where ambushes are possible. They keep moving, speeding through mountain tunnels until clear of the other side.
Ice, snow, potholes, craters in the road caused by artillery rounds, civilian buses, farm vehicles and other military convoys keep the young Army drivers alert.
Local road maps used by Task Force Eagle personnel are superimposed with American-named routes, such as Utah, Arizona, Hawaii, Michigan, Skoda, or Swallow. They make more sense to the U.S. drivers than Bosnian names.
The four-vehicle convoy is the rule for all travel by American troops in central Bosnia where U.S. forces are responsible for patrolling the zone of separation, or ZOS, as it is called.
The ZOS is a 2.5-mile-wide, irregular piece of real estate that was formed by a 1994 cease-fire agreement between warring factions.
Factions from all sides can cross the ZOS, but not with weapons. Those must be registered, or surrendered if found. Checkpoints are set up at major intersections to monitor both vehicular and pedestrian traffic.
The Bosnian Serb commander, Gen. Ratko Mladic, reportedly ordered his forces to capture NATO soldiers serving with the 60,000-strong international implementation force (IFOR) in Bosnia in retaliation for the arrests of two senior Serb commanders in January.
``Serb leaders want to kidnap IFOR forces,'' said McPherson. ``Our security is not any stricter, but it is strictly enforced.''
Many IFOR personnel discount the Serb threat.
But for now the orders from Maj. Gen. William L. Nash, the Army commander of American forces working with the NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Bosnia, are to stay alert.
Nash, awaiting the arrival of a Polish general at the former Bosnian-run air field that forms Eagle Base Headquarters eight miles south of Tuzla, said his nearly 20,000 American troops are settling into their new homes.
``We even got fresh eggs for breakfast for the first time today,'' he said.
Not all troops are completely comfortable, Nash said. But their creature comforts are improving.
That's welcome news to men such as Sgt. Maj. Phil Bell of Nashville, Tenn., an Army reservist on active duty.
``The quality of life is getting better every day,'' he said. ``It was quite intense when we first got here.
``Showers were sporadic at best. The water temperature was either 300 degrees or 33 degrees. Nothing in between,'' he said.
Laundry services have definitely improved, according to Bell, formerly of Richmond, Va., where he was an advertising executive.
``You would turn in your laundry, get it back and say, `I don't have any underwear again.'
``They would point you toward a big box filled with underwear and say, `Take what you need.' You say, `Thanks.' ''
The Americans seem at ease with most of the everyday concerns of an uncertain peace in a country that has been immersed in civil war for nearly four years.
``The unknown is always there,'' said Sgt. Michael Murphy, standing outside his M-109 self-propelled Howitzer, one of several ringing Camp Kime, about 30 miles north of Eagle Base.
``You have to look for that. But as far as safety, we have roving guards and .50-calibers out, night vision goggles and sights. We take care of ourselves.''
Surrounding his position are an estimated 30,000 mines, according to the soldiers. Throughout the U.S.-controlled sector are upward of 600,000 mines.
``And there are an estimated 1 million to 5 million mines throughout Bosnia,'' said McPherson.
Everyone has thought of spring, when the ground thaws, along with the fuses to some of those mines. The sound of children playing nearby concerns the soldiers.
``You don't walk off the road here,'' said Murphy. ``This whole area to the front of us is considered unsafe. The area behind you is unsafe. It has not been cleared.''
Murphy, assigned to Alpha Battery, of the combined 2nd and 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, is normally headquartered in Germany. He came to Bosnia Dec. 28.
``We're actually enjoying it,'' he said. ``Conditions are getting better. When we first got here we lived in small tents that we carried with us. The grounds were muddy. But we made out.''
Today, he sleeps in heated 12-man tents built over plywood floors. Hot showers are available. So are videos, thanks to one Army sergeant who brought 2,000 of them from home.
``Welcome to Smiley's Place,'' said Staff Sgt. Gary Smiley, a 17-year veteran who knows what lonely soldiers need.
Smiley managed to set up a movie house inside one of the large, tan tents normally used as chow halls. It is complete with portable kerosene heaters, wood benches, a few plywood tables for playing cards and a large-screen television where the troops can enjoy movies during their off hours.
``I've got everything from John Wayne's `True Grit' to `Batman Forever,' '' said Smiley from behind the counter where he sells candy bars, microwave popcorn and sodas. Beer is not allowed.
The movie house is well-attended. Smiley and another soldier operate it during their off-duty hours. It generally is open from 10 a.m. until midnight.
``My main goal is to get it warm enough in here that you'll take off your coat and stay awhile,'' he said.
The temperature stays at a balmy 75 degrees. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Martin Smith-Rodden
Spc. Eddie Schrok of Olache, Kan., keeps watch under a howitzer and
the remains of a Catholic church near Camp Kime.
Photos by Martin Smith-Rodden
An estimated 30,000 mines surround Camp Kime, about an hour north of
Tuzla in Bosnia-Herzegovina, where Army Pvt. 1st Class Eric Arnold
of Wytheville, Va., stands outside the First Brigade Headquarters.
On a remote Bosnian road, residents cheer and salute American
soldiers passing through the Zone of Separation. Because of Serbian
threats, U.N. convoys always contain at least four armed vehicles.
Area Shown: Camp Kime and Eagle Base Headquarters
KEYWORDS: BOSNIA CIVIL WAR OPERATION JOINT ENDEAVOR by CNB