1,000 Schofield troops Bosnia-bound
By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer
Under pouring rain yesterday, Maj. Gen. Charles Swannack Jr. received the flag of Task Force Eagle as more than 1,000 Schofield Barracks soldiers were activated for deployment to Bosnia-Herzegovina in March for peacekeeping duties.
Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser
"Just getting ready for the Bosnia weather," quipped one soldier as hundreds of those troops stood soaking at formation or watched from tents at Canby Field as Swannack assumed command of Task Force Eagle Stabilization Force 11.
Members of the 25th Infantry Division (Light) took part in the Task Force Eagle activation ceremony held at Schofield Barracks yesterday.
Some 1,000 to 1,200 Schofield Barracks soldiers; National Guard units from Utah, Montana, Indiana and Oregon; and Reservists from around the country will round out the U.S. force of about 3,000 scheduled for a six-month deployment to the northeastern Bosnian city of Tuzla.
Since 1995, the United States has provided forces in support of the NATO-led peacekeeping operation. The multi-national effort followed the 1992-95 war and Bosnia's break from the Yugoslav republic.
While much of the world's attention is focused on Afghanistan, Maj. Gen. James Dubik, commanding general of the 25th Infantry Division (Light) and U.S. Army Hawai'i, said it's "important to keep the peace around the world where our interests and the interests of our allies are at stake, and Bosnia is one more representation of that."
The mission in Bosnia is under continuous review, Dubik said, but he said it would be unlikely that the force would be diverted to a trouble spot like Afghanistan. The deployment is the first for the 25th Division "Tropic Lightning" to Bosnia.
Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry and other units will be issued winter parkas, receive cultural familiarization training for the Balkans deployment, and in January, head to Fort Polk, La. for a rehearsal of the mission.
The unit was one of the first to go through live-fire training at Makua Valley recently following a three-year halt to the exercises.
Dubik said the training was important because although the Bosnia mission is geared toward peacekeeping, "any one of these operations could transition to a combat situation."
"So the units going into the country of Bosnia have to be prepared for combat even if we don't expect it," Dubik said.
Today, Task Force Eagle soldiers are training at Schofield Barracks at a "Military Operations Urban Terrain" mockup of a Bosnian village where scenarios will include villagers asking for food, soldiers coming under sniper fire, and a troop truck rolling over a land mine.
Capt. Lee Peters, 31, who will be a company commander in charge of 81 soldiers in Bosnia, said land mines are a widespread concern.
"That's probably the biggest concern they've had," Peters said. "Farmers every day turn up mines and bring them to U.S. forces or the (other NATO) forces in Bosnia."
In addition to patrols and outreach to the local community, NATO forces supervise the removal of mines.
Dubik said the primary focus of the 25th Division is the Pacific, "but we have the capability of going anywhere in the world to do any mission, and this is an example of that capability."
Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5459.
