By Rudi Williams
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON -- U.S. and Russian troops will soon be conducting
combined patrols
in the American sector of Kosovo to ease the fears of ethnic
Albanian and Serb
civilians and to enhance communications between the two
peacekeeping forces,
Army Brig. Gen. John Craddock said July 13.
"I've talked with the Russian commander of forces in Kosovo ...
and he seemed
agreeable," Craddock told Pentagon reporters in a two-way
telephone interview
from his Kosovo headquarters. Operational details will be worked
out when the
main body of a Russian battalion sets up camp. Right now, an
advance element of
about 80 Russian troops is in place and is expected to swell
about 500 in a few
days, said Craddock, commander of U.S. forces in Kosovo.
An agreement between Moscow and NATO calls for more than 3,000
Russian troops to
be stationed in NATO-designated sectors of Kosovo, but they
won't have their own
sector.
The Russian presence has sparked some peaceful ethnic Albanian
protests,
Craddock noted. "Obviously, there's concern there with the
perceived
relationship between the Russians and the Serbs," the general
said. "We're
watching that carefully, but I'm not worried about that
situation at this time."
Craddock said a U.S. liaison element with the advanced Russian
force will remain
with the Russian battalion. "We're pretty much using the Bosnia
model in terms
of how we will communicate, liaison and operate," he said.
"There will be
representatives from the Russian element at my headquarters, but
not on my
staff."
The total force in the U.S. sector is about 6,500 troops, which
will stabilize
at about 7,000. This includes a 750-man Polish airborne infantry
battalion and a
550-man Greek mechanized infantry battalion.
Emphasizing the peacekeepers protect everybody, Craddock said
Serbs and
Albanians receive equal protection. "We're here to provide a
safe and secure
environment and we don't discriminate. Everybody has a right to
live ... without
being endangered [by] others," he said.
He said the Serbs are "reticent and concerned" about their
safety, and Serb
enclaves are more withdrawn than Albanian ones. "When you move
through a Serb
town or village, they don't come out and welcome you like the
Albanians do,"
Craddock said. "They're not as friendly."
Lawlessness is down, "but still not to the point we want it,"
Craddock noted. He
has set up military police stations throughout the sector to
respond to cries
for help from Serbs and Albanians alike. He's also clamping down
on instances of
house burning and random shootings.
"If a Serb family calls and needs help, we're there," he said.
"If a Serb wants
protection for movement from one place to another, we'll do what
we have to
escort them."
American peacekeepers "are on the beat, on the street day and
night, trying to
keep the peace," Craddock said. "We're not holed up in the
precinct house or in
the base camp. Our guys are out there doing their jobs and doing
them well.
That's when we draw fire."
A nine-day lull in attacks on U.S. troops ended in early July,
Craddock said. He
said the gunfire didn't seem to be part of a coordinated effort.
The international community is providing law enforcement help.
So far, there's a
U.N. police commissioner from Denmark and a Canadian police
liaison. The 37
international policemen on duty in Kosovo on July 12 will
ultimately grow to a
force of up to 4,000. This force will deactivate when local
forces are in place,
he said.
The general said local police forces, called the Kosovo Police
System, is being
formed. The U.N. police commissioner will interview candidates
for a six-week
police academy scheduled to start in August with about 160
students, he noted.
Subsequent classes will have as many as 500 students, and all
must attend
subsequent weekly training classes for a year.
The United States is also providing emergency medical and dental
services for
Serbs and Albanians in the area. Combat engineers, besides
building the U.S.
base camps, are supporting civic reconstruction on an emergency
basis. And
peacekeepers are providing assistance or work crews to help
clean up some of the
towns, Craddock said.
He said a U.N.-organized magistrate system of nine local judges
and magistrates
move through brigade areas to review cases, document evidence
and confirm or
deny the case. "We have 22 people in detention and four being
detained in
hospitals based upon injuries or wounds," he noted.
Most communities now have their water turned on at least 12
hours per day, the
general noted. Brown-outs are normal; no one has full electrical
power yet, he
said, adding there are spot shortfalls of fuel for buses.
The number of U.S. casualties is well below his expectations. "I
was most
concerned about land mines and unexploded ordnance," Craddock
said. "I think
we've done a credible job in mine awareness training and our
soldiers are aware
of that and are very careful."
He said situational awareness is the key and the soldiers are
wary, alert and
vigilant.
"We operate in a wingman concept. Never a single vehicle out
there. There are at
least two vehicles with two people in each vehicle everywhere
soldiers go,"
Craddock said. "When soldiers patrol towns, we operate in
squad-sized elements.
There is never a soldier by himself, out of sight or out of
earshot of another
soldier. I think that goes a long ways with force protection."
