By Jim Maceda
NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT
GNJILANE, Yugoslavia, July 2 — While thousands were in the streets
of Pristina on Friday, celebrating their dream of an independent Kosovo,
only miles away at a U.S. Marine camp was the gritty reality. NBC News
followed the routine of U.S. troops through the eyes of Marine Capt. Tim
Winand of Baltimore, Md.
“This is not going to be a quick
fix,” Brig. Gen. John Craddock told reporters.
No U.S. soldier knows that better
than Winand. “The best we can do is keep things at a dull roar,” he said.
His 170 Marines will spend their
Independence Day on the front lines, trained to kill as soldiers but learning
on the job to be cops.
“I watch cop episodes and see
what the cops do,” said Winand.
The 31-year-old Annapolis grad
with a degree in engineering spends most of his day patrolling a beat,
visiting checkpoints, even providing medical and ambulance services.After
a month on the job, Winand’s learned you can trust no one.
“You go and talk to a Serb, he’ll
tell you one thing. You go and talk to an Albanian, he’ll tell you completely
the opposite,” he said.
He said his men are stretched
too thin and will be happy when some 5,000 U.S. Army troops — the bulk
of the American contingent, arrive soon to replace the Marines.
In the meantime, his company does
what it can, confiscating weapons and blowing up mines, to keep the peace
in a lawless land.
“We did our part and got the ball
rolling,” he said.
But when these U.S. Marines leave
Kosovo in about a week’s time they’ll be leaving many unresolved problems
behind them.
Winand sometimes feels like he’s
been treating an open wound with a Band-Aid.
But then, the children start chanting,
“NATO, NATO, NATO,” and the Marine knows he can celebrate his day of freedom,
helping others find theirs.
Jim Maceda is on assignment in
Kosovo
