Soldiers
from the 82nd Airborne division on patrol in Kosovo Wednesday.
With the 82nd Airborne on patrol June 18, 1999
Soldiers
from the 82nd Airborne division on patrol in Kosovo Wednesday.
By Preston Mendenhall
MSNBC
GORANCE, Yugoslavia, June 16 —
U.S. Army airborne troops ventured deep into the Kosovo countryside on
Wednesday in a risky helicopter airdrop designed to show both Serbs and
Albanians there’s a new boss in the province’s southern flank. Two Black
Hawk helicopters swooped low over Kosovo’s rugged terrain, landing on a
narrow road between two minefields. It was the first time that U.S. forces
have ventured off Kosovo’s main roads.
EIGHT MEN FROM the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne
division took part in the mission, agreeing to let MSNBC.com come along
for the ride. Until Wednesday, the 4,000-odd U.S. Army troops and Marines
in Kosovo had limited their activity to checkpoints on main roads.
Wednesday’s mission was designed
by U.S. commanders “to show our presence in the region,” 1st Lt. Jake Kramer
said before boarding a Black Hawk. “We want everybody here, both Serbs
and Albanians, to know that we can reach out and touch them — and control
very quickly any conflict they may have between each other.”
DANGEROUS APPROACH
When the two choppers hit the
ground on a rutted dirt road, Sgt. Robert White ordered his men into a
circle formation with their assault rifles pointed in all directions. The
Black Hawks lifted off, and after making note of their position, White
led his men slowly toward the village of Gorance, about 35 miles south
of Pristina on the Macedonian border. The approaches to the village were
uninviting. On either side of the road, abandoned cars and trucks lay in
fields with their windows shot out. Dead farm animals littered the sides
of the dirt path, an indication of land mines in the area. As they approached
the town, about a dozen unarmed KLA fighters came to greet the 2nd Battalion.
They did not have a translator — but the word “mine” is the same in English
and Albanian. The KLA fighters, gaunt and grinning, showed the soldiers
how to avoid the most dangerous areas of the village.
“In formation!” Sgt. White yelled over his shoulder as they moved into the village. They pushed on past more dead farm animals. Gorance was deserted except for the guerrilla fighters, who waged a year-long independence battle against Serb forces in Kosovo. Apparently, because of its proximity to the Macedonian border, Gorance had become part of the weapons resupply routes for the KLA.
As they advanced, 1st Lt. Kramer suddenly ordered the squad to halt. “Remember what they told us about arrows,” he yelled ahead. The other men retreated to look at a spray painted arrow on the outer wall of a farmhouse. Kramer explained that the Yugoslav Army did not adhere to international land mine labeling conventions. Instead, they usually leave markers to warn fellow soldiers following in their footsteps, Kramer said.
The squad was not challenged on its first day out, which was also the first day for all of these men in an “active” combat zone. “You have to be careful,” said Kramer, who was well versed in the Kosovo conflict. “The VJ and MUP (Yugoslav army and Serb special police) are disciplined. When their commanders tell them to withdraw, they do. But now we have to worry about Arkan and other paramilitaries getting into civilian clothes.”
Arkan, also known as Zeljko Raznatovic,
is a Serb millionaire who funded some of the most notorious killing squads
of the Bosnian war and threatened to do the same in this war.
WHEN TO FIRE
Each member of the U.S. peacekeeping
contingent, which will eventually number 7,000, carries a small blue card
listing the rules of engagement for their duties in Kosovo. If “an individual
exhibits a weapon,” they are given a verbal warning to put it down. If
the person appears threatening in any way with his weapon and does not
put it down, a warning shot is fired. If those steps fail, the person is
shot.
“That’s if he doesn’t point the
gun at us,” Kramer said. “If he points at us, he’s through.”
None of the KLA fighters in Gorance
on Wednesday were carrying guns. They said they had been put away. But
farther north, the Marines had to physically disarm more than 100 KLA fighters.
The Marines spotted the fighters walking toward Gnjilane, the largest town
near the U.S. headquarters, Camp Bondsteel.
A standoff with the KLA commander ensued, and the Marines flew in Cobra helicopter gunships, light armored vehicles and a machine-gun squad, Reuters reported. After being forced to lie face down on the ground, the KLA commander and his men complied with the Marines. The 2nd Battalion was also given a quick education in Balkan politics. After “showing their muscle” in Gorance, they were dropped into another tense area. In Klokot, about 25 miles south of Pristina, three KLA fighters had taken six Serb civilians hostage, claiming they were war criminals. The reconnaissance squad dropped into Klokot with U.S. Apache attack helicopters buzzing overhead — packing more muscle than almost the entire KLA.
U.S. State Department negotiators
tried to reason with the KLA hostage-takers but to no avail. The 2nd Battalion
deployed from the Black Hawks nearby, showing that if words won’t work,
force is very much an option.
Preston Mendenhall is on assignment
in Kosovo.
