The Talon

Bring on the Big Red One

A s Old Ironsides completes its mission en-forcing the military aspects of the Gener-al Framework Agreement for Peace, the

Big Red One covering force arrives to assurefull capability through the end of IFOR’s mandate,Dec. 20. With armor and air assets, 1st ID hasthe punch to get the job done.

See story , page 12

Talonthe Friday, October 25, 1996Volume 2, No 41

Serving the soldiers of Task Force EagleOperation Joint Endeavor, Bosnia-Herzegovina

Insid

e COMMENTARY . . . . 2COMMUNICATIONS . . 3SAVA . . . . . . 4REDEPLOYMENT . 6-7COMBAT CAMERA . . 9FLAG . . . . . . 11BIG RED ONE . . . 12I II I

The Talon Page 3Friday, October 25, 1996

News briefs

1st AD websiteThe 1st Armored Division is on line.

Read The Talon without having todownload. Find maps, news releas-es, biographies and facts about 1AD.at http://www.tfeagle.1ad.army.mil

Phone rates cut

Weekly weather forecast HIGH/LOW CHANCE RAINToday 55/38 HighSat 59/41 HighSun 63/45 ModerateMon 60/48 ModerateTue 58/49 ModerateWed 57/48 ModerateThur 60/45 ModerateProvided Oct. 23 by Internet Access Weather

n REDEPLOYMENT

Beginning Oct. 15, servicemem-bers who have been using the AT&TGlobal PrePaid Card or are enrolledin AT&T’s Military Saver Plus pro-gram will pay reduced per-minuterates 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week. The lower simplified rates willbe available on calls from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and Hungaryto the U.S.A., Germany, the U.K. andItaly through March 31, 1997.

Viewpoints wantedThe Talon welcomes viewpoint

articles from soldiers in the field.Please send us your viewpoint viae-mail or on disk, or drop off a hardcopy at our office on the 2nd floorof the White House, Eagle Base.

EAGLE BASE — The phone company ispulling out. Task Force Eagle soldiersneedn’t worry, though. A replacement is al-ready here.

With the imminent redeployment of the1st Armored Division, its primary organiccommunications asset, the 141st SignalBattalion is preparing to hand-off theirEagle Base operation.

Picking up the reins of Operation JOINTENDEAVOR’s communications operationis 1st InfantryD i v i s i o n ’ sCompany B,121st SignalBattalion.

The transi-tion fromCompany B ofthe 141st tothe 121st’smobile sub-scriber equip-ment unit isscheduled tobegin Oct. 21,with comple-tion no laterthan Oct. 28.

Co. B isgearing up forthe transition.

The mobiles u b s c r i b e re q u i p m e n tcompany hassmall exten-sion nodecommunica-tion elementst h r o u g h o u tBosnia-Herze-govina, Croat-ia and Hunga-ry.

Their mainnode center isat Eagle Base.

MSE phonecalls are coordinated through Co. B, whetherthe call is for the unit across the hall or theAtlantic.

Telephone communication has come along way since the days of old land linephones.

The MSE telephones of today are com-pletely digital. Digital processors ensure aclear telephone signal.

Sgt. 1st Class Gerald F. Gunn, 35, ofMcRae, Ga., said the transition with the121st will be smooth, with no disruption of

phone service expected.“As each vehicle pulls out of its current

position, a vehicle from the 121st will comebehind it and position itself in the exactspot our vehicle just left,” Gunn said.

All of the telephone cables leading intothe communication tower will be discon-nected by Co. B with another cable fromthe 121st immediately replacing it.

“The 135-foot communication tower as-sist our operations because we can’t con-sistently get good signals out of the TuzlaValley with the antennae we have alone,”Gunn said. “With the height of the tower,

this allows thecommunica -tions signalfrom being ob-structed bytrees andbuildings.”

“During thetransition, thefive antennaewould re-main,” saidSgt. Earl W.Cox, 28, of Key-ser, W.Va.

“All theyhave to do istrade ourequipment fortheirs, and itwould elimi-nate having totake thesedown antennaedown and bringtheirs up,” Coxsaid.

“But it’s re-ally up tothem.”

Gunn saidthere will bedrastic down-sizing withcommunica-tion accesswhen 1st IDrolls in, be-

cause of the reduction in troops.“Currently, we provide more than 390

phones for Eagle Base alone,” Gunn said.“However, when 1st ID takes over the num-ber of phones will be reduced half.”

The unit is expected to redeploy to Ger-many, Nov. 19. Considering the length of theirstay here, Gunn said there is much excite-ment around the node center these days.

“The soldiers here are ecstatic,” Gunnsaid. “It looks like we’ll be home for Christ-mas.”

No break in signal as 1stAD and 1st ID swap placesBy Cpl. LEN BUTLER100th MPAD

Cpl. Len Butler

Routine maintenance of the 135-foot commu-nications tower at Eagle Base is performed bysignal battalion technicians. The tower trans-mits signals out of the Tuzla Valley.

Your opinion is wanted. If you feelstrongly about a certain issue con-cerning your involvement in TaskForce Eagle, we want to hear aboutit. The Talon welcomes submissionsfrom the field for possible publica-tion. Please write with either com-ments or suggestions to:

Staff Sgt. Patrick SummersThe TalonOperation Joint EndeavorAPO AE 09789

We will respond to every letter.

Write to us

Time to ‘fall back’Task Force Eagle will turn back

the clocks one hour Saturdaynight. (Actually 0200 Sunday, Oct.27th.)

The TalonPage 4 Friday, October 25, 1996

By Sgt. TIM PINKHAM350th MPAD

Sgt. Tim Pinkham

Soldiers from the 74th Engineer Company (Assault Float Bridge — Ribbon) pilot bridge directional boats toposition a mine boom across the Sava River.

ORASJE, BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA —They came all the way from Texas tomake sure the 1st Infantry Divisionwould have a safe river crossing.

The 74th Engineer Company (As-sault Float Bridge — Ribbon) from FortHood, Texas did more than build a pon-toon bridge across the Sava River re-cently.

The engineers protected their workby building a mine boom.

“The mine boom stretches across theriver upstream from the bridge andprotects both the bridge and civilianferry boats,” said Sgt. James S. Max-ey, noncommissioned officer in charge.

Maxey said the mine boom willblock any mines that might float to-

ward the bridge.It will also stop mines that might

dislodge from the river bank during therise and fall of the river.

The mine boom consists of alumi-num beams, connected by cables.

Using MK-1 and MK-2 bridge direc-tional boats, the mine boom was put inplace across the river and anchored tothe bank on both the Bosnian-Herze-govina and Croatian sides.

The 145 soldiers of the 74th live atCamp Stevens in Orasje.

Although they have only been incountry for four weeks, Maxey and Pvt.Jacob L. Holloway are very familiarwith the area.

Last December they volunteered tocome to Bosnia-Herzegovina for sixmonths and were attached to the502nd Assault Float Bridge Compa-

ny from Hanau, Germany.During that tour, they helped set up

the pontoon bridges that the 1st Ar-mored Division used to cross the Sava.

“When I left I didn’t expect to seeBosnia again, but this summer mycompany came down on orders to go, sohere I am,” Maxey said.

“The company brought 22 bridge di-rectional boats to Bosnia,” Maxey, whois from West Virginia, said. “Boat op-erators must be the rank of sergeantor above.”

Convoys will be streaming acrossthe pontoon bridge for weeks, headinginto Bosnia-Herzegovina.

“This bridge is strong enough to han-dle anything the Army has, includingM1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks andM2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehi-cles,” Maxey said.

Soldiers get second shot at Savan COVERING FORCE

The Talon

r e d e p l o y m e nFriday, October 25, 1996Page 6

Week of work, relaxation at Hunga rlast hurdle before heading home

TASZAR AIR BASE, HUNGARY — There are fewplacesTask Force Eagle soldiers want to get tosooner and then leave faster than the Intermedi-ate Staging Base.

Besides the Burger King and beer tent, the ISBmeans one more week of work for soldiers be-fore they can take that bus ride back to CentralRegion or beyond.

The Reception, Staging, Onward Movement Cell— operated by the 71st Corps Support Battalion,7th Corps Support Group — orchestrates the ac-tivities of units moving in and out of Bosnia-Herze-govina.

In either case, those units undergo a set regi-men of activities. For those deploying to Bosnia-Herzegovina, it’s a four-day process. Those com-ing out of Bosnia can expect to be at the ISB a fullseven days.

According to 1st Lt. Matthew R. Laos, RSO op-

erations officer, the main motivation for his sol-diers is to get people home safely.

“There is a process here to receive the soldier,put him through the ISB process and return him toCentral Region fully mission capable,” Laos said.

To accomplish this, an escort from the RSOwalks each unit through its week. If at all possible,Laos said, the escort will be at the gate to meetthe arriving unit as it pulls in. Immediately, the unitsdownload and turn in their ammunition and beginwashing vehicles. The soldiers move by bus to thelife support area where they are billeted. Over thenext few days, redeploying units take inventoriesof their equipment and turn-in excess, exchangeequipment, wash vehicles to prepare them foragricultural inspection, turn in laundry, performorganizational-level maintenance and schedulework orders for direct support. Also, vehicles arerefueled or defueled as needed.

“We’ve got a whole maintenance company, the158th Maintenance Company from the AlabamaNational Guard, just waiting to provide direct sup-

port,” Laos said. “The RSO is facilities for commanders to their units.

Facilities include a Central Iof the week’s drills include TA -toms inspections.

One of the more important pat the ISB is the Soldier Re apointments. Redeploying so lwith personnel, finance and mThey can update their 201 file sfor future medical referencedergo dental screening.

The RSO helps units rail an dment and even prepare it fo rnecessary.

In the LSA, there is a PX, gevening, and, of course, two f eevery night. According to Lao sly have the time and facilities t oa beer, wind down from the d ethemselves ready for a great

By Sgt. JACK SIEMIENIEC350th MPAD

DAY THREE:Technical verification of equipment oc-curs; unit inventories equipment and or-der supplies not at direct support unitfor delivery at home station. Submit DSwork orders. Unit inventories and turns-in excess equipment.

DAY ONE:Unit arrives at ISB, links up with unit liai-son. Soldiers turn in ammunition; sensi-tive items are inventoried. Property bookinventoried/reconciled. Equipmentwashed, equipment guards assigned.Soldiers move to LSA by bus.

DAY FOUR:Unit purges fuel tankers, c oin of excess equipment, c ocle maintenance and contition of TIs. Commander’s tissued and load plans revi econduct soldier readiness

DAY TWO:Soldiers turn in laundry. Cleaning ofequipment continues, along with tech-nical inspections. Direct support workorders are submitted. Unit conducts TA-50 and organizational clothing and indi-vidual equipment layout.

The Talon Page 7

n tFriday, October 25, 1996

r y ISB

s here to provide the be able to validate

Issue Point and partA-50 layouts and cus-

portions of the workadiness Packet ap-ldiers can sit downmedical specialists.s and blood is drawne. Soldiers also un-

d air load their equip-r barge shipment if

gym, movies in theest tents with music

os, soldiers will final-to have a burger and

deployment, and get homecoming.

ontinues turn-conduct vehi-inue verifica-time. OCIE isewed. Guardss program.

DAY FIVE:Unit conducts SRP and vehicle mainte-nance; unit submits movement requestand identifies blocking and bracing ma-terials.

DAY SIX:Unit configures vehicles for movement;secondary loads secured and load planscompleted. Movement documentation fi-nalized. Laundry picked up. DS work or-ders closed and awards ceremony held.

DAY SEVEN:Unit rail loads equipment and clears thecontainer holding area; clears the stag-ing area; clears the LSA. Unit completesmanifest and departs ISB with all docu-mentation. Troops arrive home in Cen-tral Region.

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The Talon

n REDEPLOYMENT

Friday, October 25, 1996

ORASJE, Croatia — As IFOR troops andequipment begin to pull out of the TaskForce Eagle area of operation and base

By Staff Sgt. ANNA M. PRUSAITIS100th MPAD

camps are being closed, others are beingexpanded. Building-up selected basecamps is necessary to accommodate theincoming covering force which will set upa Division Tactical Assault Command atCamp Stevens.

A critical part of modifying and ex-panding the base camps is reestablish-ing or upgrading the communication sys-tems. Most units redeploying take every-thing they brought with them, includingcommunication lines.

This mission belongs to Old Ironsides’Company C, 141st Signal Battalion.

These communications experts start-ed from the bottom and literally workedtheir way up after deciding CX11230 co-axial cable they were installing neededto be aerial.

“The cable has to go up and over a hightraffic area,” said 2nd Lt. Matthew T. Re-iten, long extension node platoon leader.“If the line is left on the ground and youhave a lot of traffic, it will eventually cutthe cable,” the native of Grand Forks,N.D., said.

Spc. Ernies I. Perez, a wire systemsinstaller, and Sgt. John R. Rendon, a ca-ble repairer/installer, immediately setto the task of running the wire to connectthe small extension node and the radial.

As soon as the existing lines are tak-en down by the redeploying unit, all com-munications will go down, Reiten said.

The ‘cable dawgs’, as they are known,will also run another set of cables to thejunction box to connect the phones, andconnect the local area network.

Perez, a resident of Bronx, N.Y. saidthey must secure the lines high enoughfor the clearance of large military vehi-cles.

Whenever possible, existing materialssuch as electrical posts, buildings, andtrees are used to elevate the cables.

If no such materials are in place, thecables are elevated and secured on longstabilizing poles.

In this particular task, the two-mem-ber team was able to use both an electri-cal post and a tree to run their aerialcable at Camp Stevens.

“I don’t mind climbing the trees, I justhave to be really careful getting down,”said Rendon, a native of Vallejo, Calif.

Soldiers go to new heights to communicate

Staff Sgt. Anna M. Prusaitis

Spc. Ernies I. Perez, wires systems installer, uses a long extender pole toelevate coaxial cable at Camp Stevens.

OSCE postpones Bosnia-Herzegovina local electionsBy Spc. DANNY PASCHALL100th MPAD

Ambassador Robert Frowick, the Or-ganization for Securitiy and Cooperationin Europe head of mission announcedlate Tuesday that the Bosnian municipalelections scheduled for Nov. 23 and 24will be postponed.

Frowick, an American, cited continu-

ing political problems in municipalitiesacross Bosnia. OSCE sources said theynow hope the country’s municipal elec-tions will take place sometime betweenApril and June of next year.

IFOR officials said that despite thedelay, they remain committed to sup-porting the the international communi-ty’s effort to bring peace and stability tothe area.

Officials pledged to maintain full mili-tary capability until the end of IFOR’smandate, Dec. 20, 1996.

There are no plans to extend the cur-rent peacekeeping mission past thatdate.

Officials say they will continue to fo-cus on carrying out the current militarymission and the postponement will notaffect redeployment.

Page 8

The Talon Page 9Friday, October 25, 1996

Staff Sgt. Brenda Benner

Spc. Luis A. Deya (top) and Spc. William E. Lee, 55th Signal Company (CombatCamera), provide images from the field.

What you see is what we get

EAGLE BASE — A combat camera soldier’smission is to provide documentation, recordhistorical events and prepare up to-the-minute imagery of the battlefield for useby operational planners at the highest lev-els. The mission dates back before WorldWar II. Technology has evolved from handwound movie cameras to the latest in digi-tal transmission systems.

During recent events in Jusici, soldiers ofthe 55th Signal Company set up operationsand provided Task Force Eagle planners im-mediate access to photographs as the situa-tion developed.

“If a soldier is interested in seeing thearmy’s big picture,” said Capt. Van C. Oler,operations officer, “combat camera is the bestcareer field available.”

“I have the opportunity to get a feel forwhat everybody goes through and does. A lotof the time I take part in what they’re doing.I’ve learned how to do a little bit of every-thing, from stacking concertina wire, to driv-ing an M113 A1 track, to firing a 50-calibermachine gun,” said Spc. Alejandro CabelloIII, still and video documentation specialist.The 25-year-old native of Los Angeles hasbeen a member of the unit since 1994.

However, there are trade offs. “Our sol-diers deploy often; many have been deployedfor more than 200 days this year. So far in1996, I’ve been to Hawaii, Somalia, Cambo-dia, Korea, Germany, Australia, Ethiopia andBosnia-Herzegovina,” Oler, a 35-year-oldChicago native, said.

“Being away from my family is the onlydraw back to this job,” said Cpl. William E.Lee, a document specialist from Mt. Airy,Md. “Listening to my children grow up over

the phone is hard to handle at times.”While serving in Operation JOINT EN-

DEAVOR, combat camera has been to thefield with nearly every unit in theater.

One operation combat camera is present-ly involved in is the documentation of theexhumation of mass graves. “It’s difficult tosend a young soldier out to take pictures ofhundreds of decomposed bodies, many ofwhom were tied at the wrists and anklesand shot in the back of the head. It’s a ratherunhappy mission and it’s not necessarilywhat they thought they would be doing whenthey signed up... but they do it, and they areprofessional about it — I’m extremely proudof them,” Oler said.

The development of digital technology andsatellite transmission has allowed combatcamera to take video and still photographs,then relay those images to the rear withinminutes. As a result, they have become avery important part of the operational deci-sion-making loop at brigade, division, corps,and theater levels.

Photographers and videoographers docu-ment freedom of movement and weaponsstorage sites across Bosnia-Herzegovina todetermine whether or not the former war-ring factions are in compliance with the Day-ton Peace Accords. “If they are not, we nowhave ‘same day proof’ of the violations thatwe send to the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps,”Oler said. “In the past, it would have beenone party’s word against the other; however,now we can provide the commanding gener-al with the images he needs to prove his con-tention.”

Even though the they can’t always be onthe ground, through the hard work of combatcamera soldiers, commanders are providedwith valuable information required for thedecision making process.

By Spc. CHERYL A. KRANING100th MPAD

Army offers soldiersultimate scholarshipWEST POINT — Lt. Gen. Daniel W.Christman, superintendent of theUnited States Military Academy, re-cently issued a call for applicants tothe prestigious, four-year serviceacademy.

Each year, approximately 200 reg-ular Army soldiers are offered admis-sion to West Point or to the UnitedStates Military Academy Preparato-ry School.

Interested soldiers must be U.S.citizens; unmarried, with no legalobligation to support dependents;less than 23 years of age prior to July1 of the year entering USMA; of highmoral character and have a sincereinterest in becoming an Army offic-er.

Those interested in applying maycontact Capt. Jim Brandon, soldieradmissions officer, at DSN 688-5780,commercial (914) 938-5780, or via e-mail at: tj1632@westpoint-emh2.ar-my.mil.

Staff Sgt. Charles A. Muserilli waskilled Oct. 21 when the 5-ton truckhe was riding in ran off the road androlled over in a culvert filled with 5feet of water.

Muserilli was a supply sergeantwith Troop A, 1st Squadron, 1stCavalry based in Buedingen, Ger-many. His unit was in the processof redeploying to Germany whenthe accident occured near Slavon-ski Brod, Croatia.

Muserilli is survived by his wifeJane and four children, Erin 19, Jo-seph 14, Nicholas 10 and Katerine 7.

Allied Rapid Reaction Corpscommander, Lt. Gen. Sir MichaelWalker, Task Force Eagle com-mander, Maj. Gen. William L. Nashand 1st Infantry Division com-mander Maj. Gen. MontgomeryMeigs were among those who paidtheir respects to the fallen soldierduring a ceremony on the eastramp at Tuzla Air Base.

Soldiers from each of the elev-en nations in Multinational Divi-sion-North formed an honor guardleading to the bay of the C-130 thattook Muserilli home.

Anyone wishing to make a dona-tion in memory of Muserilli may sendit to:

Muserilli Family Trust Fund, Na-tions Bank, CMR 401, APO 09076

1-1 Cav trooper killedin vehicle accident

The TalonPage 10 Friday, October 25, 1996

CAMP ANGELA — Imagine a gigantic thou-sand piece puzzle. If the interlocking piecesdon’t fall perfectly into place, chaos results.The complexity of the puzzle is compoundedby its numerous participants.

Oct. 28 is the deadline for the 47th For-ward Support Battalion to solve its redeploy-ment puzzle.

Every soldier in the battalion has a dualmission to provide support for Task ForceEagle and prepare for their own trip home.

All three of the battalion’s companies areleaving for Baumholder, Germany. Compa-ny B, the maintenance company, is com-manded by Capt. Donna M. Dorminey, 29, ofEdmeston, N.Y.

“We’ve been planning and preparing for amonth,” Dorminey said. “Our current train-ing has been focused on pre-redeployment ac-tivities. At the same time we’re fulfilling ourprimary mission of supporting our customerunits.”

Dorminey said redeployment is more chal-lenging because soldiers minds are on return-ing home and not on the mission at hand.

“Coming down here we had a sense of ur-gency and purpose, if things weren’t doneright it would impact our mission. Now thatwe’re headed home it’s easy to become com-placent, to think short cuts can be fixed nextyear in Baumholder.”

Every day, senior and junior leaders re-mind everyone that complacency must beovercome.

“I stress to my soldiers — fix your equip-ment now and have a good time at the ISB, orneglect it, break down on the convoy, andspend all your time tracking down suppliesand repairing your vehicle,” Dorminey said.“I think that motivates soldiers to do thingsright.”

First Lt. Joseph E.Trella, 25, of Allen-town, Pa., is the execu-tive officer for Compa-ny C., the medicalbranch of the battal-ion. He is involved inthe battalion’s move-ment plans.

Trella has an over-all view of the puzzle,but everyone in thebattalion has a fistfull of pieces.

“We have nightlymeetings to gothrough the entire operation order anddiscuss all the tasks, not only those atthe redeployment and intermediate stag-ing bases, but of the entire movement it-self,” Trella said. “Everyone knows thewhats, whens, hows, and whys of every

phase of the redeployment.”The whole battalion cannot leave Bosnia-

Herzegovina at once. Just as there are sol-diers in place at the advance logistical ele-ment in Baumholder, there are many volun-teers staying behind to continue the 47thFSB’s mission.

Combat medic Spc. Sean P. Buchan, 21,of Centerville, Ohio, is one of those soldiers.

“It’s necessary toleave behind medical,supply, and mainte-nance support,”Buchan said. “I’ll behelping with sick calland medical evacua-tions till the end of theyear. By then, the nextsupport battalionshould be here to takeour place. Many of ussingle soldiers don’tmind staying. Betterme than someone witha family.”

Redeployment tasks are very detail ori-ented and time consuming. Combat medicCpl. Sandra K. Evans, 28, from Shiner, Tex-as, is busy every day preparing her trackedambulance for the long journey.

“We medics in Co. C have to inventory all

the medical equipment and send in the or-ders to resupply the kits,” Evans said. “Get-ting the tracks ready takes a lot of time too.All the PMCS must be done and repair partsordered for repairs.”

Spc. Stephen L. Ney, 21, of Reading,Pa., is up to his neck in last minute tech-nical inspections, calibrations and re-pairs. “Lately, we’ve repaired about 25night vision goggles a week, and verifiedat least another 100 per week,” Ney said.

As Oct. 28 nears, the squads, sections,and platoons of all three companies are put-ting together their portions of the giant puz-zle.

As the battalion’s first of nearly 200 ve-hicles and 400 soldiers leave the gate, foursubsequent groups will follow at 30 minuteintervals.

“There are nine different movements in-volved in this redeployment — all are atdifferent locations and stages of the pro-cess. This really compounds the complexi-ty of our mission,” Dorminey said.

“We’re making sure the rear detach-ment knows exactly when, and how manysoldiers are coming through on a given dayso they will receive a proper reception andsupport,” Dorminey said. “The first sol-dier’s return is just as important as thatof the last soldier’s.”

Redeploymentpuzzle final testBy Staff Sgt. BRENDA BENNER100th MPAD

“Fix your equipmentnow ... have a good timeat the ISB. Neglect it ...spend all your time ...repairing your vehicle.”— Capt. Donna M. Dorminey,commander of Company B,47th Forward Support Battalion

Staff Sgt. Brenda Benner

Mechanics Pfc. Jermal D. Washington (left) and Spc. Robert E. Christian, withCompany A, 47th Forward Support Battalion, prepare a vehicle for redeployment.

The Talon Page 11Friday, October 25, 1996

What is the difference between theUnited States flag and the col-ors? And when are you supposed

to salute? Only three out of 30 soldiers atEagle Base knew the answer to those ques-tions when surveyed recently. Those ques-tioned at Comanche Base did no better. ASgt. Moralis Club inductee decided to getthe information out.

Staff Sgt. George A. Merkle of Compa-ny D, 2nd Battalion, 227th Aviation Bri-gade noticed that soldiers at Comanchewere not saluting when they passed a flagposted outside his office.

“Where I work there is an American flag,and when people walked by it they weren’tsaluting,” Merkle said. “I wasn’t sure if itwas correct or not so I looked through FieldManual 22-5 and found that it is not nec-essary to salute the flag in that situation.But I felt that most people just didn’t careand didn’t know the regulation.”

At the time, the Annapolis, Md. nativewas studying for the Sgt. Moralis board.The elite club recognizes outstanding non-commissioned officers in Europe for theirleadership potential and ability to take careof soldiers. Merkle saw this as an oppor-tunity for him to exercise that responsibil-ity.

“As a technical inspector that’s the wayI teach,” Merkle said. “When I see some-thing wrong on the aircraft that the sol-diers are working with, I’ll ask them, ‘what’swrong with this picture?’ So when I askedsoldiers why they weren’t saluting the flag,it was to see if they knew if they were rightor wrong. The most common answer wasthat no one else did and they thought itwas a no-salute area.”

At Eagle Base, one of the few who knewthe correct answer was 1st Sgt. GeorgianaM. Cleverley of HHC, 22nd Signal Brigade.“It is a matter of discipline and knowledgeof what’s important,” Cleverley said. “Theflag is a symbol of our country. In my opin-ion, we’ve got the best thing going. As sol-

diers — protectors of those ideals — weneed to know and understand that.”

The best way to understand the flagand how to render proper respect, is toread FM 22-5. Under paragraph E-5, itstates: “a flag as distinguished from aColor is not saluted except during theceremonies of raising and lowering theflag ... a color is the U.S. flag trimmed onthree sides with golden yellow fringe 2-1/2 inches wide. The Color is primarily forindoor display.”

Charts list specific times and placeswhere the hand salute is rendered, suchas during reveille or during the playing ofthe national anthem. A key thing to re-member is that when the colors (remem-ber the fringe) are passing or a uniformedsoldier passes the colors, the salute isgiven within six paces and held for sixpaces past.

Though the soldiers surveyed were un-sure of specific circumstances, mostagreed that when in doubt, salute — agood rule to follow.

Patriot game: when to salute old gloryBy Sgt. JANET S. PETERS350th MPAD

SLAVONSKI BROD — Theycome in all sizes, and just about

n SAFETY

By Staff Sgt. ANNA M. PRUSAITIS100th MPAD

Staff Sgt. Anna M. Prusaitis

Master Sgt. Dennis C. Munoz answers questions aboutconvoys with the help of Sgt. Tim R. Hernandez.

Soldiers become teachers in Croatian classroomall of them get excited whenthey see an IFOR convoy head-ed in their direction. Their smallfaces light up with a smile andtheir little hands start waving

in a friendly hello as they walkor sometimes run dangerouslyclose to IFOR convoys.

For this reason, the Civil Af-fairs Office based at Camp SavaNorth, visited a local primaryschool to explain to children thedangers of getting too close toIFOR vehicles.

Master Sgt. Dennis C. Mu-noz, operations noncommis-sioned officer with the 304thCivil Affairs Brigade, said chil-dren under nine years of age areespecially unaware of the dan-ger.

“Children that age are un-able to grasp the dangers of get-ting too close to such large andpowerful vehicles,” Munoz said.

With the help of Zeljka Sen-jak, an interpreter, Americansoldiers told the children aboutIFOR, about the convoys andabout why it is important tokeep away from army vehicleswhen they pass through townsand villages.

The children eagerly partici-pated in the discussion by ask-ing questions about IFOR andthe vehicles. One child wantedto know why HMMWVs haveplastic windows. Munoz, a resi-dent of Egg Harbor City, N.J.,

answered the question and alsotold the children that the plas-tic windows makes it very diffi-cult for the soldiers to see clear-ly, especially when it rains. An-other student asked about theweapons on top of the HM-MWVs, and also wanted toknow why the vehicles were sobig.

“It’s important that the chil-dren know we are concerned fortheir safety,” Munoz said. “Theroads are narrow, and some-times we go up on the sidewalks,especially around tight corners.I tried to stress the danger tothe children.”

Munoz believes strongly inthe importance of his mission.“I feel like any other parent; noone wants their children to gethurt.”

Zdenka Cukoric teaches firstthrough fourth grade at AntunMihanovic primary school.Cukoric thanked the soldiers forthe message they brought herclasses.

“IFOR has done a lot inCroatia as well as in Bosnia-Herzegovina,” she said. “I thinkthis is a big step for IFOR sol-diers to come and visit our chil-dren.”

The Talon Friday, October 25, 1996Page 12

No one was quite surewhat to expect when the1st Armored Division

crossed the Sava River androlled into Bosnia-Herzegovinalast December.

The media were here in force,ready to show the world whatone journalist predicted wouldbe “Hell in a very cold place.”But “all hell” didn’t break loose.

Why? Because Old Ironsidescame in heavy, made it clearfrom the start that it was goingto strictly enforce the peace, andhold the parties to the agree-ment accountable.

For 11 months 1st ArmoredDivision soldiers have been pro-fessional. They have been even-handed. They have been spec-tacularly successful. Now theyare going home.

Eleven months ago Bosnia-Herzegovina was on the frontpage of every newspaper. It wasthe lead story in every televisionnews broadcast. Now Bosnia-

Herzegovina hardly gets a men-tion in the world press.

But that could change veryquickly. Our involvement is en-tering a critical time.

Transfer of authority from1st Armored Division to ele-ments of the 1st Infantry Divi-sion is scheduled for Nov. 2.With mu-n i c i p a lelectionsnow post-p o n e d ,Bosn ia -H e r z e -govina isat a cross-r o a d s .For morethan ayear thecountry has enjoyed peace. IFORhas insisted that all sides fol-low the General Framework forthe Agreement for Peace.

So far the parties to theagreement have cooperated.The question becomes, willtheir attitude change once theheavy firepower of the 1st Ar-

mored Division is gone?Ask any 1st Infantry Divi-

sion soldier that question, andyou’ll get the same answer. Theparties to the agreement betternot change their attitudes.

The Big Red One coveringforce is highly mobile, but it’scoming in heavy. As of last Sun-

day over1,000 BigRed OneS o l d i e r swere inB o s n i a -Herzegovi-na. Nearly2 , 0 0 0more wereon the roadb e t w e e nthe inter-

mediate staging base in Hun-gary and Slavonski Brod, Croat-ia. Eventually they will number5,000 and with the 720th and519th Military Police battal-ions staying on, the coveringforce will grow to 7,500.

And this covering force willcarry plenty of firepower. M1A1

Abrams Main Battle Tanks,M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles,and AH-64 Apache attack heli-copters will give commanders afully mission-capable forceright up to Dec. 20, the day IF-OR’s mandate ends.

Force protection has alwaysbeen Task Force Eagle’s mainpriority. That will not change.

As a covering force, 1st In-fantry Division will have twomain missions:• Maintain force protectionand security for the withdraw-al of 1st Armored Division andsupporting units in the MND-North sector• Ensure that nearly all sol-diers who are coming up on 365days in Bosnia can go home, inaccordance with Gen. George A.Joulwan’s guidance.

The force was also to haveassisted in providing securityfor the Nov. 20 municipal elec-tions, now postponed.

The Big Red One is enteringtheater with enough firepowerand manpower to make surethose missions are completed.

1st Infantry Division rolls in heavyBy Capt. TERRY L. CONDER100th MPAD

The Big Red One cov-ering force is highlymobile, and it’s comingin heavy ... this cover-ing force will carry plen-ty of firepower.

Sgt. Lance M. Kamisugi

The 1st Infantry Division covering force may be smaller than Old Ironsides, but with M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks likethese from 1st Battalion, 77th Armor — shown here near the Sava River — it also will be a robust force.