Saturday, March 24, 2001

Story and photos by Ron Jensen
Kosovo bureau

A patrol from C Company, 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment follows a farmer along a road in Debelde, Kosovo, on Wednesday.

DEBELDE, Kosovo — About halfway through a patrol that took 10 soldiers and a translator down one steep ridge, across two streams and up another steep ridge Wednesday afternoon, the troops encountered a local man escorting three horses laden with sacks of potatoes headed in the opposite direction.

On a path too narrow for the patrol and the horses to pass simultaneously, 1st Lt. Jeff Wilbur ordered his troops to search the man’s cargo.

The attention spooked one of the horses, but the search came up empty. The patrol and the man with the horses continued with their respective missions. The man was taking his potatoes to families in Debelde; the soldiers were helping make the Balkans a bit more peaceful.

"It’s quite a busy little area," said Wilbur of Company C, 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. "We’ve increased our presence here in hopes of making this area a little more stable."

While ethnic violence has been sparked on the south side of the border, Kosovo Force’s most obvious response has been to increase its patrols along the rugged terrain that separates Kosovo and Macedonia, stopping everyone who moves and searching them for arms or supplies that could benefit the ethnic Albanian rebels brewing trouble in Macedonia.

It has paid off. Not far from where Wilbur led his patrol, U.S. soldiers seized weapons and ammunition late Tuesday, detaining one individual.

"The weapons seizure is the payoff for tough patrolling and actively engaging the local population for information," said U.S. Army Col. Thomas Gross, chief of staff for Task Force Falcon. "[We] will not allow these groups to use Kosovo as a safe haven to conduct their operations."

1st Lt. Jeff Wilbur makes contact while leading a patrol along the border between Kosovo and Macedonia Wednesday.

That means Wilbur and his group of twenty-somethings — the self-proclaimed "baddest squadron in the entire division" – must hike these hills and keep a wary eye out for anything that moves.

In Mijak, the goal of this patrol, 1st Lt. Paul Grant and his soldiers from Company B watch the valley from fixed observation posts.

"Our mission is to conduct any interdiction of guerrilla forces moving about the valley," Grant said. "The typical MO is to look for people moving mules, go out there and stop them."

Sometimes the mules are carrying potatoes. Sometimes they are carrying weapons.

"If it’s moving through this valley, we’ll catch it," Grant said. "We’ve got this corner of the border pretty well covered."

This is U.S. foreign policy and the NATO mission in action along the border between Kosovo and Macedonia. Policy is made in Washington and Brussels, but carried out by young men in far-flung crannies of the world where trouble seems to always raise its head.

Pvt. 1st Class Etiel Sanchez of Company B said, "It’s kind of prideful knowing that the troops at home are looking at the newspaper knowing Pfc. Sanchez and his men are doing their thing."

Patrols are part of the routine for members of C Company, 1st Infantry Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment. Part of the mission is to prevent arms from crossing from Kosovo to Macedonia to aid rebels waging war against the government.

This is a quiet place. The town of Mijak is deserted and frequent patrols make sure it stays that way. In fact, Grant’s troops discovered a cache of ammunition recently in an empty building. Wilbur’s men had come to carry that bit of contraband out and send it to the rear for disposal.

The view is startling. In one direction, there is Kosovo, including the U.S. headquarters at Camp Bondsteel, about 15 miles away and, at the moment, bathed in a single ray of sunshine. In the other direction, there is Macedonia and a Macedonian army outpost barely 200 yards away.

But despite the isolation and the solitude, the troops treat this place as hostile territory.

"A peacekeeping mission canturn into a combat mission at the drop of a hat," said Spc. Clint Mack of Company C.

That became obvious three weeks ago, when 82nd Airborne Division troops fired on Albanian insurgents who had made threatening moves.

This may be peacekeeping, but the soldiers practice the art of teamwork as if it were a fiery hot combat zone. No one moves alone even just a few yards from the command post in a deserted school building. Helmets and flak vests are worn even if a soldier steps outside for a smoke.

Staff Sgt. Earl Campbell   prepares for a patrol Wednesday along the border between Kosovo and Macedonia.

At one of the observation posts, Sgt. Britt Smith of Company B would not take his eyes from the quiet streets of Mijak a few hundred yards below his vantage point.

"We got a patrol down there," he said. "I’m keeping eyes on them."

That attitude has had a marvelous affect on the soldiers.

Grant said, "A lot of responsibility is put on junior leaders. They mature very quickly. I’ve seen a lot changes out here. You don’t get this kind of experience at Fort Bragg."

The 82nd Airborne Division is based at Fort Bragg, N.C.

Pvt. 1st Class Dewey Adams of Company C said, "It makes everybody grow up. You stop worrying about yourself and start worrying about everybody else."

Mijak and Debelde and the other nondescript villages in this area of the border are a long way from the capital cities where decisions are made that require the sweat and effort of men like Staff Sgt. Earl Campbell, Sgt. Prospero Anria, Pvt. Zachary Sharpe, Corp. Terrence McDermott and the others.

But their lack of proximity to the powerful doesn’t make their efforts feel any less important to them. They believe what they are doing is worthwhile and part of something much bigger, even here, where mules and chickens outnumber people.

"We feel that way every day," said Pvt. 1st Class Dennis Clark of Company C. "We’re part of the U.S. Army."

RELATED STORY:
          Local support of rebels in Kosovo irks U.S.

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