Saturday, March 24, 2001

By Adam Ramirez
Bosnia bureau

CAMP COMANCHE, Bosnia and Herzegovina — The last of the AH-64 Apache attack helicopters lifted off the flight line here Wednesday, but U.S. peacekeepers said the aircraft won’t be missed.

Over the past three or four years, the Apaches have seen next to no action and have been reduced to recognizance and surveillance duties.

Base officials have assured people that the Kiowa Warrior helicopter will be able to pick up the slack from the departing Apaches.

Officials won’t release the number of Warriors in Bosnia as part of operational security.

About half a dozen Apaches left Comanche Base on Monday for the short flight to Rijeka, Croatia. There, the helicopters will be shrink-wrapped and transported by ship to the United States, said Capt. Sean Imbs, a Camp Comanche spokesman.

"All the Apaches are now out of country," Imbs said.

The list of equipment being withdrawn is: the battalion of 16 AH-64 Apache attack helicopters and an undisclosed number of M1A2 Abrams tanks, M2 Bradley fighting vehicles, UH-60 transport helicopters, combat engineer vehicles and tactical communications equipment.

Soon, 750 troops will leave Bosnia without replacements. Officials haven’t announced which troops will not be replaced when they leave Bosnia in the next four weeks.

High-ranking officials say the decision to withdraw the personnel and equipment was made last year during a routine six-month review. That’s when Gen. Montgomery Meigs, USAREUR commander, identified the excess war fighting materiel.

"The Apaches weren’t needed — we looked at it and saw a lot of helicopters sitting on the ground and decided they could be better used elsewhere," said Maj. Todd Morris, another Comanche spokesman.

Officials in Bosnia said there will be no drop-off in firepower with the loss of the Apaches.

"Based on the threat level we’ve seen here, I don’t think we’ll miss the Apaches," said Capt. Peter Kellogg, of the Eagle Troop, 3rd Infantry Division, 7 Cavalry out of Fort Stewart, Ga.

Kellogg, who has piloted Kiowa Warrior helicopters in Bosnia for six months, said the Kiowa can carry as much firepower as the Apache.

"The Kiowa has excellent sight capabilities, with thermal imaging — basically we have plenty of firepower to handle most situations," Kellogg said.

Among the weapons the Apache can carry:

• Hellfire anti-tank missiles.

• an air-to-air Stinger missile system.

• .50 caliber machine guns.

• 2.75-inch folding-fin aerial rockets.

"I don’t think anyone’s losing effectiveness in country — we’re perfectly able to carry out the mission here," Kellogg said. "We’ve been doing a lot of patrols with tactical vehicles on the ground, giving them aerial over-watch."

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