Canadians to withdraw from Afganistan.

[marktigger]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3409181.stm

[cut]

diddums! There not all out there are they? send a replacement maybe?

[marktigger]

sorry but the Canadians as far as i remember have troops in Bosnia and a few other peace keeping ops. I'm Glad to see their Govt is actually adressing the problem. Any comments from our Canadian friends?

[Falco]

It was bound to happen. The army is over-streched, underfunded, etc. I don't understand why we need to have troops in Bosnia & co when the EU is accepting something like 10 new members. Those countries should be obliged to send troops to the europeen hot-spots as kind of condition to adhering to the EU

[REMOV]

I don't understand why we need to have troops in Bosnia & co when the EU is accepting something like 10 new members. Those countries should be obliged to send troops to the europeen hot-spots as kind of condition to adhering to the EUEkhm... boy, those countries send there units over 7 years ago. Check some information before you wrote a post, ok?

The Nordic-Polish Brigade (NORDPOL Brigade) was created 10 February 1996 (then converted to Nordic-Polish Battle Group (NPBG) and lately to Multinational Battle Group (MNBG)). The first Czech and Hungarian units served in Multinational Division South West in 1997. Bulgaria send their troops also in 1997. Slovakia in 1998.

http://www.nato.int/sfor/indexinf/139/p16b/b02162a.jpg
http://www.nato.int/sfor/indexinf/113/s113p10a/b01051610b.jpg
http://www.nato.int/sfor/nations/photos/poland.jpg
Polish soldiers from SFOR

http://www.nato.int/sfor/indexinf/107/s107p14a/b01022114a.jpg
Colonel Franciszek Kochanowski in his office. He was the Head of Nordpol (Nordic-Polish Brigade)

http://www.nato.int/sfor/indexinf/122/p16a/b01p161a.jpg
Hungarian Capt. Zoltan Katona has been a soldier from the day he was born. In Hungarian, the word "katona" means, "soldier."

http://www.nato.int/sfor/engineers/hun-floatbridge/photo.jpg
Hungarian Engineers of the HEC, pull a floating bridge section into position on the River Bosna in Doboj.

http://www.nato.int/sfor/nations/various/czech/phot1.jpg
Radic, Bosnia and Hercegovina, April 1997. Czech Republic Staff Sergeant Katarina Burdova conducts weapons familiarisation training with an SA-58 semi-automatic rifle.

http://www.nato.int/sfor/nations/various/czech/phot2.jpg
Manjaca, Bosnia and Hercegovina, January 1998. SFOR Czech Republic soldiers (A Coy, 6th Mechanised Bde) participate in an SFOR Operational Reserve Exercise.

http://www.nato.int/sfor/misc/water-can/b991015r.jpg
Cpl. Piton (Czech) showing the different stages of the purification of water from the Sava river to engineers belonging to the different MND-SW contingents.

http://www.nato.int/sfor/indexinf/99/s99p14a/b001025k.jpg
Slovak officers serving in HQ SFOR from left: Maj. Lubomir Mrvan, Capt. Jan Runcak, Lt. Col. Radislav Jelinek, Capt. Radomir Curny and Lt. Col. Mikulas Hudak.

http://www.nato.int/sfor/nations/various/slovakia/slovphot.jpg
Maj. Ladislav Cingel from Slovakia

http://www.nato.int/sfor/nations/various/bulgaria/xbulgarian%20soldier.jpg
Bulgarian soldiers in SFOR

[Royal]

The first Czech and Hungarian units served in Multinational Division South West in 1997. Bulgaria send their troops also in 1997. Slovakia in 1998.

Whayhey, I can correct REMOV :lol:

Sorry mate, the first Czechs I worked with in what was to become MND(SW), now MNB(SW) was just after Christmas of 1995. The first BG was in place in the Bosanki Krupa area by early February 1996.

[simple jumper]

Last I heard we were (finally) pulling out Bosnia after the present tour, and A-stan is after the next tour, but I'm sure we'll keep sending troops just not 1800 at a time. If you ask me its time to scale down Peacekeeping OPs we need to "re-group and re-arm".

[EvanL]

After the next roto finishes in the summer. I think we pull out. But until then were staying. Its a good idea to cut back on these types of operations for a while. SOme soldiers havent been home for more than a year in the past 4 years.
Like falco said, we need to regroup and re-arm. Were stretched way too thin at this time. Too many responsibillities to handle.

[Spleen]

http://www.nato.int/sfor/misc/water-can/b991015r.jpg
Cpl. Piton (Czech) showing the different stages of the purification of water from the Sava river to engineers belonging to the different MND-SW contingents.

The guy in the center and the guy on leftmost are both wearing what looks like Canadian uniforms. Are you sure the guy center is not Canadian? Or can anyone confirm he is?

[Ratamacue]

The Canadians have done far more than their share in Afghanistan. No complaints here.

[EvanL]

Its time we pull out of the balkans. Its pretty much stable there now. And NATO and the UN still has quite a presence there.

[TarwarWarrior]

Roto 15 is it for Canadians in Bosnia, it's the tear down tour. Some camps (like Glamoc) were taken down on Roto 12 and the guys moved back into Drvar.

The time to wind down and retool for the future is a good idea IMO. . When I served with WO's who had 6 tours already, it says a lot. I was going to throw my name down for the Afghanistan tour that 1 PPCLI was going on but now I guess that won't happen. Hopefully this 'restructuring' isn't going to take us out of the international stage for very long though

-TW, out!-

[marktigger]

Its time we pull out of the balkans. Its pretty much stable there now. And NATO and the UN still has quite a presence there.


Have eh I missed something. did canada leave the UN and NATO recentley while we've had our eyes on Buffhoon's squirming?

[Red]

i have to give it up to the canadians,they have done a lot of work and they desreve a rest.good job lads.as for the swedes you need to get ure ass of and do some good rather than put suicide bomber art in museums.

[Andyman]

yeah the Canadian Army really does need to sit back and re-establish our purpose, our goals and focus on the future of warfare and upgrade the troops as necessary. :|

[Nunavut's sewage]

I second that motion, however, sadly I don't really see that happening.

Canadian society especially the youth seem very complacent and pascifistic.

It doesn't seem to be a real priority for the general public to see the CF brought back up to fighting strength or even just a good strength to defend the country. Otherwise they'd be pissed with the liberals for doing such a horible job at managing its funding. If you ask most Canadians what they think they'll tell you that they are proud of what you do and think our military is an important institution. However, they'll stop short of doing anything to change the way its being run.

And I dunno about the rest of you guys in the army but I don't much like being part of an army that doesn't have tanks. It's like drving a car without a windshield. Just makes NO sense.

[Truthsayer]

i have to give it up to the canadians,they have done a lot of work and they desreve a rest.good job lads.as for the swedes you need to get ure ass of and do some good rather than put suicide bomber art in museums.

:roll:

Yes, let us fight the freedom of speach!


Btw, what country was in Kongo in the 60is? Then went to Libanon, Bosnia and Afghanistan? And going back to Kongo in 2003?

Swedish troops, you ingorant fool.

[usa320]

I agree... The Canadians do need to rest, resupply, refit and refund their army.

But since the Canadians are basically running Kabul, who will take over?

I think we need to get some more US forces back into afghanistan. The Canadians and Germans did good work in Kabul, but few forces have ventured into the more remote areas since the US and Britain downsized their forces. I think we need to send some SF units back and strike em hard again. We arent taking enough offensive action as we should be, thats for sure.

[ßå$tĮТHÏ¿ð]

Our boys are tired and underfunded, they need a break from all of the Ops that they have been on.

Its a fact we dont have the biggest army, or the most funded. But we work with what we got. And it seems like taking a lil break from the action wouldnt be such a bad idea. This will also free-up some money to be spent else-were in the military for equipment and what not. And with a lil luck it hopefully more money will be given to the army to modernize it and get it up to strength a bit more.

For the size of our army our boys have pulled there wieght and more, its time for some of these other armies of the world to step up to the plate.

[Skaman]

Analyze the deficiencies within the training routine, establish a proper budget for the CF and re-evaluate our foreign commitments over the next few years. When this is complete, Canada can re-emerge as a player in international relations and military efforts.

[Red]

i have to give it up to the canadians,they have done a lot of work and they desreve a rest.good job lads.as for the swedes you need to get ure ass of and do some good rather than put suicide bomber art in museums.

:roll:

Yes, let us fight the freedom of speach!


Btw, what country was in Kongo in the 60is? Then went to Libanon, Bosnia and Afghanistan? And going back to Kongo in 2003?

Swedish troops, you ingorant fool.
who are you calling an ignorant fool you condom face.

[Truthsayer]

i have to give it up to the canadians,they have done a lot of work and they desreve a rest.good job lads.as for the swedes you need to get ure ass of and do some good rather than put suicide bomber art in museums.

:roll:

Yes, let us fight the freedom of speach!


Btw, what country was in Kongo in the 60is? Then went to Libanon, Bosnia and Afghanistan? And going back to Kongo in 2003?

Swedish troops, you ingorant fool.
who are you calling an ignorant fool you condom face.

Thanks for proving my point.

[marktigger]

hang on a minite underfuned and over comitted???????

Have you thought out what comittments UK PLC have at the minite and the squeeze on defence spending. Much as I admire your govt for what its doing (wish ours would do same). The British army whilst being Bigger has probably more of its forces comitted across the world. BTW what proportion of your deployed force is reservists?

[Falco]

I don't understand why we need to have troops in Bosnia & co when the EU is accepting something like 10 new members. Those countries should be obliged to send troops to the europeen hot-spots as kind of condition to adhering to the EUEkhm... boy, those countries send there units over 7 years ago. Check some information before you wrote a post, ok?


I was speaking from a canadian point of view.(BTW canada had troops in that region for over 12 years) Sorry if there was any misunserstanding. What I was trying to say is that the Europeen countries should be responsible for what happens in the region. I never saw a massive europeen deployment of troops in South America (save the Falklands) for a prolonged period of time yet there are conflicts that have been spanning decades (look at the civil wars, the drug wars, political unrest, etc). There are more important operations that the canadian army is presently taking part in such as Opt ATHENA in Afghanistan. There are currently 1192 CF personnel in the Balkans. Those are 1192 more troops that could be taking part in the war against terrorism. The region, even though it has not yet completely recovered from past comflics is more stable then it was in the 90's. This should prompt a reorganisation of the peacekeeping force to liberate the foreign elements of this duty and to replace them by peacekeepers from local countries.

(BTW I'm not a boy anymore ;))

[EvanL]

I don't understand why we need to have troops in Bosnia & co when the EU is accepting something like 10 new members. Those countries should be obliged to send troops to the europeen hot-spots as kind of condition to adhering to the EUEkhm... boy, those countries send there units over 7 years ago. Check some information before you wrote a post, ok?


I was speaking from a canadian point of view.(BTW canada had troops in that region for over 12 years) Sorry if there was any misunserstanding. What I was trying to say is that the Europeen countries should be responsible for what happens in the region. I never saw a massive europeen deployment of troops in South America (save the Falklands) for a prolonged period of time yet there are conflicts that have been spanning decades (look at the civil wars, the drug wars, political unrest, etc). There are more important operations that the canadian army is presently taking part in such as Opt ATHENA in Afghanistan. There are currently 1192 CF personnel in the Balkans. Those are 1192 more troops that could be taking part in the war against terrorism. The region, even though it has not yet completely recovered from past comflics is more stable then it was in the 90's. This should prompt a reorganisation of the peacekeeping force to liberate the foreign elements of this duty and to replace them by peacekeepers from local countries.

(BTW I'm not a boy anymore ;))
Happy bar-mitzvah. ;)

[Falco]

Wrong religion there buddy

[EvanL]

Wrong religion there buddy
C'est la vie!

[Falco]

T'es comique toi!!

[EvanL]

T'es comique toi!!
C'est correct !
Chions nous-mêmes avec le rire

[Falco]

T'es comique toi!!
C'est correct !
Chions nous-mêmes avec le rire

Une bierre avec ça? :D

[usa320]

you condom face

Never heard that one before.

That really makes no sense at all...

"you ****** protective device face".

[Midtown]

What goes into a condom...A ****.

I think it was his way of saying that he gets alot of **** in his face.

Or else

"YOUR PROTECTED FROM AIDS" Face

[Whistler]

i have to give it up to the canadians,they have done a lot of work and they desreve a rest.good job lads.as for the swedes you need to get ure ass of and do some good rather than put suicide bomber art in museums.

:roll:

Yes, let us fight the freedom of speach!


Btw, what country was in Kongo in the 60is? Then went to Libanon, Bosnia and Afghanistan? And going back to Kongo in 2003?

Swedish troops, you ingorant fool.


Right... so you were too busy to fight the Nazis in WW2, but in the 60s you sent soldiers to... uh... the Congo?

Yeah, thanks, a lot.



...no, really, thanks for the contribution!

[M203]

i have to give it up to the canadians,they have done a lot of work and they desreve a rest.good job lads.as for the swedes you need to get ure ass of and do some good rather than put suicide bomber art in museums.

Well we were among the first to go into bosnia in 93

Before that we were in lebanon, cyprus, congo of course and other places.

We also contributed with a field hospital element treating coalition forces during gulf war 1 and with a field hospital/ medical unit in somalia.

We have also sent SSG to afghanistan, requested by the SAS.

SSG was also sent to Congo working with French SF.

Other units has also worked in Congo.

In a couple of weeks we are sending troops to Liberia, working togehter with irish units.

we are also sending more units to afghanistan (MP) in a couple of weeks.

And of course we have people in kosovo.

Myself I have done one tour in Bosnia and one in Kosovo and would go again if it wasnt for my university studies.

Peacekeeping is hard in many ways and extremely complex (especially with UN mandate :( )which is illustrated with the following story from the swedes in bosnia

Article by Unicorn
Translation by J-Star and Ace

In the fall of 1993 I was serving as a heavy machinegunner at Nordbat 2, Guard & Escort platoon. By the end of september our SISU and a platoon from 10th mech inf company were sent urgently as reinforcements to the 8th mech inf company area of responsibility in Vares. This was because several of the battalion's armored vehicles had been involved in clashes with units of the HVO. The 8th coy had also been subjected to ambushes.

The mood in Vares was nasty and very threatening. No civilians what-so-ever were moving outdoors and the entire time we were close, too close, to losing control of the situation. If we ever had any control that is. We were a few hundred Swedes against an entire Croatian brigade.

Houses were burning here and there in Vares and its surroundings, but from one of the battalion observation posts one could see the light of a fire that from the looks of it was more serious. It seemed as if an entire village was in flames. However, Croatian forces were blocking the access routes and refused to let anyone near the village.

Units from the Swedish battalion had repeatedly been, and still were, subjected to ambushes by "unknown" soldiers. Sometimes they shot back. The whole situation was like walking a thin line. Most of the SISU-vehicles had one or more tires that had been scavenged from less prioritized vehicles. The tires had been blown out and shot at such a pace that no more spares were available. Instead there were now a couple of trucks without wheels put up on blocks in the camp.

The mood between the Croatian forces and the Swedish battalion was as mentioned not the best. Still though the hostilities were not official. Going into the village on the other hand would have meant an open confrontation with the HVO. The Swedish battalion was a few hundred men, and reinforcements were not available in the foreseeable future. Against them, they would have gotten the entire Croatian Bobovac Brigade.

A refugee managed to reach the Nordbat camp and reported that the people in the burning village had been put through terrible atrocities. The village's name was Stupni Do. Rumours had it that some forty villagers had escaped and were hiding in the woods some kilometres from the village, in the middle of the frontline. They were probably trying to reach the Bosnian side of the front.

Together with battalion commander Ulf Henricsson and a few members of his staff we left in our SISU in an attempt to find the refugees. It was dark, houses were burning around us, and we left for the frontline. A couple of times we negotiated our way through checkpoints controlled by HVO, the Bosnian-Croatian army.

We searched with night vision goggles but couldn't find the refugees. We thought we had found their location - a creepy cemetery on the steep hillside. We saw no one and could do nothing alone in the darkness, so we returned to the camp for a couple of hours of sleep.

At the camp all available personnel were in entrenchments. The 8th coy camp was situated in a valley between high mountains and it was a nightmare to protect against assaults or snipers. A letter had been left during the day where they threatened to once again attack the camp. It was biting cold outside and the only thing that didn't freeze was the mud, that reached above the ankles. The fog was thick and made it impossible to see more than 50 meters.

Early in the morning we made another attempt to rescue the refugees. This time we brought two medic SISU's and another armed Guard/Escort SISU. Major Daniel Ekberg was in command of the unit. We negotiated a passage through a couple of checkpoints and went back to the location we had found last evening. There we stopped in the middle of the road in a narrow canyon between two hill slopes. We used our powerful horns on the vehicles and our interpreter Ruzdi Ekenheim explained through a megaphone that we were from UNPROFOR and there to help. Nothing happened. If the refugees really were there they were afraid to show themselves. Twenty minutes passed and soon we would have to leave. If the HVO found us we would be in trouble.

Just when we had begun to give up hope we hear a cry for help from the forest. Little by little twenty five frozen, shocked human remnants come to us. A woman had died during the night, but we had no means of bringing her corpse. We left her body behind.

A pretty girl in her twenties throws herself crying around the neck of Ekenheim. She tells of how she was forced to watch her family get killed. Her boyfriend was on crutches after an injury, and they made her watch them kill him. If she had dropped as much as a tear they would have killed her too. After this they raped her and threw her into a house with some other villagers. The door was blocked and the house was set on fire.

The girl was alive now thanks to a sledge being found. While the house was burning, they used that to make a hole in the wall and managed to flee into the forest at the back of the house.

In the middle of our rescue operation a mini-bus filled with Croatian HVO soldiers comes driving towards us at high speed. I pointed my heavy machinegun at them and armed it. The warning shot I intended to fire turned out not to be necessary though. At the mere sight of the muzzle the soldiers became so frightened that they drove off the road. We let the trembling soldiers leave the scene in the company of two other HVO soldiers that had been captured and disarmed by the Guard/Escort-SISU at the other end of the column.

After making sure we had gotten all refugees and loaded them into our already crammed SISU-vehicles we drove to the village Pominici on the Bosnian side of the front. Our SISU was so full of people that I had to stand on one leg the whole trip there. Since the rear was packed with refugees, any attempt to lessen the target silhouette by crouching behind the machinegun was made impossible and I felt like my entire upper body was a glow-in-the-dark target for the Croatian snipers.

I will never forget the emotions and facial expressions that met us in Pominici. People desperately looking for relatives. The relief of finding the one they were looking for. The despair when someone wasn't there. At least I had an affirmation that our presence was not only justified. It was essential.

Now we just had to get back. That turned out to be more difficult than we expected. By now the HVO knew what we had done. They didn't like that we had "picked sides" by helping the refugees. Probably it also was against UN directives for the area. At a checkpoint in the southern outskirts of Vares we were stopped. Major Ekberg asked for advice on the radio. Ulf Henricsson himself answered.

"-This is Victor Lima One. Are there any mines there?"
"-Negative!"
"-Give them two minutes - then run you the damn thing down!"

That was the first roadblock, but far from the last, to be smashed under the Nordic battalion's armoured vehicles.

We ran a gauntlet through Vares before we were stopped by soldiers with anti tank weapons. Four solders with LAWs were fanned out in front of the convoy. The situation was so tense one careless move would immediately have set off a battle. As I was standing at the heavy machinegun in the front-most vehicle I realized I would be the first to fall. Add to that the machinegun was mounted on an anti-aircraft carriage completely devoid of armour protection. I was an easy target. At the same time I realized my weapon was the only thing that would get us out of there if the battle started. I started preparing for my own death by giving orders and assigning targets for the others in the rear of the vehicle. The most important thing was that someone took my weapon when - not if - I fell.

The Croatian military policeman that was in charge of the HVO soldiers stepped up with a couple of men to negotiate. He had 25 hash marks on the butt if his AK47. One for each enemy he had killed. Major Ekberg and the interpreter Ekeheim hade stepped out of the SISU and were now negotiating with the Croatians. The situation was tense. Very tense. After some time of negotiating the tension seemed to ease a bit. We thought the danger was over - but just like a letter in the mail a mentally disturbed HVO soldier came in a white VW Golf. Something had snapped with him when his entire family was obliterated by a grenade. For some reason he now hated the UN for this.

He stepped out of his car among the negotiating Swedes and Croatians, mad as a hornet, and grabbed on the HVO soldiers' LAWs in order to fire it against the SISU behind ours. In an instant the situation escalated and I had time to think "****, this is really happening now".

This was one of those moments in your life when time stands completely still. I saw in the eyes of the Croatian soldier that was in the sights of my 12.7 millimetre machinegun that he understood what was about to happen.

I'm pulling it...

But - a fraction of a second before the first projectiles from my heavy machinegun would have struck the chest of the first of the four LAW-carrying soldiers fifty meters in front of us, one of the Croatians managed to strike the somewhat antisocial man with a straight punch and remove the LAW from him. I eased up on the trigger and felt I must have been right on the pressure point of it. So damn close. Maybe there wouldn't be any killing after all.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Had he had time to aim the LAW at the SISU, a series of events would have been started that couldn't have ended with anything but us or the Croatians being the only ones standing up. I felt my legs were shaking continuously. Partly from the psychical strain and partly from standing in the exact same strenuous position for half an hour.

The LAW soldier in my sights didn't like the fact that I was aiming at him and changed position. Not so strange after the incident with the LAW snatcher. I followed him with the barrel. He showed with unmistakable gestures that he felt provoked. I didn't care. We stared each other out, and neither wanted to be the first to back down. In the middle of our psychological duel I leaned out from behind the machinegun, winked and smiled at him. I won the battle. He became so flabbergasted he didn't really know what to do or how to behave, and started pacing like a confused chicken.

Suddenly Colonel Ulf Henricssons jeep shows up out of nowhere. The short statured - but oh so powerful - colonel steps out and starts shouting orders at both Swedes and HVO soldiers. The HVO men look almost astonished, and like magic Henricsson dominates the scene in a manner few people are capable of. He takes control of the situation and defuses it completely. We quite simply leave, leaving behind a large group of open-mouthed HVO soldiers.

We return to the camp for a debriefing of what the refugees have told us about Stupni Do. Conclusion: we ARE going into that village. Two mech inf platoons from 8th and 10th coy are selected for the task. For the first time in a very, very long time Swedish troops are ordered to get ready to take terrain. The platoons are assigned the north and south access roads to Stupni Do and set out.

At the same time we give colonel Henricsson a ride to the Bobovac Brigade headquarters in our SISU. The Croatians are given one last chance to let us in. If they don't, we will go in anyway. Exactly what the very resolute Henricsson said to the Bobovac Brigade commander I don't know - but the commander comes out personally and drives ahead of us in his personal maroon Vaz Niva to make sure we are let into the village.

Fairly undramatically we meet up with the mech inf platoon assigned to the northern approach of the village. There is also an armoured jeep there with a near suicidal television crew. Henricsson decides to take advantage of the situation and invites the crew to document what has happened. The colonel walks with the journalists ahead of our SISU as we slowly roll into Stupni Do.

Not one house in the village had been spared. Everything had been blown up, burnt down, destroyed. At first glance the village seemed devoid of people, but just after a few minutes we find the charred remains of a person. After a careful search a total of twenty corpses are found, among them a child about eight to ten years old that had been kicked to death. Three women that had tried to hide in a potato store had had their throats slit. Then they had been shot in the head. The corpses were still desperately holding hands. When a pioneer platoon later on are to carry out the bodies they find a ****y trap had been set by putting an armed grenade in the armpit of one of the bodies. It falls out on the floor without detonating.

The entire village was completely eradicated. A single cow and some cat had in some strange way escaped annihilation. Smoke was smouldering from the foundations of the houses. Water was bizarrely enough running from the blown up water mains. A sole yellow child's boot was on a slope outside one of the houses. I'm still wondering what had happened to the child that just some day ago been spending its time happily playing. Maybe the child was one of the little girls that were said to have been burned alive with gasoline for the murderers' amusement.

Colonel Henricsson stepped back into the SISU. We were now going to Pominici to interview the refugees thoroughly. We were all very dogged. An HVO soldier was no longer worth anything in the eyes of Nordbat. The respect we possibly had felt before was completely gone. As we are driving through the southern approach to Stupni Do the HVO has mined the passage under the railway viaduct we have to pass. On the other side is the mech inf platoon assigned to the southern approach. Colonel Henricsson gives the nearest HVO soldier a raging excoriation. The man is horror-struck and defends himself by saying he "just a soldier!". But he refuses to remove the mines and we simply drive up the slopes and over the railway. In the middle of the rail yard we greet the mech inf platoon heading the other way.

We are once again stopped at the checkpoint we forced our way through earlier that day. They don't intend to get run over again and have placed mines across the road. A furious colonel Henricsson jumps out of the SISU with his interpreter Ekenheim. Henricsson explains that the mines will be removed, or "we will blow your head off", pointing demonstratively at my heavy machinegun. The muzzle is pointed right at the HVO soldier's forehead and judging by his face it must have looked as if it was the muzzle of a howitzer. Ekenheim simultaneously translates Henricssons berating of the soldier, amusingly enough with the same lively gestures.

The entire crew of the vehicle is standing in the hatches, ready to fire. One man is even in a kneeling position on top of the vehicle. Our grim expressions and determined gazes makes the HVO soldiers realize that the discussion is over. None of them dare touch their guns. Nordbat is not negotiating anymore today.

When nothing happens colonel Henricsson picks up the first mine from the road himself and throws is carelessly at a pile of tires at a house wall. He picks up another mine and sends it in the same direction. Finally he forces the checkpoint commander as a final defeat to pick up the last mine himself. Stooped over he trots along with the mine in his hands. The road is clear and we continue.

In the same insane pace we continue our rampage in Vares for another few days. Nordbat Two is no longer negotiating about the "freedom of movement" the UN was entitled to according to an agreement with the fighting parties. Those who stand in our way we run over. As per order by colonel Henricsson we are authorized for immediate fire for effect. In his own words: "We shot the warning shot last Thursday".

In three days we sleep a total of a few hours. The little sleep we get is usually in a firing position at the camp with sleeping-bags wrapped around the body in order to not freeze to death. We eat frozen "pyttipanna” (hashed meat and potatoes) that we chisel from large tin cans. That's when someone suddenly realizes we're being benefit taxed for free food and lodging. For the same amount as if we had stayed at the Scandic Hotel eating entrecote.

The Canadian troops assigned to us as reinforcements consider us to be crazy already on the first day and leave us as they deem the situation to be too dangerous. Instead, a couple of days later we get reinforced by a company from the French foreign legion.

The non-Swedish UN-generals, who previously were sceptical towards Nordbat 2 changed their attitude in the blink of an eye after Vares. Comrades from my platoon were giving Ulf Henricsson a ride to the UN Headquarters at Kiseljak outside Sarajevo a couple of days after the climax.

In the old Olympic Games motel that housed "BH Command" there was a large canteen where all the personnel dined. When a small group of Swedish soldiers get in the food queue with colonel Henricsson up front everyone in the room stands up, from privates to generals, and applauds. Nordbat 2 had made themselves a reputation in Bosnia.

The British general and UN commander in Bosnia Sir Michael Rose, former chief of 22 SAS Regiment (and previously one of the strongest critics towards the Swedish presence) later wants the Swedish battalion to be a part of a special rapid reaction unit to be deployed in special situations anywhere in Bosnia. The Swedish government declined. Sir Michael Rose later wrote a debate article back home in the UK where the Swedish soldiers are mentioned as a shining example of how a conscript based military system also can produce soldiers of the highest international ranking.

One of the "suicidal" journalists on site in Vares was Anthony Lloyd, himself a former soldier in the British army and a Northern Ireland and Gulf War veteran. In his book "My war gone by, I miss it so" he mentions the Swedes in the following manner:

"The men inside (the APC) might have been UN but they were playing by a completely different set of rules.

They were Swedes; in terms of individual intelligence, integrity and single-mindedness I was to find them among the most impressive soldiers I had ever encountered.

In Vares their moment had come."

burning swedish sisu in bosnia
http://home1.swipnet.se/~w-11230/sisu.gif

Have a good day

[Whistler]

Interesting story.

...sorry for my post up at the top. Kinda lost my head, didn't mean to disrespect Swedish soldiers :).

[M203]

Bosnia 93
http://www.dinplats.com/ba01/leo/171.jpg
swedes and danish leos

http://www.dinplats.com/ba01/leo/172.jpg
danish leos

http://www.dinplats.com/ba01/opr04/131.jpg
observationpost, when the observationposts was shelled (which they were regularly)the apc was used for shelter.

http://www.dinplats.com/ba01/patrull/patr10.jpg

http://www.dinplats.com/ba01/patrull/minol1.jpg
http://www.dinplats.com/ba01/patrull/minol2.jpg
sisu "struck" by mine

http://user.tninet.se/~nce753s/Patr.gif
pbv302 now being phased out by the cv90

http://www.industriinformation.se/alfa-sierra/Bilder/Kap9/image31.htm
grenade has landed 5 m behind the apc which now needs a paintjob

http://www.industriinformation.se/alfasierra/Bilder/Kap12/image52.htm
Swedish antitank mine being used to destroy a BiH bunker

http://www.industriinformation.se/alfasierra/Bilder/Kap11/image42.htm
mount igman

[marktigger]

Have heard alot of good reports about Nordbat from various people who were on the early tours in Bosnia. Its just a pity the UN command wasn't as resolute as some of the units on the ground.

[Falco]

good pictures woot