THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 23, 1995 TAG: 9509230244
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
Helicopter crewmen and Navy SEALs from the carrier Theodore Roosevelt ``made a magnificent effort'' to rescue two downed French pilots in Bosnia two weeks ago, Rear Adm. William J. Fallon said Friday.
But bad weather and small arms fire forced them to abandon their initial mission. Two others, launched by NATO forces ashore, also failed to locate the pilots.
Fallon, who returned to Norfolk on Friday, is the battle group commander aboard the carrier Theodore Roosevelt, responsible for coordinating the initial airstrikes against Bosnian Serbs earlier this month.
Saying he was prohibited earlier from discussing the incident - ``there's a lot of reluctance to talk about it at all,'' he said - Fallon disclosed some details after foreign news accounts apparently came from politicians addressing the issue before the French senate on Wednesday.
Fallon called the rescue attempts ``really gutsy'' because they came on short notice and with no clear location of where the pilots might be.
A French Mirage 2000 was downed by anti-aircraft fire on Aug. 30 during NATO airstrikes. The two pilots have not been found, nor have Bosnian Serbs acknowledged whether they are holding them.
``Unlike the previous time, (when Air Force Capt. Scott O'Grady was rescued by U.S. Marines in June) we had some information, but not much,'' said Fallon.
A German reconnaissance plane earlier photographed what appeared to be the outline of a French Mirage jet, at the outset of NATO's bombing campaign against Bosnian Serb positions, U.S. Adm. Leighton Smith said at a news conference in Naples, Italy.
Two HH-60 helicopters from the Theodore Roosevelt spearheaded the first attempt on Sept. 5, carrying SEAL Team members ashore, according to Fallon.
Fallon declined to disclose the exact area being searched, but he said that as the helicopters got into the area, they were met by severe weather when thunderstorms caught them in a mountainous area. They also took some small arms fire, he said.
``One of the helicopters got shot up pretty good, but no one was hurt,'' said Fallon.
Both helicopters made it back aboard the carrier with no further incidents.
The next two attempts at rescue were made by land-based CH-53 helicopters with a multi-national force aboard, including Americans. No personnel from the carrier battle group was involved.
``We were prepared to back them up, but we weren't needed,'' said Fallon.
The second mission, on Sept. 6, also was forced back because of weather. The third, on Sept. 7, was successful in finding the location, but not the pilots.
It too had to be aborted when the helicopter came under heavy Serb fire, France announced Thursday.
The U.S. team was unable to locate the pilots, and the commandos were hit by ground fire as they left the area after a half-hour in the air, Smith said.
The United States has no ground troops in Bosnia but participates in NATO air raids and other alliance operations there.
France says its fliers are in Serb hands, and the Yugoslavian government, which is composed of the republics of Serbia and Montenegro, says they are safe but their whereabouts are unknown.
Despite the failed rescue, the participants felt good about their efforts, said Fallon.
They worked hard to convince the senior U.S. and United Nations leadership that they could pull the plan off, said Fallon.
``They did everything they could. They were fully prepared,'' he said. MEMO: Staff writer Dale Eisman contributed to this report. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS photo
U.S. Adm. Leighton Smith, the NATO commander for southern Europe,
said Friday that the alliance is pressing its efforts to bring back
two French pilots who were shot down by Serbs.
by CNB