THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 20, 1995 TAG: 9512200390
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DALE EISMAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
Improved weather let the U.S. military airlift additional troops and equipment into Bosnia on Tuesday, but a contingent of U.S. Navy builders, assigned a small but vital part of the peacekeeping mission, remained stuck in Spain.
Some 180 Navy Seabees had expected to fly Tuesday from their staging base in Rota to Budapest, Hungary, then to head south by road into Croatia. The construction battalion is to build four tent cities for Army troops, the first near a pair of bridges the Army will construct so the bulk of the U.S. force can cross the Sava River into Bosnia.
But the builders now will not head for Bosnia until Thursday. Their departure, said one source familiar with the situation, was delayed because Hungarian authorities complained that the troops' heavy equipment would tear up roads south of Budapest.
The new plan calls for the Seabees to fly into Tazar, a small town much closer to Hungary's border with Croatia. That will limit any damage they might do to the local highways.
The Seabees' delay over Hungarian highways is typical of the political problems the United States has encountered during its fledgling involvement in the Balkans, though the region's unique mixture of fog, misty rain and, lately snow has been the biggest obstacle to getting peacekeeping troops into position.
The Seabees - the name comes from the abbreviation ``CB'' for construction battalion - got a quick visit and a pep talk in Spain on Monday from Adm. Mike Boorda, the chief of naval operations.
Boorda, in turn, got a briefing on the special cold weather and mine awareness training the Seabees received in preparation for the mission.
The mine training, which all 20,000 U.S. troops going to Bosnia will receive, includes instruction in how to recognize and avoid various types of mines. A Marine gunnery sergeant who ran the class brought along samples of mines found in Bosnia and showed a video including pictures of damage caused by mines during the war in the Balkans.
His troops are ``focused and ready to go,'' said Lt. Cmdr. Doug Morton of China Grove, N.C., who will be their boss on the ground in Bosnia. He said the Marine sergeant who led the mine classes pronounced them ``in the zone'' after the training.
The troops were ``all hunched up on the front of their seats'' watching the video on mine damage, said Morton, whose sister, Donna Lewis, lives in Virginia Beach. It ``pretty much woke them up.''
Calvin Felix, a 1st class petty officer in the unit, said the troops have ``a controlled fear'' about the mission. They're confident they have the skills to do the job well but they recognize the dangers of operating in what could quickly become a war zone, he said.
Morton said a few of his people have already flown into Bosnia to join Army units scouting for camp sites. The Army also is in charge of identifying any minefields and ensuring that camp sites are free of mines before the Seabees go to work.
Felix said the Seabees learned enough in their mine classes to make them careful to get proof that the Army has completed its mine clearing before they go to work. ``We're not going to build anything on a field where they just say: `There's a field - go for it,' '' he said.
Felix, whose home is in Gainesville, Fla., has another reason for being careful, he said.
His sister is part of the Army's 1st Armored Division and could well end up living in one of the tents he helps put up.
The Seabees, part of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133 of Gulfport, Miss., arrived in Rota in early November.
They're on a routine seven-month deployment and up until a few weeks ago many were scattered across Europe working on various military construction projects. They were brought back to Spain to prepare for the Bosnia mission.
``We train all the time to do exactly this type of mission,'' said Morton. The camps the Seabees will construct will have ``strongback'' tents, with wooden floors, electricity and heat to give the Army troops some measure of comfort against the snowy Balkan winter.
The camps also will include mess halls, latrines and infirmaries.
Ed Dammer of Williamsport, Pa., another member of the unit, said the troops expected when they were deployed that they'd be called on for Bosnia duty.
They're eager to get on with the job, he said, though many have doubts that the U.S and other NATO countries will be successful in stopping the conflict.
He expects the Army will keep his unit relatively safe, Dammer said. And while some of his comrades are concerned about the Bosnian winter, Dammer, 23, said he figures ``it's not going to be any colder than in Pennsylvania.''
KEYWORDS: OPERATION JOINT ENDEAVOR BOSNIA U.S.
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