11 November 2008
By Judith Martin
In this issue of Army News we continue a series which looks at each of the deployments the New Zealand Army has undertaken over the past 30 years, and the recollections of those who deployed.
From Cambodia to Korea, the Middle East, Africa, Afghanistan and throughout the South Pacific Kiwi soldiers and officers have been there, and in many cases are still there, doing their part to encourage peace and stability.
In the early 1990s the tragedy that was Yugoslavia was seldom out of the news.
The media converged on the Balkans war zone, and images of the misery that was enveloping the countries involved was played out on television screens, in radio broadcasts and in newspapers throughout the world.
In 1992 New Zealand sent seven military observers to serve in the United Nations Protection Force in what was by then the former Yugoslavia. It was still a vicious, and hostile environment, with at least one New Zealander being shot at several times, another wounded by gun fire, and others being threatened.
In 1994, following a tenuous peace agreement in the multi-factional war, New Zealand sent the first of three reinforced rifle companies to Bosnia Herzgovina. They were the first units of Kiwi combat troops to deploy to a battle zone since New Zealand troops returned from Vietnam in 1972.
After being farewelled in an emotional street parade throughout Palmerston North, a 250-strong rifle company deployed and although it was attached to a British Regiment it took with it an impressive (at the time) assortment of kit – 25 armoured personnel carriers, Unimog trucks, land rovers, field kitchens and containers of equipment.
The New Zealand Army’s Land component Commander, Brigadier Dave Gawn was a young major when he deployed as OC of the New Zealand Company which was based at Santici, alongside Belgian and Dutch transport contingents.
A peace agreement had been signed between the Bosnian Croats and the Bosnian Muslims, and was the precursor to the Kiwi troops deploying and landing at Split on the Dalmatian coast and then moving to the Lashva Valley.
“The extent of the tragedy that we walked into was almost incomprehensible,” he recalls.
“The tension was palpable, particularly between the Bosniaks (Muslims) and the Croats. They were still facing each other off across trenches around the town of Vitez, which was the Croat pocket in the Muslim area, fighting to survive. In places those trenches were only 20 metres apart.”
Looking back, he says, he and his troops were “pretty naive” about what they were facing. “As an Army we hadn’t had any experience in this sort of warfare since (our involvement in) Rhodesia. Our biggest issue was developing a modus operandi to fulfil the mission assigned to us by the British. Basically, it was “go out and further the peace”. We didn’t have much real idea of what was required. Our doctrine and our thinking and pretty much everything else about us as an Army are far more mature now.”
“Most of the Army’s mission-critical equipment was still of the Vietnam era but as young soldiers we weren’t that concerned. It was the best equipment that we had and was sufficient and adequate to do what we were being asked to do.”
Until the peace accord was signed the conflict in the Lashva valley involved Muslims trying to squeeze out a pocket of Croats to provide a more secure and homogenous zone. “The Croats in turn were trying to squeeze out that pocket of Muslims in Stari Vitez, which was a canker in their midst, and the scene of some very heavy, vicious and desperate fighting, each side literally struggling for survival.”
“That was immediately followed by a question from them - ‘How do you propose to do it?’ This is on about day two of arrival. As I said, we were really green (my career had been based around training to fight insurgents in the bush) and the situation we found ourselves in was a reflection of the preparedness of the New Zealand Army at the time for those sorts of combat/high-end peacekeeping operations.”
But despite the lack of experience in similar situations, the Kiwi approach worked.
The troops were armed, but rather than use firepower to decide issues, they put their best effort into unravelling the complexities that motivated each group – no easy task in a land mass that has experienced centuries of conflict.
“We were thrown into that environment. I remember arriving in Santici (our operational base) and looking at my officers and thinking, ‘what the hell are we doing here, and, more importantly, what the hell is it that we have to do?’ I was very fortunate because General John McColl (who was the Deputy Commander in Iraq until recently) and Sir Michael Rose arrived on our doorstep and they provided me with my mission. And a good military mission it was: They said - ‘We want you to go out there and further the peace.’ That was it - no how, no why, nothing else just ‘Go out and further the peace’.
As they are doing in Afghanistan and Timor Leste today, the New Zealanders identified who the key personalities were, and the pressure and influence points. Local “leaders” were often not the most savoury of characters – one, Dario Kordic is serving a 25-year prison sentence for war crimes involving a massacre – but communicating with them was necessary in order to make progress The local children were another matter however.
Brigadier Gawn: “Children are children – it doesn’t matter which side of the factional line they are on. They are the future, they are innocent, and we cared as much about their safety and well being as their own parents. In our patch the actions of the parents (through the indiscriminate use of mines particularly) were killing and maiming seven to nine kids per week on both sides.
“We talked to the children because we knew they would talk to and influence their parents. If you are able to work with them, then you can build relationships through them by re-building schools, school visits, school books and for us, mine awareness education programmes and cultural programmes. It was a programme of hope built around normalising the lives of kids by getting them back into the schools in the first instance. That line of operation, in particular, was more successful than any others, and I would argue it is relevant in any theatre in the world today. Naturally the security environment has to be sufficiently stable for it to gain traction.”
In all, New Zealand sent three contingents to Bosnia over 15 months.
In 2004 EUFOR, the European Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to which 33 nations contribute personnel, took over peace support operations. The main contingent of New Zealand peacekeepers returned home, and was eventually replaced by a much smaller group of military personnel.
From dealing with illegal weapons caches and the discovery of mass grave sites, to sorting out the ownership of a family cow – it was all part of a day’s work for the New Zealand Defence Force liaison observation team based in Prijedor, recalls Major Derrick McMillan.
Prijedor was a predominantly Serbian town in the in the north -west of the country, where the Kiwis formed a liaison observation team(LOT), which was part of a British and Dutch-led task force.
Three New Zealand Army personnel were also based at Banja Luka, 45 km from Prijedor, and were part of a team which oversaw the dozen or so multi-national LOTs working throughout the region.
Major McMillan, who served in Banja Luka, said the EUFOR mission – Operation Althea - in Bosnia-Herzegovina, was named after the Greek god of healing. “The mission aimed to help Bosnia- Herzegovina become a safe and secure environment after years of ethnicity- based conflict. The LOTs were stationed throughout Bosnia, and were the eyes and ears of the mission.”
The Prijedor team’s operating area was divided into six ‘opstinas’ or districts, and covered some 2700 sq km and had a total population of 170,000. The terrain was varied and roads were a mixture ranging from good quality sealed routes to poorly maintained gravel roads with many potholes. There was a significant mine risk throughout Bosnia, including the NZ operating area.
EUFOR’s aim was to help Bosnia become a modern, stable
democracy, with membership of the European Union being one of the long term goals. There were many problems in Bosnia, particularly organised crime and corruption, and the country was still strictly divided along ethnic lines more than ten years after the war ended. There were also large numbers of illegal weapons and ammunition hidden in the community.
“In Bosnia’s favour are its natural resources, a well-educated population, and a willingness to get on with life, despite the past,” he said. “The team’s job was to try and find out about these issues and pass information onto the task force so that operations could be focused on where the best effects would be achieved. This was most often done by joint operations with local authorities, such as the police and State Border Service,” said Major McMillan.
There were 15 LOT House across Bosnia’s north- western region where the New Zealanders were based.
Major McMillan: “The Kiwis gained a good reputation both with locals and among the Task Force for their friendly yet straight talking manner and can-do attitude. This enabled the team to achieve good results, helping to facilitate a number of successful operations targeting illegal logging, smuggling and possession of illegal weapons, as well as the important role of bringing together the Task Force and local authorities.
Soldiers deployed to Prijedor, said the mission relied heavily on team members being good listeners and communicators, and being willing to help local people find solutions to issues and problems.
Some were no strangers to the Balkans, having deployed there in 1995 where they were based in Santici. Working in Prejidor was different they found, with the liaison observation team being tasked to openly find out information from locals, using an interpreter, and by patrols throughout the community.
The house, where the teams lived and worked was in central Prijedor. It was pink, and no one could miss it, and locals often walked in and asked for advice. The soldiers referred people to an appropriate local authority to hear their complaint.
The New Zealanders worked in designated areas, patrolling daily in two-man teams. They spoke to local mayors, police chiefs, political groups and religious leaders, as well as youth groups, and nongovernmental organisations.
Their work was about gaining situational awareness. The information collected by the teams ranged from the discovery of mass gravesites, illegal logging and weapons, to locals arguing over their property and boundary rights. If there were reasonable grounds to suspect illegal activity the New Zealanders helped the local authority deal with any problems.
It was not all hard work and tension, however.
As part of the interaction with the local community some of the soldiers volunteered to practise English with local school students, and took part in sports events.
The locals were introduced to hangi food, and the sports rivalry was keen. The local police were convinced to play the Kiwis in touch rugby. “They took the challenge very seriously, even stealing our rugby ball to practise their passing,” recalls one soldier.
New Zealand’s long commitment to Bosnia ended in June 2007 when the New Zealand flag was lowered at a ceremony in Sarajevo, officially ending the New Zealand involvement in the international peace-keeping effort.