U.S. troops celebrate Christmas early, head to Bosnia

December 11, 1995
Web posted at: 12:20 a.m. EST (0520 GMT)

From Correspondents Kathleen Koch in Washington and Mike Hanna in Sarajevo

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (CNN) -- The deployment of U.S. troops to Bosnia continued Sunday as U.S. Marines arrived in Sarajevo and soldiers from two U.S. military bases departed for the peacekeeping mission known as Operation Joint Endeavor.

At Fort Hood, Texas, it was a time for tears and final hugs as families said goodbye to 40 soldiers heading to Bosnia.

At Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina, 47 members of a special operations unit leaving for the Balkans spoke of hurried holiday celebrations.

"We had Christmas last night," said Army Capt. Tom Salo, a company commander in the 112th Special Operations Signal Battalion who expects to be in Bosnia for the next year. "My wife and children, we sat down and exchanged gifts, had Christmas dinner. We didn't have much time." (72K AIFF sound or 72K WAV sound)

Staff Sgt. Cynthia Sherrod, a 15-year Army veteran, said she and her 13-year-old daughter also celebrated Christmas this weekend.

"You know, as long as we shared our Christmas, it'll be okay. I hope it's so busy that I won't think about it being Christmas."

-- Staff Sgt. Cynthia Sherrod

It's going to feel a lot like Christmas when the troops arrive. Fog and snow have proved major obstacles to the smooth deployment of soldiers who have arrived so far.

"Initially, the biggest challenge over there is going to be the weather, which is very harsh," said Lt. Col. Bronco Lane, commander of the 112th Special Operations Signal Battalion. Lane's soldiers were given extra cold weather training and issued special cold weather gear.

In Sarajevo the welcome was warm for the special forces if the weather was not.

"We need American troops here to stabilize the situation, to create conditions for rebuilding (and) reconstruction of our state and our society," said Bosnian Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic.

American Air Force personnel and U.S. Marines arrived Sunday to set up communications and logistics plans for the mission.

They were joined in Sarajevo by a Congressional delegation seeking further reassurances about the safety of American troops.

"We want to make sure that when our troops are here, because they will be here, they are coming, that they will be provided for, that they will be safe, that we can bring them home as rapidly as possible," said Rep. Dennis Hastert, R- Illinois, a member of the bipartisan delegation.

In an address to Florida Democrats, President Clinton tried to allay concerns about the safety of the troops.

"I am convinced that the risks to our troops have been minimized to the maximum extent possible," he said. "After all, we're going not to fight a war but to wage a peace."

The White House and most of Congress has unified behind the U.S. plan to level the playing field in Bosnia by arming and training the Bosnian Muslims. Vice President Al Gore said third parties or contractors will do the job.

"We don't want to have our soldiers playing an even-handed peace-keeping role, then the next day having all these civilians there watch them go over to one side of the conflict and give them weapons and train them and so forth," said Gore.

Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole stood behind the administration's plan. "The whole debate the last 30 months has been (about) lifting the arms embargo, let them defend themselves and this is part of that same philosophy that is bipartisan. It's also part of the exit strategy."

But not all were on board. "You know I don't want you to go, and I'm going to do everything I can to bring you back," Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, told Fort Hood troops preparing to leave for Bosnia.

"Regardless of what (the American people) think about what we're doing, we need them to support our soldiers."

-- Lt. Col. Bronco Lane

"If they start fighting after we get there, we ought to pull the troops out in two weeks," said House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt.

Despite such differences over sending U.S. troops to Bosnia, departing soldiers called for support from the American people.

"Regardless of what they think about what we're doing," said Lt. Col. Lane. "We need them to support our soldiers."

U.S. troops celebrate Christmas early, head to Bosnia

"You know, as long as we shared our Christmas, it'll be okay. I hope it's so busy that I won't think about it being Christmas."

"Regardless of what (the American people) think about what we're doing, we need them to support our soldiers."

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