Operation Just Cause... ...for as long as it takes
By Linda D. Kozaryn AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy -- U.S. field commanders say
Operation Allied Force was a tough fight for the joint,
combined NATO air team that took to the skies against
Yugoslavia.
"The airmen flew through heavy anti-aircraft fire virtually
every single day and night," said U.S. Army Gen. Wesley
Clark, Operation Allied Force commander. "They flew against
very capable, integrated air defense systems, including
medium-altitude, surface-to-air missiles. Against a lesser
force, there would have been scores of aircraft down."
Beginning March 24, more than 730 U.S. Air Force, Navy and
Marine aircraft and 37,100 service members took part in
NATO's effort to stop the Kosovo conflict. NATO pilots flew
more than 36,000 sorties before the campaign that ended
June 20 when NATO confirmed Serb forces had pulled out of
Kosovo.
Clark said the 5,000 U.S. service members who served in
Task Force Hawk in Albania also played an important role.
The combat punch of the task force was 24 Army Apache
helicopters. Although the Apaches didn't fly as part of
Operation Allied Force, Clark said, they played an
important part in achieving the mission. "They moved in
there under the most difficult and demanding
circumstances," he said. "They established their
proficiency quickly and made a strong contribution to the
outcome of the mission."
Clark, who also heads U.S. European Command and serves as
NATO's supreme allied commander Europe, said the American
public may not fully appreciate the risks U.S. and NATO
pilots faced or the courage they displayed during the 79-
day air campaign. Going against Serb air defenses and
decisively beating them on their home turf was an
incredible achievement, he said.
"These pilots are heroes," the general said. "They went in
there time and time again. They knew what they were facing.
They knew that a mistake would mean loss of an aircraft.
They were extremely well prepared. They're very competent
and they didn't lose."
The need for absolute strike accuracy was an extra burden
for the pilots, Clark said. Each time they prepared to
strike, air crews had to think twice about the consequences
of missing the target. "Thinking twice takes time, and that
time -- those milliseconds or seconds -- adds to the risk,"
he said.
Clark also commended U.S. ground crews. Disciplined,
exacting Air Force, Navy and Marine crews maintained high
technical standards, and it showed, Clark said. No aircraft
were lost due to maintenance problems.
"They were quick to refit the aircraft and get them ready
to go in again," he said. "We had aircraft that had a very
high mission rates. When they got up there to fly and
fight, they had all the gear they needed to do it, and do
it successfully."
Even though NATO allies have trained together for years,
Clark said, the interoperability displayed during the
campaign surprised alliance military leaders. "We were one
team," he said. "We ran one fight together. It was truly
remarkable. The allies performed extremely well. They've
got some great pilots and equipment in many of the air
forces. They're competent and they've got a lot of
courage."
Throughout the operation, aircrews and support personnel at
Aviano Air Base, Italy, did the impossible, according to
U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Dan 'Fig' Leaf, commander of the
31st Fighter Wing. "These people have just spent every day
doing things other people said couldn't be done," the F-16
pilot said. "People said, 'You can't bed down this many
people. You can't operate this many aircraft. You can't fly
this many sorties. You can't sustain it.'
"But these great American men and women and their NATO
partners refused to listen," Leaf said. "They achieved what
many thought couldn't be done -- everything from building a
tent city to putting bombs on target under very difficult
threat conditions and occasionally quite lousy weather.”
The troops wanted to win the contest between good and evil,
he said. "They understood the importance of trying to stop
the atrocities in Kosovo. This really galvanized them and
allowed them to sustain the effort for 79-plus days of
uninterrupted air combat."
U.S. and NATO counterparts maintained a steady, intense
determination -- a deep commitment to win, Leaf said.
Whether he was walking through tent city, going through the
engine shop, launching on a sortie, talking to the arming
crew at end of runway or returning pilots, the wing leader
said he sensed their determination to see the mission
through.
"The only ebbs and flows in the operation came from
weather," Leaf said. "There was ramp up for our sorties,
but it was a steady build. We felt both our potential to be
victorious, and the need to be victorious, grow. I know
there's some impression that this was easy. This was not
easy. They were really shooting at us a lot."
Leaf expressed his utmost admiration and respect for
America's men and women in uniform. "I know how much
they'll give," he said. "I know how selflessly they serve."
The wing commander said he is inspired by his troops each
day. "Like the buildup of tent city," he said. "They did it
in four and a half days. It should have taken 14 to 21 as
we were bedding down 2,000 people.
Or, like the F-16 pilot who had "an air burst right under
his aircraft as he was guiding the weapon in on the target.
His flight leader asked, 'Did it hit you? Are you OK?' And
the pilot said, 'Something hit me but I'm still running.'
So he continued the mission and hit the target, even while
thinking that his aircraft had been struck. As it turned
out, it had not sustained any damage, but that's how close
the explosion was."
Leaf said he's been impressed not just by the airmen's
dedication, but also by their intellect. Shortly after the
war crimes tribunal indicted Milosevic as a war criminal,
he said a bomb loader asked what he thought of the
development.
The loader "began talking in extraordinarily eloquent,
articulate terms about the political-military significance
of the indictment," Leaf said. "Now that's something," he
exclaimed. "Here they are, fighting a war, working 12 plus
hour shifts in the cold and the rain and they're still that
aware of the details of the conflict and some pretty
complex issues. I get inspired every day by our people.”
Sent in by Veterans News and Information Services
American Forces Press Service
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