Kosovo duty no longer 'sleepy hollow' of deployments

Published Feb. 26, 2008
By Senior Master Sgt. Cheryl L. Toner
52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs

SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- What was once just a deployment "somewhere" in the Balkans is now front page news as Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia. This is news that some Sabers have followed a little more closely than most since a few people here have recently returned from a deployment to Kosovo, or are currently serving there.

More than a week after the U.S. and more than 20 European Union countries recognized Kosovo as independent, clashes erupted at the border of Kosovo and Serbia, as well as the embassy in Belgrade. At the embassy, according to Stars & Stripes, about 6,000 rioters broke away from a demonstration in Belgrade, Serbia's capital, and torched the U.S. embassy there.

Despite the negative headlines, it's not all bad news in Kosovo.

"Privileged," is how Capt. Richard Barnhart from the 52nd Fighter Wing Contracting Squadron, describes his experience. Currently in Pristina, Kosovo, on his 11th deployment since 1988, Captain Barnhart said, "It is not every day that you get to be present during the birth of a new nation."

"I would have liked to have been there when it actually happened," said Maj. Gregory Mazul, also from the contracting squadron. "We talked about it many times while I was deployed (there)." Major Mazul was deployed to Pristina last summer for his first deployment.

On his third deployment in the same rotation, Master Sgt. Dave Tuck said he "felt great" about going to Kosovo. This is self-explanatory since Sergeant Tuck's two previous deployments were to Baghdad.

While Sergeant Tuck and Major Mazul said it was great working in an international environment, Master Sgt. Bennan Schweitzer said, "The most rewarding part of the experience was getting to know people from the different countries." Sergeant Schweitzer from the 52nd Communications Squadron and also on his third deployment during last summer's rotation, said he developed rewarding personal and professional relationships with people from more than a dozen nations.

The mutual respect doesn't end there. Anyone who has deployed to Pristina can well remember the huge billboard of former President Bill Clinton in downtown Pristina. The Kosovars love Americans and, to underlie this, they are currently working on a monument to the former president, as well as renaming one of their two major roads in Pristina after President Clinton. The other road is named after Mother Teresa.

In spite of the news regarding the embassy and border incidents, Captain Barnhart said the overall feel in Pristina, Kosovo's capital city, is akin to euphoria. "They wave U.S. and Macedonian flags around everywhere, painted them on everything and just celebrated their butts off all night," he said of the evening of the announcement of independence. Since then, revelers have continued to celebrate.

While accomplishing the mission on any deployment is the first priority, deployers can usually retell instances of when they personally knew why they were in another country, far from home, supporting a cause that may or may not be so obvious.

Sergeant Schweitzer has one such instance. "At a reception at the Danish National Support Element one evening, I engaged in conversation with one of the servers, an ethnic Albanian man about 24 years of age. He had spent a few years in Colorado, so his knowledge of English and American culture was extensive. As we discussed the future of Kosovo and its potential independence, I could see his eyes light up with a fervent hope. He had returned to Kosovo not just because of family, but because he truly believed that Kosovo could be a great country, and wanted to be a part of that transformation. He was very grateful to the U.S. for supporting that vision."

The U.N. and NATO have had forces in Kosovo since June 1999, following a NATO bombing campaign and subsequent U.N. Security Council resolution 1244. There are currently about 16,000 NATO and Partnership for Peace troops serving in Kosovo, with about 1,400 being Americans.

Kosovo duty no longer ‘sleepy hollow’ of deployments