Posted on 09/08/2002 12:11:09 PM PDT by konijn
STARS AND STRIPES (USA)
U.S. turns Camp Comanche over to Bosnians
By Rick Scavetta, Stars and Stripes European edition, Saturday, September 7, 2002
Ivana Avramovic / S&S U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Charles H. Swannack Jr., left, commander of Multinational Division North, and Brig. Gen. Refik Lendo, commander of 2nd Corps of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina military, the Muslim-Croat component, sign a document for turning Camp Comanche over to Bosnian authorities.
Ivana Avramovic / S&S Staff Sgt. Brian Mincey, left, and Spc. David Morales salute the U.S. flag as it is raised for the last time Thursday on Camp Comanche.
CAMP COMANCHE, Bosnia and Herzegovina - For the last time, Old Glory flew from Camp Comanche's 90-foot flagpole Thursday, marking the end of nearly seven years of U.S. military history.
During a ceremony at the camp, Maj. Gen. Charles Swannack Jr., the Task Force Eagle commander, handed the post over to Bosnian military officials.
"There is no need for this base camp anymore," Swannack said. "This is good news for SFOR and Bosnia."
Continued stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina and recent NATO Stabilization Force reductions were both factors in the camp's closing, Swannack said. In April, U.S. troops vacated Comanche and moved to nearby Eagle Base. Over the next few years, more NATO bases may be turned over to Bosnian control, he said.
Compared to years past, when hundreds of U.S. troops called Comanche home, the camp looked like a ghost town. The U.S. flag, caught in its hoisting lines, inched down the pole into the waiting hands of the honor guard.
Nevertheless, the ceremony appeared solemn. Both U.S. and Bosnian troops stood silently and rigidly as soldiers folded the flag.
Then Swannack signed the deed to the camp and passed over a ceremonial golden key to Bosnian Brig. Gen. Refik Lendo, as local press photographers vied for pictures.
Bosnian soldiers marched out to the mast and hoisted their colors, a gold triangle and eight white stars across a field of blue. As the wind caught it, the Bosnian banner unfurled against sun-drenched clouds.
The Bosnian Federation II Corps, based in downtown Tuzla, hopes to use the base for training, Lendo said. The Bosnians' first priority is to return some of the land to local owners and to open two roads closed when the U.S. forces took over.
The post, which once belonged to the Yugoslav air force, is bordered by farms of the village of Dubrave, about 10 miles outside Tuzla. Since early 1996, Comanche was home to most of Task Force Eagle's aviation assets.
Also known as Tuzla West, the 225-acre camp originally had only a small runway and eight bunkers, Swannack said. The first U.S. troops named the base Comanche, after the fierce Indian warriors.
In the early days, soldiers at Comanche lived in tent cities in rough conditions. Over the years, Brown and Root workers constructed a small town of permanent structures. In September 1999, Fort Drum engineers began a $1.5 million project to improve the camp's helipads and airfield taxiways, Swannack said. The camp's storage bunkers are perfect for weapons and ammunition, he added.
"The facilities are much better than downtown Tuzla," Swannack said, adding that part of the overall agreement was for II Corps to move out of the city.
Before vacating the base, U.S. troops stripped anything of economic value that could be used again, Swannack said. The Bosnians negotiated with U.S. officials to purchase $191,000 of existing equipment to remain on the camp, he said.
The U.S. and NATO allies are committed to peace in Bosnia, said U.S. Ambassador to Bosnia Clifford Bond.
"This transfer is a sign of success," he said.
Is it now.
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