Tuzla's Turnaround

Tuzla Air Base has done an about-face. It's no longer the Wild West town airmen found in Bosnia-Herzegovina five years ago.

The muddy streets are history. And there's no need to dodge tanks at each turn. Gone are the drafty tents where troops lived. Two huge dining facilities cater to any taste.

Now there's an exchange with everything from combat boots to Gummi Bears. Places to get your pizza, burger or ice cream fix. You can sip a cappuccino at a sidewalk cafe. Or order a car.

Troops that served there at the height of Operation Joint Endeavor wouldn't know it now. On the main part of the post, Camp Eagle, are the soldiers. Job one for them is still peacekeeping.

On the air base side, airmen run flight operations. They also fly the Predator reconnaissance drones. Its real-time pictures are worth a "thousand words" to peacekeepers.

But today life isn't anywhere as hectic as when U.S. troops first went there. And each rotation of troops has it better than the ones they replaced. Quality of life has soared.

As Col. John Hughes put it, "life normalized." By the time he took command of the 40 1st Expeditionary Air Base Group in May, things had long gone from the "complaint to the whine stage," he said. "And we don't get much of that."

So a Tuzla tour can be a good thing, said Senior Airman Tami Hazeltine, a weather forecaster. She volunteered for Tuzla. And when she got there, what she found surprised her.

"It's so much nicer than I thought. Facilities are great," she said. "And it's a getaway from the hustle and bustle of Fort Campbell [Ky.]. There's sure a lot less stress here."

That wasn't always the case.

In the beginning

Tuzla was once a small MiG fighter training base. A backwoods Cold War relic with some U.N. troops. But the strife in Bosnia-Herzegovina changed that. When opposing factions fought each other, the turmoil threatened stability in Europe. The U.N. asked for peace. And with the U.S.-brokered Dayton Peace Accords, the sides agreed to try. But the U.N. ordered 60,000 NATO-led troops into the country to ensure they would.

That started Joint Endeavor. But getting troops there would require a huge airlift. At that time, Tuzla's 8,100-foot runway was the country's best. So it became the receiving end of the airlift. The Air Force flew in and set up to run air operations. Then it started to land and move the 25-nation peacekeeping force and the mountain of supplies and equipment to maintain the force.

Soon there were troops, humvees, tanks and armored vehicles squeezed into every space cleared of landmines. Troops fought for dry places to unroll their sleeping bags. Many had to sleep in, or under, vehicles. But napping wasn't easy. It was noisy. Tension filled the air.

Plus, it was nasty cold and wet. There was mud everywhere. And there was the fog -- thick and bone chilling. Troops quickly named it "the valley of fog." A place that sapped their energy and spirit. Where keeping warm was a dream.

The airlift went on for several wild months during which airmen handled an average of 40 cargo planes a day. Some said it was a study in controlled chaos. Others said it was a nightmare. But they landed the peacekeepers.

Then the action died. Airmen still ran air operations, but their workload dropped to some seven cargo planes a day. Today, under Operation Joint Forge, their mission is resupplying the peacekeeping force, said Col. William Schell. He was the group commander until May.

"But that's reduced, too," he said. "Most of the large loads we handled now come by truck."

Rock City

The early emphasis was all on getting the job done, not quality of life. Plus, the base couldn't handle all the troops. There was no infrastructure. Certainly, no amenities.

As Col. Neal Patton, the first Air Force commander at Tuzla, said, "There's less at Tuzla than meets the eye." He wasn't kidding.

But shortly after the airlift subsided, the Air Force did a complete turn-around. Its focus changed to making life better for troops. It standardized the quality of life in its compound. Troops dubbed it "Rock City" for the "anti-mud" crushed rocks that cover parts of it.

"This is one of the best deployed bases I've seen," said Chief Master Sgt. Tom Russell, while on a summer tour. More change is coming. "Each new group has its own needs, ideas and requests. They'll continue to make this place better."

What can troops expect?

A lot more than they thought, said Staff Sgt. Jim Quinn, who ran services at Tuzla until May. He thought he'd find a "big mud hole."

"But this place is 10 times better than what people say. And a helluva lot better than the desert," he said.

Weather forecaster Airman 1st Class Jamie Hardin thought she was going to live in a tent. "So the 'hooches' were a good surprise. That makes life a lot easier."

The hooches are 12 wooden "SEA" huts where airmen live. Divided into rooms, each has "the most comfortable beds we could find," the chief said. And they have a refrigerator, microwave oven, television with cable programming, radio, videocassette recorder, iron and ironing board.

The compound also has the Rock City Cafe and a chapel, library, sports equipment outlet, gym and shoppette. Movies are free for checkout. And education courses are available.

But what's best about Tuzla is the food, Sergeant Quinn said. The contractor-run dining facilities are a big hit with the troops. Open 24 hours, they have a bigger selection than Denny's.

"And in summer, we have a free 'hump day Wednesday' barbecue," Sergeant Quinn said.

There are drawbacks, of course. Troops can't wear civilian clothes. They can't go off the base because of threats. And they still must carry weapons.

"And there's no beer," said Capt. Kristine Vier, an intelligence officer. Actually, there is -- troops can drink all the non-alcoholic beer they want. And it's free at the dining facility.

The captain said many things have changed even since her last deployment to Tuzla a year ago. "This place has grown by leaps and bounds," she said.

And upgrades will continue as long as there are airmen at the base, Colonel Schell said.

But the Air Force will cut the number of troops, he said. Once there were some 500 airmen. Now approximately 135 remain. The goal is to cut to 125 troops this year and then to 100.

The aim is to whittle the number down to only those needed to maintain command and control and the critical skills, he said. Contractors will fill the rest of the jobs. They already run the air terminal, dining facility and most civil engineering functions.

But the base is the only one in the area that can handle strategic airlift. So the Air Force mission is too important for a total pullout.

"We're the key supply line to the peacekeepers," Colonel Schell said.

The compound at Tuzla Air Base -- dubbed "Rock city" for the crushed rocks that cover most of its grounds -- is as homey as any front-line location can be. It even boasts a cafe with an ice cream parlor, which is a far cry from the muddy nightmare it was five years ago.

Two for Tuzla

Senior Airmen Jamie and Michael Dana didn't want to be apart while one of them deployed to Tuzla Air Base. Neither did Senior Airmen Ervin and Monica Schoolfield.

So when given the chance, both couples volunteered to deploy there this summer -- together.

Not all airmen married to airmen can do that. But in their case, they didn't have children or pets. So it made sense to go. And it would make their tour go faster, they said.

The Danas, cops from Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, got lucky. Both were in the same flight. And they worked the same hours. So they spent a lot of time together, at meals, working out, shopping or just "hanging out." The only thing they didn't like was living apart.

"But it's better than being thousands of miles from each other," Jamie said. "So you adapt."

Plus, they didn't have to worry, Michael said. Well, almost. As security troops, both patrolled the perimeter, but he was mostly a controller. So when Jamie was on patrol, Michael worried.

"I thought one day I'd have to send my wife to a hostile scene," he said. "I didn't like that."

Jamie wasn't as nervous. "I know he's well-trained and can take care of himself," she said.

Things were different for the Schoolfields, Predator drone imagery interpreters from Indian Springs Auxillary Airfield, Nev. They worked different shifts. When he ended work, she started. So they saw each other 10 minutes a day and couldn't do much together.

To spend time together, they'd give up sleep. But if they got a day off, they'd end up doing chores. They were a bit let down. But both said they made the right choice in going together.

"You just get used to it," Monica said. "After all, it's only for 60 days. It's not so terrible."

Ervin said the mission makes up for the letdowns. "It's such a challenge. We're not just looking at big circles in the desert like back home. What we gather here matters."

The couples liked conditions at the base. And they said being together was a comfort. But would they recommend other airmen couples try a joint tour at Tuzla? They all said yes.

"Why not?" Jamie said. "It's not for everyone. But it beats being apart."

And both couples said the job satisfaction is enough to make them want to return.

"As long as we're here, maybe we can stop people from killing each other," Ervin said.

Master Sgt. Louis A. Arana-Barradas

A new life

Americans didn't figure into Amela Huseinagic's first life. But they do in her new one.

As war tore through her land, thousands of people died. An ethnic Muslim, she lived in constant fear for her life and that of her husband and son.

But then the Americans came and stopped the fighting. They gave her a new life, and hope, she said. Now she feels safe in her home.

"If the Americans left, it would be a sad day for Bosnia," she said. But the Rock City shoppette supervisor said that's not just her view. "It's what most of the Bosnian people think."

Once she only knew about Americans from the movies. She's glad to know some in person now. They don't care about her religion, she said. And they're more open than she thought.

"They treat me with respect," she said.

The reason Americans serve in a strange land for the cause of others -- with no complaints -- isn't lost on her. Their unselfish deeds, she said, brought peace to Bosnia-Herzegovina.

"If the Americans leave, things will be the same as before," she said. "More people will die. We can't let that happen again."

Master Sgt. Louis A. Arana-Barradas

COPYRIGHT 2000 U.S. Air Force, Air Force News Agency
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group