By GORDON L. PETERSON
Less than two weeks after NATO launched
its aerial bombing and cruise missile campaign--code-named Operation Allied Force--on 24
March to pressure President Slobodan Milosevic of Yugoslavia to accept a political
solution to the crisis in Kosovo, Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen diverted the
Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and the other
ships in her battle group to the Adriatic Sea to support NATO air strikes against Serb
strategic and military targets. The U.S. defense secretary also directed a number of other
deployments in April to increase U.S. support to NATO military and humanitarian operations
in the Balkans, while maintaining carrier-based air support for operations in Iraq.
The Theodore Roosevelt battle
group, which arrived in the Mediterranean on 3 April, was originally slated to deploy
directly to the Persian Gulf to relieve the USS Enterprise battle group. Instead,
Cohen ordered the USS Kitty Hawk battle group, based in Yokosuka, Japan, to relieve
the Enterprise battle group so it could return to the United States on schedule (in
May).
The U.S. sea-launched cruise-missile
capability in the Balkan region was bolstered considerably by Cohen's action. In addition
to Theodore Roosevelt, the battle group includes the guided-missile cruisers USS Leyte
Gulf and USS Vella Gulf, the guided-missile destroyer USS Ross, the
guided-missile frigate USS Halyburton, the nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Albuquerque,
and the fast combat-support ship USS Arctic.
Other elements of the Navy-Marine Corps
team in the region were ordered to remain on station. The Tarawa-class amphibious assault
ship USS Nassau amphibious ready group (ARG) extended its deployment to the
Adriatic to conduct urgent humanitarian relief operations in support of ongoing NATO
military operations in Kosovo. According to U.S. Atlantic Fleet spokesmen, use of the
airlift and mobility capabilities of the ARG and its embarked 24th Marine Expeditionary
Unit (Special-Operations Capable) for the international relief effort may delay their
return to homeport by at least two weeks. The Nassau was originally scheduled to
return to Norfolk, Va., on 13 May.
Navy and Marine Corps EA-6B Prowler
electronic-warfare aircraft also were active in suppressing Yugoslav air defenses. NATO's
tempo of operations resulted in additional EA-6B aircraft being redeployed to participate
in Operation Allied Force from Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, where they supported the no-fly
operations against Iraq.
NATO Strikes Intensify
NATO and U.S. spokesmen confirmed that
the coalition's aerial attack against Yugoslavia began with sea- and air-launched cruise
missile strikes from U.S. and Royal Navy ships in the Adriatic and B-52 bombers operating
from the United Kingdom. The NATO attack also marked the combat debut for the U.S. Air
Force's B-2 stealth bomber. Initial military targets included Yugoslavia's extensive
air-defense system, command and control facilities, and the more than 40,000 Serb troops
conducting operations against ethnic Albanians in the Yugoslavian province of Kosovo.
Early air operations against targets in
Belgrade and Kosovo by approximately 430 NATO aircraft--about half of them U.S.--were
hampered by poor weather, but clearing skies in early April and the addition of more U.S.
strike and support aircraft led NATO and U.S. defense officials to claim that the
increased pace of operations was having its desired effect. "We are, I think, having
an impact on [Serb] forces in the field, and they are certainly feeling the impact on
their fuel and ammo supplies," said Rear Adm. Thomas Wilson, intelligence director
for the Joint Staff, at a 6 April Pentagon press briefing.
NATO rebuffed a unilateral cease-fire
proposed by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the government of Serbia in early
April, claiming it was "clearly insufficient." NATO Secretary General Dr. Javier
Solana said that, before a cease-fire could be considered, Milosevic must meet the demands
established by the international community--a peaceful multiethnic democratic Kosovo in
which all its people live in security. "These aims can be achieved by the return of
all refugees and therefore the deployment of an international security presence, the
withdrawal of Serb military, police, and paramilitary forces, and putting into place a
political framework for Kosovo on the basis of the Rambouillet Accords," Solana said
in Brussels.
During a visit with NATO allies in
Brussels on 7 April, Cohen echoed Solana's statement and pledged that NATO would
"stay the course" in Operation Allied Force. In response to a request for
additional aircraft from Gen. Wesley Clark, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, Cohen said
U.S. Army Apache helicopters and U.S. Air Force A-10 aircraft would be provided for
additional allied attacks against Serb armored and ground units in Kosovo. "We will
reject any settlement that freezes the result of Milosevic's genocide and rewards him for
his brutality," Cohen asserted.
In response to the flood of Kosovar
refugees streaming into neighboring countries, NATO launched humanitarian relief
operations in early April. Operation Sustained Hope--the U.S. refugee-relief
operation--began with the airlift of emergency rations and relief supplies from stocks in
the United States and Europe. The White House also announced in April that the U.S. naval
base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, might serve as a temporary home for thousands of refugees
from the ongoing conflict should a decision be made to relocate them outside of Albania.
Navy-Marine Corps Team
"Fully Deployed"--Danzig
Speaking at the National Press Club in
Washington, D.C., on 6 April, Secretary of the Navy Richard Danzig reminded a luncheon
audience that forward-deployed Navy and Marine Corps units give the American people a
"very exceptional ability" to project power to influence events around the
world. While deferring detailed comment on events in the Balkans to operational
commanders, Danzig acknowledged that the sea services are "being stretched." He
said, though, that he does not believe they are being stretched too thin. "This is
what we normally do," Danzig said. "The Navy and Marine Corps are
forward-deployed forces."
Asked to comment on reports of shortages
in the inventories of U.S. cruise missiles, Danzig said the principal shortfall was in the
Air Force's conventional air-launched cruise missile, where inventories numbered in the
low hundreds. He said the Navy's Tomahawk inventory normally includes approximately 2,600
cruise missiles, but that recent actions in Iraq and Serbia have reduced it to about 2,000
missiles. "That, in my opinion, is a very adequate capability as a base," Danzig
said. He voiced a willingness to buy more Tomahawks, but noted that the production line is
closed in anticipation of future production, beginning in 2002, of the new and more
capable tactical Tomahawk cruise missile.
DOD Creates New WMD Advisory
Panel
Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen has
announced the formation of an advisory panel, headed by Virginia Governor James Gilmore,
to assess U.S. domestic capabilities to respond to incidents of terrorism involving
weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). "The challenge of terrorism demands that we
vigorously and continuously analyze and assess our federal, state, and local response
mechanisms," said Cohen. "As part of this ongoing effort, Congress has called
for a panel of experts to review our current and future needs. I am confident that they
will make an important and lasting contribution," he added.
The WMD Advisory Panel has a three-year
charter and will report its findings, conclusions, and recommendations to the president
and Congress. The advisory group will submit four reports during its tenure--an interim
report within six months after the date of its first meeting and three annual reports, the
first of which is due in December 1999. (For more information, visit the OSD Reserve
Affairs website at http://raweb.osd.mil)
Hart Tapped to Cochair Security
Advisory Board
Secretary Cohen also announced in April
that former Sen. Gary Hart has been selected to serve as cochair of the Senior Advisory
Board on National Security. Hart will replace former Sen. David Boren, who stepped down to
devote more time to his responsibilities as the president of the University of Oklahoma.
In announcing Hart's selection, Cohen
praised the former Colorado senator (and one-time presidential aspirant) for his
experience, intellect, and important contributions to U.S. national security. "Gary
Hart stands out as one of our nation's best thinkers and most skilled practitioners on
matters dealing with America's security," Cohen said. "He already has made
enormous contributions to the work of this study. I can think of no better candidate to
fill this important leadership role," he added.
Hart, already a member of the group's
Senior Advisory Board, now will work with cochair Warren Rudman to lead the National
Securities Study Group. The group, which is scheduled to complete its review of the U.S.
national security environment and organization in February 2001, is tasked to develop an
appropriate U.S. national security strategy--including recommended alternatives to the
current national security apparatus and processes to implement the new strategy (see Sea
Power, February 1999). The group's report on the first phase of its study is due to
the secretary of defense in August 1999.
Slater Names Green Deputy MARAD
Administrator
Secretary of Transportation Rodney E.
Slater has announced the appointment of Bonnie Marie Green as deputy administrator for
inland waterways and Great Lakes of the Maritime Administration (MARAD). Green has
extensive experience in the maritime industry and has served as a consultant for several
companies in the industry. She also has held senior management positions with American
President Lines, including tours as director of performance and communication and director
of government services. From 1981 to 1984, Green served as deputy chief of MARAD's
Division of National Cargo.
Slater praised Green for her extensive
experience in interagency coordination and government affairs. "I am pleased to have
Bonnie Green joining the department's leadership team," he said. "Her background
and expertise make her an ideal choice for this position." In her post, Green will
serve as the principal advisor to the maritime administrator on issues dealing with the
nation's inland-waterways system and the Great Lakes. |
