European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 17, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 the stars and Stripe wednesday August 17,1994isolated gis keep Vigil and sense of autonomy by Kevin Dougherty staff writer observation Post 56, Macedonia an hour and a half from the nearest paved Road sits observation Post 56, a Perch from which 21 . Soldiers Monitor the comings and goings of the few serbian soldiers they see along the macedonian Border. The daily routine at this . Outpost is More hectic than usual because the soldiers recently moved it from the floor of a narrow Valley to a Point roughly Halfway up a Hill. From their new Vantage Point the soldiers have a better View of the Valley As it stretches North into Serbia the dominant Republic in whats left of Yugoslavia. Soldiers wearing Light Blue  baseball Caps work Long hours Here and at other observation posts or Ops along the serbian macedonian Border. But despite the Long Days exhausting work and periods of boredom most prefer the autonomy they have at Ops to life at Camp Able sentry where there is More to do on and off base. Life at the Ops a is pretty Good because we done to have a Bunch of officers floating around sticking their nose in everything a pfc. Joseph Franklin said from his guard duty position in the Lookout Tower at observation Post 57, the easternmost station and just a few Miles from the bulgarian Border. A we Call it a detail City a a pvt. 2 Travis Brown said of the Headquarters for operation Able sentry. Brown also spoke from of 57. A up Here you do what you Are told and you re  pfc. Christopher Wheeler takes a High tech look across the Border from observation Post 56, Macedonia to Monitor activity in Serbia the dominant Republic in what is left of Yugoslavia. The soldiers preference is not lost on the commander of task Force 2-15, it. Col. John Baggott. He knows the majority of them prefer the r _. 21-Day stint in the mountains to the three week rotation at Camp Able sentry located on a Plain East of Skopje and adjacent to the Airport. A that a because a they Are on their own a a said Baggott who commands the More than 500 soldiers a most of them from Schweinfurt Germany a who Are in Macedonia for the . Peacekeeping Mission a they done to have to worry about anybody but their a amps Brothers in the squad.�?�. Most of the Ops have about 10 soldiers apiece though some Are larger. For example of 56 has two 10-member squads. A medic is assigned to each outpost. The paved Road leading North from the town Center of Kriva Palanka to of 56 soon Narrows. Pavement gives Way to a dirt surface that hardly resembles Road. The Road is pockmarked and irregular and bodies in vehicles that traverse it Bounce around As if they Are on Pogo Sticks. It takes a humvee about 90 minutes to travel the 11 Miles from Kriva Palanka to of 56. Situated near a Small River that cuts through a Valley of 56 is about a Kilometre from the Border that separates Macedonia from Serbia. A a la a really peaceful around Here a said 20-year-old pfc. Paul Egan. A a there a not much going on other than continued on Page 5 position from Page 1 line that will separate their two countries . Forces participating in the . Peacekeeping Mission will continue to exercise caution on patrol. While some soldiers wonder aloud How effective can be so far off the Border the commander of task Force 2-15 said the safety of every Soldier is his Only concern. A i want 10 fingers and 10 toes to go Back to Germany a said it. Col. John Baggott who leads the contingent of . Service members in Macedonia most of whom Are from Schweinfurt Germany. A the Border Between Serbia and Macedonia has been in dispute Ever since the latter declared its Independence from serbian dominated Yugoslavia. At the Start Macedonia stayed South of a line that was drawn in 1948. The line separated Macedonia from the rest of the republics that made up Yugoslavia. After Macedonia broke away the serbs began laying claim to valleys mountains and streams South of the Border. Since then several alterations have been made but the Border remains in dispute especially in areas where . Forces Are stationed. The number of disputed areas depends a on How thick Yoiiro Pencil is when you draw that line a said Brig. Gen. Tryeve Tellefsen the norwegian commander of the . Mission. A to avoid any disputes on exactly where the Border is we created the Buffer zone a he added. Called the Northern limit area of operation the zone is the Point from which . Personnel begin to March of the minimum distance Between observation posts and the . Line. . Officials have told their troops to set up Ops at least 500 meters �550 Yards from the Buffer zone though some believe the Sites have been established much farther Back. Be United nations must of the positioning of All Ops but the recommendation is made by the participating country. There a some confusion As to How far Back the . Posts Are soldiers at the observation posts routinely gave estimates of their distance from Serbia that exceeded distances Given by Baggott. A the distance is not As important As the observation capability a Baggott said adding that terrain often dictates where a Post is placed. Tellefsen is pushing the serbs and macedonians to sit Down together and figure out who gets what. The United nations and the conference on Security and cooperation in Europe in Vienna Austria Are working on that Issue m Hopes of a resolving it once and for All. U for Doss and the other 10 . Soldiers at op57, the Border they look out Over is a Little More distinguishable than elsewhere along the front.  week the Soldier in the Lookout Tower at of 57 will spot a serbian foot patrol As it makes its Way along a Dusty dirt Road. A i just wish there was More excitement a said 24-Vear-old pvt. 2 Cullen Gerhart. But there have been a few tense moments for task Force soldiers since they deployed to Macedonia in mid june. In one instance soldiers from of 54 came face to face with serbian soldiers while on patrol july 26. The serbians a pointed their weapons at the . Patrol a said . Col. Richard l. Freeman Tellefsen Schieff staff. A it took about20 minutes to disengage and they  a a. A. A a a no shots were fired and there were no injuries. The entire . Force went on Alert the first weekend this month following the nato bombing of bosnian serbian positions around Sarajevo capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. . Soldiers at observation posts in. Theiroi1 Werc nstructe<t0 stay within the confines of when they Are on patrol . Forces Are required by Baggott to stick to specific patrol routes rely on Gas and Tollow the rules of engagement. Baggott said none of the rules is negotiable. Basically its idiot proof a Doss said of the restrictions Here in ers along the Border a you can to get shot