USA Troops in Kosovo

Nov 2000 - 7’50

01.08

The Star-Spangled Banner announces Uncle Sam’s presence in Kosovo. The USA’s military machine has been rolling here since June 1999, when NATO sent in KFOR - the Kosovo Force - on a peacekeeping mission.

01.25

This blackhawk helicopter is on a rescue drill. Troops at the Bondsteel Camp in South East Kosovo train for manoeuvres. This is the logistics base of the KFOR multinational brigade East. The twenty different units and seven countries that make up the Falcon Task Force are led by the Americans.

01.47

Captain Loran Doane is just one of 3,300 American soldiers at Camp Bondsteel. The camp is proudly named after James Bondsteel, a Vietnam war hero and a role model for the American KFOR troops. The Task Force Falcon’s mission is to conduct peace support operations and maintain a safe and secure environment until the KFOR forces are able to withdraw.

02.13

The camp itself covers some 360,000 square metres near the town of Ferizaj - Urosevac in Serbian. The American army claim to have invested around 130 million dollars here.

Handing back responsibility to the appropriate civil organisations when they leave is a priority, but for the moment much of the infrastructure is missing.

02.40

The whole area has been under re-construction since last January. Hundreds of Kosovars have been seeking work on the building sites.

02.55

The deployment of the security force coincided with the withdrawal of Serbian troops. Americans now guard the war machinery left behind by the Serbs in Kosovo.

03.07

In November 1999 the president and commander in chief visited his boys in the camp.

Clinton came with a clear message. ‘We have won the war - but the Kosovars alone can win peace’. His troops are to there to make this task easier.

03.29

I/V - Clinton

Hello! The most important thing you can do, apart from keeping people alive and looking after their security, is to teach them - teach the children and their parents, by the power of your example and your own testimony.

03.55

Hidden in Kosovo’s deepest ravines on the Macedonian border is the Shabiu family’s simple home. The Stars and Stripes flutters outside the door. The family was driven out by the Serbs and the Americans rescued them. Yet one American from Camp Bondsteel has also single-handedly torn their lives apart. He was the rapist and murderer of their eleven year old daughter Morita.

04.27

The oldest sister is still clearly in a state of shock

I/V Father - 04.30

After everything that happened, the Americans came to me and promised all kinds of help. They kept asking us what they could do for us. We are still in touch with the Americans and NATO.

04.45

The horrific crime was committed in January in the little town of Vitina. Eleven year old Morita was buried in the local cemetery.

I/V Father 05.00

An American soldier has killed a child - my child. Yet the Americans have liberated us. It doesn’t make sense.

05.12

The American army still patrols Vitina today. We asked the soldiers whether they feel unwelcome here now.

05.25 - US soldier

No that’s not the feeling, in fact we see that they’re all in support. Everywhere we go there’s always people out there, especially the kids, waving to us. So, I think we’ve got a lot of confidence of the Albanian people. I think as each day progresses we see a lot more confidence from the Serb people. And our goal here is to treat them equally.

05.48

Hamdi Shabiu can’t help crying when he shows us his murdered daughter’s schoolbag. Her murderer, sergeant Ronghi, was imprisoned for life.

06.06

The American soldiers sometimes use more intimidation tactics than necessary in their peacekeeping mission. Weapon searches are often carried out with a display of military power and aggression. It’s not unusual for the checks to lead to sexual harassment, as a devastating internal army report has also concluded.

I/V 06.33 - soldier

That’s our primary job - day in and day out, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, is simply providing a safe and secure environment. But that’s not a simple task, that’s a tough task. That takes a lot of discipline, it takes a lot of effort, it takes a lot of resources - but that’s our primary mission.

06.55

Everyone in Camp Bondsteel is aware of the fact that the troops’ reputation has been tarnished by the actions of certain individuals. The combat units have not been trained for police surveillance, and many needed special training for civilian action. The units cover a variety of disciplines, from air defence to field artillery, yet the challenge facing them is to harness these skills in a humanitarian mission, where refugees have been subjected to horrific violence and human rights abuses.

07.30

James Nicholson is responsible for the humanitarian efforts of the taskforce, and is glad that the elections in Kosovo went smoothly. It is just one step forward towards resuming normality after the devastation of the war.

07.45

Doctor Bonita Groh shows us the intensive care station. Fortunately she does not need to use the two operations rooms today. In the previous week victims of a road accident were brought in here, and an Albanian child accidentally shot by an American soldier died here.

08.12

The question remains of how long the Americans will continue to serve in Kosovo - a place many of them had never heard of before their deployment.

08.22

I/V Soldier:

How long will the Americans be here? Till the mission’s complete - and we’re told to go.

08.30

The falcons of Camp Bondsteel will stay on guard in Kosovo until they get their marching orders.