refugees were gathered.
Finally, we followed a variety of rules designed to lower the risk of
Each of these rules had intentional and unintentional consequences for target identification and target engagement. ROEs calling for higher minimum made the pilots’ task of judging whether the vehicles on the ground were civilian or military more difficult. The border of a no-attack zone meant the enemy could move from imminent danger on one side of a road to sanctuary on the other side. Other attack restrictions on areas, munitions, and target categories slowed down the prosecution of attacks. During this waiting period targets could escape by moving to a sanctuary area, weather might move in and hide them from attack, or the waiting attack aircraft might run low on fuel and be forced to depart before receiving an attack clearance.
Approval Process
In the beginning of KEZ operations, the ROEs were quite simple: AFACs were their own attack-clearance authority after they had determined that the suspected object was a valid military target. CAOC approval was required only when the AFAC judged that the attack might cause collateral damage—usually to civilian buildings. During the course of the conflict, many additional target types were moved from the discretionary list to one that required CAOC approval. Later, geographic areas were defined, and targets in those new restricted areas required CAOC approval prior to attack.
AFACs often became frustrated when it appeared the CAOC was second-guessing the targets they had chosen to attack. For example, on the second day of KEZ attacks, near the southwestern border of Kosovo, I had located two large, darkgreen military deuce-and-a-half trucks, complete with curved canvas tops. They were parked just off an asphalt road on the north side of high terrain, northwest of Mount Pastrik. As I talked a flight of Dutch F-16s through an attack on these two targets, ABCCC called in-the-clear, on strike frequency, and asked whether I had positively confirmed that the target was military. I responded, “Yes.” The F-16s had missed on their first pass, so I directed them to make another attack. Apparently my answer to the ABCCC wasn’t sufficient for the CAOC. ABCCC then asked me to describe the target—evidently to personally confirm that it was military. Because we had already received AAA fire, I didn’t think we should loiter in this area. Barely able to maintain my composure, I described the trucks in detail. After landing I called our CAOC representative who told me that since JSTARS had not detected trucks in that area, the battle-staff director needed additional assurance on the target. In this case, JSTARS could not see the trucks because a high mountain blocked the line of sight between its radar orbit and the trucks. Likewise, the E-8’s moving-target indicator would not have highlighted the parked trucks.
We appreciated the CAOC’s concern for avoiding civilian nontargets. In a similar manner, I was particularly proud of our pilots’ strict discipline, which ensured that their attacks and the ones they directed avoided collateral civilian damage. If they were in doubt about the military nature of the target or the possibility of damaging a civilian structure, they brought their ordnance home and let the potential bad guys escape. To do otherwise might have cost the lives of innocent people and severely jeopardized the political support for KEZ operations. As CAOC “interference” became routine, I learned to control my blood pressure, jink, and talk to ABCCC.
The CAOC seemed poorly organized to act quickly when the ROEs required its approval. When an AFAC independently found a target in a restricted area or close to a village, it usually took 15 to 20 minutes to obtain approval. For example, using Lt Al Smith’s intel imagery, Maj Goldie Haun discovered what he thought to be a radar-missile launcher in an area south of Pristina. I flew there the next morning and found the small, wooded area just on the southern edge of a square village. From 15,000 feet I looked down through the trees with my binoculars and did not see any launchers. I did, however, see about 10 rectangular metal canisters stacked on a flatbed trailer in the center of the woods. They were about 15 feet long and the size of radar-guided missiles. I had two problems: the canisters were less than 100 meters from the nearest house in the village, and a low deck of clouds had begun to move in and would soon block my view of the target area. The trees prevented success when I tried to lock up the trailer with a Maverick, and the low clouds to the east ruled out an airburst Mk-82 attack flying on a heading parallel to the houses—the only attack axis that would minimize the risk to the occupants of the house. I still had my 30 mm cannon, which would work just fine. Moving off to the west to mask my interest in the area, I called ABCCC on secure radio to request approval to attack the trailer and had to wait 25 minutes for a response. During that time, the low clouds moved into the area around the trailer. I made several more calls to help expedite the clearance. I finally got the CAOC’s approval to attack, and with it came the direction to “use the gun and not hit any houses!”
The delay and the tactical direction were absurd and a clear violation of the principle of “centralized control and decentralized execution
The CAOC’s actions indicated that its personnel were under colossal pressure to produce results and avoid collateral damage. They regularly interrupted our attacks—even those authorized by the ROEs. In their zeal to ensure we had the most up-to-date ROEs, the CAOC prompted ABCCC crews to remind us of what and where we could and could not attack. Unfortunately, these calls were sometimes made over the strike frequencies that Serbs monitored, allowing them to hear, “You cannot attack any targets within 10 miles of the Macedonia border,” “you cannot attack any trucks, civilian vehicles, vehicles painted white,” and other similar transmissions. The unintended consequences of these in-the-clear transmissions were that Serbs began moving their forces south to within 10 miles of the Macedonian border and started transporting their troops in civilian vehicles instead of APCs—we saw white charter buses everywhere.
Even when AFACs were directed to enter restricted areas to find specific CAOC-identified targets, they were still required to receive CAOC approval before they attacked. On one occasion the CAOC tasked Capt Jim Meger to find and destroy a Serb command post. After locating it he requested approval to attack. It then took the CAOC 20 minutes to approve the strike against the command post it had sent him to destroy. These delays not only allowed some targets to escape attack, but also put our pilots at greater risk. On this occasion, it took the Serbs a lot less than 20 minutes to locate Jim, draw a bead, and fire two missiles at him (see chap. 4).
Our frustrations grew. We were getting shot at while we waited for CAOC clearance to attack, we watched helplessly as Serbs in “civilian” vehicles burned villages, and we were denied clearance to attack enemy troops and equipment in the ROE-designed sanctuaries. I began briefing visiting dignitaries on our successes and frustrations when they passed through our base at Gioia. In late April I described our situation—from our point of view, warts and all—to two very distinguished visitors, Acting Secretary of the Air Force F. Whitten Peters and Gen John P. Jumper, commander of USAFE. I emphasized that, while we thought the current situation was unacceptable, we also understood there were probably some aspects of the ROEs and target-approval process that might justify the delays. So, we thought that informing us of those constraints could make the whole process more responsive and that we could better fulfill our responsibility for identifying valid targets. They listened carefully. General Jumper took a lot of notes, asked who had been working these issues for us at the CAOC, and asked if I knew whether Lt Gen Mike Short was aware of our problems. I told him that, every day, we passed our concerns to the lieutenant colonel who represented our unit at the CAOC. He replied, “Now you’ve got a four star.”
General Jumper suggested that I go to the CAOC to brief General Short personally. I thought that was a good idea and discussed it with Lt Col Walrus Heise, our representative. I expected to be summoned to the CAOC during the days that followed. A few days later our unit got a call to attend a conference at Tirana, Albania, with
