In 1995, I was in the Army, serving with an RLC General Support Regiment in Guterslöh and had to deploy to Bosnia on a recce.
My Squadron, an artillery support squadron of DROPS (Demountable Rack Offload and Pickup System) trucks, had been warned off for a tour in Bosnia as general transport support. My Squadron Sergeant Major, the Operations Officer and I were visiting various sites around Split, Kupres and Sipovo in preparation for our deployment in a couple of months’ time. We were wearing blue United Nations headgear, and all the vehicles were painted white in keeping with the limited UN mission of humanitarian support. All seemed fine.
One evening, in one garrison location up-country, we became grounded. A local guy, lacking official authority or standing, decided he would establish a roadblock on a key route and exact bribes. This practice had become commonplace; it seemed anyone could arrange this sort of roadblock and at gunpoint, hold up United Nations convoys for hours or days on end, or until soldiers handed over sufficient booty in payment for passage. This practice was enough to stifle UN humanitarian relief operations and was a cunning little wheeze for local crooks to make a living … and the UN could do nothing about it! The mission was stymied.
So, that evening, I walked away from our vehicles into the darkness and gazed at the night sky to pray. I lifted this situation before God and asked Him to break the deadlock. It was a heart-felt cry from deep within. I was not prepared to be thrust into this stupid situation where my soldiers could be held up for days at the whim of local crooks and control-freaks, where we were apparently powerless to do anything about it. There was no mandate to use force.
A few weeks later, back in the West, the political situation changed. In around November 1995 an Agreement was signed in Dayton, Ohio which changed the stance of the UN humanitarian support mission into a warfighting one. Off with the white paint and back to camouflage green! Now, at last, the UN had an authoritative mandate and was ‘licenced’ to use force in pursuit of its enhanced military mission of peace enforcement.
Hallelujah! We would no longer be held for ransom at impromptu checkpoints! Well, I was elated and thankful that – funny ol’ thing – this situation had changed. God had brought the change, which would make all the difference for drivers and convoys moving around Bosnia and forced peace upon the warring factions.
We didn’t deploy, as originally intended, as an independent transport squadron, but a few months later deployed as a regiment, thankfully now able to do our transport tasks with relative ease! Thank You, Lord.
*Photo credit: https://www.pexels.com/@lostintespace