# Winter Warriors - Across Bosnia with the PBI 1995/96



## The Rifleman (27 Nov 2006)

I just thought that members on this site would be interested in a new book about the Bosnian civil war. An Ex British Army infantry JNCO has written about his time in Bosnia during the last months of the UN and the first months of IFOR (NATO). He is a Royal Green Jacket and volunteered for an attachment with the Light Infantry, a Warrior armoured battalion. The book covers training for Bosnia, deployment as Task Force Alpha (UN) and the ending of the Siege of Sarajevo, then as IFOR (along with some Canadians!  ) the fight to win the peace.

The Book is called

Winter Warriors - Across Bosnia with the PBI - UN and NATO operations with the 2nd Battalion the Light Infantry

Published by the Book Guild, ISBN: 1–84624-077-8    

(available on Amazon.co.uk as well as directly from the publishers)

Sorry if this is blatant advertising but how else would our Canadian cousins find out


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## Danjanou (28 Nov 2006)

Hmmm a post about a book about the Royal Greenjackets written by Les Howard and the newly registered poster is according to his profile info is a former Royal Greenjacket named… wait for it L. Howard.

You’re right Rifleman it is blatant advertising, and we tend to frown on that here without prior approval from Mr Bobbit the site owner/operator. 

You are more than welcome here and I’m sure your experience and expertise will add to the forums. However I would suggest that further information regarding your book here be through approved channels such as the option to advertise here. 

in the interim locked.


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## Mike Bobbitt (29 Nov 2006)

Mr. Howard has contacted me, so I've re-opened the thread. I think with the book's author here we should be able to have an interesting discussion, above the usual theoretical debate. Hopefully Mr. Howard will be able to answer any questions readers might have.


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## Danjanou (29 Nov 2006)

Ok thread going well, thread stops, IA completed and thread continues. 8)

Mr Howard FYI I’ll be adding your book to my ever growing must read pile in the next little while, it looks interesting.


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## The Rifleman (30 Nov 2006)

Cheers lads - I'm pleased that the thread has been un-locked. 

The b, sorry - _My_ book should be of interest to the many Canadians that served in Boz around that time, and also to anyone interested in what an ally had to go through. It should make a good comparison to their own experiences.

I, of course, will be available for any questions or good natured bitching (and even anything stronger if anyone so wishes - I am a big boy now! )

The Rifleman


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## The Rifleman (1 Dec 2006)

Can anyone on this site remeber operating from this Rebro? (Radio Rebroadcast site - not sure if the Canadian terminology is the same as the Brits)

It is in early 1996 on a mountain NW of Banja Luka in Serbian Bosnia close to the Lisina Radar Site


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## Hunter (3 Dec 2006)

Welome Les, looking forward to reading your book.  Interestingly, I Googled the title/author combination and this discussion thread was the number one search result.  Amazon was only second.


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## The Rifleman (5 Dec 2006)

Thanks Hunter - hope you enjoy the book. Just managed to get an image of the jacket cover (below)


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## daftandbarmy (9 Dec 2006)

Rifleman...

Care to give us a few vignettes in this forum about Bosnia? Books always tend to leave out the good stuff. It would be interesting to read the book with a few of these in mind....

Are you still in the Balck Mafia (oops, I mean RGJ)? If not, why did you leave? etc etc 

Pull up a sandbag, swing a light, play a harmonica....


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## 3rd Horseman (9 Dec 2006)

Rifleman,

  Nice to see you at the site. I will place that book on my wish list. I served with both Task Force Alpha and Bravo as the BC and the FOO/FAC/NGO(NGOs used cruise missiles, to cut off the obvious question what would a NGO be doing in Bosnia). I also did the recce for the force when they combined in operations.


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## daftandbarmy (9 Dec 2006)

Wow,

Now I'm looking forward to YOUR book.


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## The Rifleman (11 Dec 2006)

DaftandBarmy - I left in 1999 - missed all the fun in the sandpit

I didn't leave much out from the book. I start when I was posted to the Light Infantry in Germany, the training for Boz, deployment as Task Force Alpha (UN), living in the field (four months total), the effort on Mount Igman and the Seige of Sarajevo, the Peace Accord, moving our AOR (area of responsibility) to the NW as IFOR (NATO) and winning the peace. I tell everything, from how difficult it was to cook in the freezing winter, toilet drills, land mines, the relationship with REMFs, sniping (them, not me!), how the conflict progressed through the eyes of a mere infanteer, poor conditions, heavy workload, casualties, being scared, etc. You know, the normal squaddie things

Of course during editing some passages were deleted so that the story would flow better, and names were changed so that certain individuals who fecked up were not instantly recognisable!

If you get the book you can ask questions about certain things as you go along. Obviousely some things are only mentioned breifly - I didn't want to bore the reader - just give them an insight into how it was like on operations in Bosnia


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## The Rifleman (11 Dec 2006)

3rd Horseman - we might have passed each other in the snow - I got around quite a bit and might have seen the effects of your handywork if you were involved in sending cruise missiles into Northern Bosnia!   I worked closely with Bn HQ and spent a few days up on Igman, Camp Sevastopol in November & December (1995), also in Kiseljak, Vitez, Mrkonjic Grad, & Banja Luka. Mostly though I was in the field living in or next to my armoured vehicle.

I did spot some JCOs wandering around one night - couldn't spot the cam on their uniforms but they had M16s or M4s. 

The only Canadian vehicles I remember were in 1996 and painted all green - Grizzlies and Bisons. Easy to spot as all had little Maple Leaf flags on them. We did have french Foreign Legion with us at one time - their recce vehicles were all painted yellow and green.

You can order my book on amazon.co.uk - I know it will be sent as I have ordered from the US Amazon site before. Its also on 34% discount so that would pay for the P&P


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## 3rd Horseman (11 Dec 2006)

Rifleman,

  The cruise missiles were my handywork, now declassified  we fired 13 in total all struck their targets but two, it did not arm. One was found in a field years later outside Tuzla by a Cdn LO, I always wondered were that one went, we searched for it but never found it. Most were fired around Tuzla and a few we sent deep....oh ya theirs that word again *Deep* I guess it all depends on your location, deep is all relative most people never get their. Inside joke rifleman some here don't like some of my TF stories in particular the deep ones. The book may now shed some light on a little known part of the war. A little note on why 13 were fired.....it had nothing to do with the targets it was the completion of the 13th crusade, just a little inside symbolism.


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## The Rifleman (12 Dec 2006)

I found out loads after the war - well, about 5 years after when the web started to flood with stories and reports. I didn't include any of that in the book though - I wanted to tell the story as it was happening with only the Intelligence reports and news that we were given at the time. It would have been so easy to be retrospective but that would have taken away from the feel of the story and I would have given the reader so much more information than it would have been possible to know at the time (opsec prevented the real reason behind some of the incidents - as the 3rd Horseman has so rightly mentioned).

(I also think I might have found one of those missing missiles - it was shot down by triple A!  )


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## Hunter (12 Dec 2006)

Rifleman - just ordered your book from Amazon.co.uk, looking forward to reading it (ETA - 9 JAN 07).  I'll post a review when I'm finished reading.  

Really enjoying the comments posted here though, keep 'em coming!


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## The Rifleman (15 Dec 2006)

Jan seems a long way off for something that supposed to be in stock - maybe its the X-Mas post clogging up!  

I looked at your profile - there is definately something for you in the book


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## Hunter (17 Dec 2006)

I'm not bothered by the shipping time.  I know some guys at Amazon and they are all going nuts this time of year.  Furthermore it's transatlantic and I didn't ask for expedited shipping.  I will post when it arrives, so you can get an idea of transatlantic shipping times.  Also I'm re-reading George Blackburn's 'Guns' trilogy right  now and I should be done the final book right aroung the time it arrives.  Although the review that I read on amazon.co.uk definitely makes the wait seem a little longer.   :cheers:


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## The Rifleman (2 Jan 2007)

Just found out the book is now available from amazon.ca

http://www.amazon.ca/Winter-Warriors-Howard/dp/1846240778/sr=8-3/qid=1167739088/ref=sr_1_3/702-5064710-7234423?ie=UTF8&s=books

It probably works out the same price if you consider the discount from the UK site but add postage


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## old fart (2 Jan 2007)

Rifleman, stayed a few days in RGJ luxury accommodation in Jan-Feb 96.  The Company (can't remember which one) was located at the coal mine north of Sanski Most (on route phoenix I think), that company lived in one the worst crap holes IFOR Bosnia had to offer.

They were a good crew who looked after my bunch of sappers well.  The photo shows the "coal bunker" we stayed in while with you guys.  Your fellas did not have it much better, that's for sure.

The damp and smell of the coal dust permeated into everything.   Coupled with AP mines outside the back door, on the strip along side the road; oh and one blue rocket for 200 men and the only power was in the kitchen and the Ops room.

All the best for 2007 

Old fart.


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## The Rifleman (2 Jan 2007)

Yep - I think Bosnia's main produce at that time was mud

Love the photos - glad that I wasn't the only one living like that!


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## Hunter (3 Jan 2007)

The book arrived today!  Looking forward to starting it tonight.  Great photos included with the book too - nice full-colour glossy pics - well done Les!

EDIT - I'm 100 pages in now.  Les I really like your writing style, you make me laugh while telling a great story.  Well done lad.  If you can get Amazon.ca to carry your other book, I will order it right now.    :cheers:


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## The Rifleman (4 Jan 2007)

Sorry Hunter - there is only one book  

If I get around to publishing another I will let Army.ca know first!

Glad you are enjoying my book - its great to get some feedback. I had some trouble with the publisher about the photos. There were a few more but we swapped them to keep the photos colour - they wanted a cheaper production run by making them B&W - it wouldn't have been the same, you need to feel how cold, muddy, icy and down right miserable the place was was visually as well as from the writing

Still, really enjoyed the tour  :warstory:


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## Hunter (4 Jan 2007)

Sorry Les thought you had another published work.  Bloody hell I'm tired today, and it's all your fault - I stayed up way too late reading.

One question though - what is a Geordie?  It's not in the book's glossary and being a colonial I'm not familiar with the term.


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## old fart (4 Jan 2007)

People who hale from the North-east of England (Newcastle area) are called "Geordies" just as people from the Birmingham area are called "Brummies", and so it goes on with Cocknies etc from the London East end.

Want the full meal deal,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geordie

"Whiii aye bonny lad"....eh Rifleman.


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## The Rifleman (8 Jan 2007)

Hunter - as it is so well known in the UK that a Geordie hails from Newcastle it was overlooked for the Glossary. Sorry about the late nights but you should be well used to sleep deprivation even when its self inflicted!


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## Hunter (11 Jan 2007)

Les - Finally got a chance to finish your book tonight.  Thanks very much, it made for a great read.  You write with that dry and somewhat jaded sense of humour that us colonials have come to expect from the Brits.    I really enjoy reading first-hand accounts of peoples' tour experiences - I only wish more tour vets would write a book, especially perspectives from different trades.I found it particularly interesting to read about the way the TA soldiers got the bum's rush out of Germany at the end of the tour.  It reminded me a lot of Kurt Grant's experience upon returning from Bosnia (All Tigers, No Donkeys).

A great read, realy enjoyed it.

Les if you ever find yourself in Ottawa pints are on me.   :cheers:


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## The Rifleman (12 Jan 2007)

Hunter - thanks for the comments. It makes me feel that I didn't waste my time when writing the book if the reader takes something away from the experience. I especially like comments from other squaddies, those that have been in similar situations. I totally agree that more personal accounts should be written otherwise our experiences will fade away and will be lost forever. Historians and the general public need to understand what it was like on the ground at that time, away from politics, the media and public misperceptions. General historical overviews of campaigns have their place, but we also need to hear the voices of our former comrades to balance the story.

Even today, with the abundance of well educated military personell, personal accounts are very thin on the ground. Bosnia, from the British perspective, only has a handful of books written by personnel that served there. That's from the tens of thousands that were in theatre. And from those accounts I found only 1 other written by a "squaddie", the others were penned by very senior officers. 

My story is from the eyes of an infanteer, with references to our supporting arms & services. Its a shame that others, Arty, Engineers, Cavalry, etc haven't done the same.


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## 3rd Horseman (13 Jan 2007)

Rifleman,

  Wait for it, I do believe it is in the works, they just needed the 10 year security clause to elapse. Edited by a senior well known war corespondent that was their and was on some of the classified missions as an in-bed. 

"Shades of Gray"
Canada's secret war in the Bulkans 92-95.


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## Michael OLeary (13 Jan 2007)

3rd Horseman said:
			
		

> Wait for it, I do believe it is in the works, they just needed the *10 year security clause* to elapse. Edited by a senior well known war corespondent that was their and was on some of the classified missions as an in-bed.



Reference please?


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## 3rd Horseman (13 Jan 2007)

Michael,

  Tried to pm ya but it said no such address. Reference for book is impossible since it is not complete. I believe it is almost done, that is what I have been told. 10 year security clause is the one we all sign on the way out the door for not releasing certain classified info for 10 years. Is that the reference you desire?

  As for books I am also aware of another being written by a Canadian civilian wriiter on the similar topic that deals with the aftermath of the war also not done yet.


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## Michael OLeary (13 Jan 2007)

Perhaps you missed the highlighted yellow text. I was asking for the reference for the "10 year security clause".


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## The Rifleman (15 Jan 2007)

I asked for my battalions war diary for Bosnia under an FOI but was told that it will remain secret for 30 years - to varify facts and put events in a chronological order I had to rely on my memory and the memories of a few former comrades. All I wanted to do was make sure I didn't mix up events and put them in the wrong order.  :-\


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## The Rifleman (8 Feb 2007)

A review of Winter Warriors


“The frank and gritty story of life in a good infantry battalion in a freezing Bosnian winter. This is the best account I have ever read of day-to-day life on operations in the Balkans, written with an ordinary soldier’s unerring eye for detail and scorn for bullshit. If you want to understand the real British army, this is a good place to start.” 

Professor Richard Holmes
author of Redcoat, Sahib, Tommy and Dusty Warriors


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