GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM U.S. Army Capt. Chris Schreiner, above, spent a few quiet moments yesterday with his children, 4-year-old Andrew and 8-month-old Caitlyn, before elements of the 25th Infantry Division (Light) departed for Bosnia.

Hawaii soldiers
head out to Bosnia

It is the first European deployment
for the 25th Infantry Division

---

By Gregg K. Kakesako
gkakesako@starbulletin.com

All this month, soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division will be leaving the comfortable and familiar surroundings of Schofield Barracks for Bosnia-Herzegovina in the unit's first European deployment.

For the more than 1,000 25th Division soldiers under the command of Maj. Gen. Charles Swannack, it will mean six months of missed birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions.

As soldiers and their families met late yesterday afternoon for their last goodbyes at Schofield Barracks' E Quad, 10-year-old Trey Broom said having dad, Sgt. 1st Class Eric Broom, away until October is "going to be tough."

"I'm going to miss going dirt-biking with him," said Trey.

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Mark Larson got a farewell kiss and a yellow ribbon yesterday from his wife, Terri Larson, and daughter, Brittani.

Denise Broom said this is the second time her husband will be pulling peacekeeping duties in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The last time was when the family was stationed at Fort Bragg.

Not only will Broom miss taking son Trey dirt-biking in the Kahuku hills, but also his absence will mean delayed birthday and anniversary celebrations.

"We'll just have one big party when he gets back," said Denise Broom.

"Any time a loved one is not around, it's hard," she added. "But we will hold everything together. We support him 100 percent because I know what he is doing is right."

The Tropic Lightning soldiers will be part of Task Force Eagle, which also includes Army National Guard members from Idaho, Montana, Indiana and Wisconsin.

Task Force Eagle was formed in 1995 following the NATO-imposed cease-fire that ended the four-year Balkan war.

That cease-fire divided Bosnia-Herzegovina into three multinational divisions, with the north designated as the U.S. sector, southwest placed under the control of the United Kingdom, and southeast given to the French. Swannack will be commander of the Multinational Division North as well as Task Force Eagle.

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM 1st Lt. Thomas Babbett kissed his wife, Bridget, and daughter, Meg, as elements of the "Tropic Lightning" division headed out yesterday for the cold climes of Eastern Europe.

Besides Task Force Eagle, the Multinational Division North -- north of Sarajevo -- also has a Turkish brigade, a Russian brigade and a NORDPOL brigade (made up of soldiers from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Sweden, Denmark and Finland). Each of these three brigades consists of about 850 soldiers.

Accompanying the soldiers will be four civilians who work for the Army in Hawaii.

For Cathy Ballie, normally executive assistant to the division's commanding general, this is the second time she will put on Army camouflage fatigues.

In 1995, Bailey was a member of the Hawaii Army National Guard and placed on active duty and spent several months in Haiti working for Maj. Gen. George Fisher, who was then commanding general of the 25th Division.

When she retired from the Hawaii Army National Guard in 1996 with 23 years of service, Bailey said she never thought she would need any of her Army gear, and she gave everything away. "All I kept was my dog tags," she said. "I even destroyed my shot record."

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Bedecked in a red, white and blue plastic lei, Army Staff Sgt. Kanessa Mynett-Allen attached a luggage tag to her gear yesterday.

She was asked by Swannack if she was interested in spending the six months in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and was willing to go because she had worked with him in Haiti when he was the 25th Division's 2nd Brigade commander.

Shar Kaina, who has spent 15 years working for the Army as a resource management specialist, has never been in uniform. But she volunteered to serve as the task force's comptroller when the Army was not able to find the right soldier for the job.

"I don't have any problems going," Kaina said, "as long as I don't have to live in a tent."

Bailey said she has been in contact with the person she is replacing and has been told the Eagle Base in Tuzla, which is the headquarters for Task Force Eagle, is "very safe."

But the hours are long, Bailey was told, and a 12-hour workday is going to be common.

The 20-hour, 8,000-mile journey by a chartered World Airline jets will include only two refueling stops, in Georgia and Ireland.

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM From the window of a bus, Staff Sgt. Monserrate Rodriguez got just one more goodbye from his son, Christian, and wife, Leyda.

Except for 30 helicopters, the soldiers took very little equipment, such as trucks, from Wahiawa.

Staff Sgt. Christopher Darbonne said he does not expect the deployment to be all that difficult.

"It's going to be long," said Darbonne, 26, "but it's not going to be bad. A lot of time, we will just be inspecting equipment."

He and his wife, Michele, plan to stay in touch by e-mail, sending each other digital pictures, especially of his twin daughters, Casey and Katlyn, whose second birthday he will miss in July.

Michele Darbonne is hopeful that her husband will be home by Nov. 16 to celebrate their fourth wedding anniversary.

As the soldiers prepared to board the buses that would take them to Hickam Air Force Base, Pvt. 1st Class Andrea Silva, who has been in the Army for only 18 months, reminded Spec. Jessica Benton to stay in touch and send her the ultrasound photos of her child. "Remember that's my godchild."

The 25th Division will assume control as the 11th stabilization force from the Virginia National Guard's 29th Infantry Division on April 5. The Tropic Lightning soldiers will return to Hawaii in October when they turn over the Bosnia peacekeeping mission to the Pennsylvania National Guard's 28th Infantry Division.