Sgt. Kelly Whitteaker
First published in
SFOR Informer#144, August 1, 2002

Available routes are a necessity for the successful deployment and action of any military organisation. Whether it is by road, rail, sea or air, this enables the distribution of supplies, food and the relocation of personnel, from a wide range of locations throughout a theatre of operation during a time of war or conflict. Or, in the case of SFOR, the stabilisation process. The team responsible for keeping the steady movement of these essential items in and around Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) are the CJ Engineers based at Camp Butmir, Sarajevo.

Camp Butmir - From reconnaissance of the SFOR routes throughout the countryside, to reconstruction of a dilapidated and dangerous tunnel on SFOR route Gull, the CJ Engineers stay busy as they maintain the numerous roads and rails that are essential to mission success in BiH.
What is freedom of movement?
"Freedom of movement is practical and fundamental and helps us do our business," said Maj. Rupert Mozley, staff officer, plans, Royal Engineers, CJ Engineers. "Freedom of movement manifests itself in roads, rails, bridges, APODS (Airports of Disembarkation) and SPODS (Seaports of Disembarkation)," he said.
Freedom of movement is key to operational movement, whether it's reinforcement or the rotation of soldiers from one area of operation to another, this critical element is about the many variables involved in an operation being mobile.
One example of freedom of movement is the railway system that is extensive throughout BiH. An alternative resource to using roadways, the rails system proves worthy.
"Rails covers works on the railway network that SFOR uses or plans to use to ensure the safe and secure movement of equipment and logistics," said Mozley.
Working together
A combination of military and civilian engineers along with local contractors is how the mission involving freedom of movement gets accomplished. However, the actual labour on the rail system involves strictly contractors.
"There is no SFOR military at work on the railways so everything we do is contracted," explained Mozley. According to Dijana Trivakovic-Lucic, senior engineer consultant, "In the past we used to have temporarily attached troops, like a regiment for example, from one of the nations who was doing the major work. But then that was a time when we were doing really big projects on a much, much larger scale than we are doing today," she explained. "Everything we do today is to maintain the necessary minimum for movement of trains and it's all done and contracted through the relevant authorities in the country," she said.
Route Gull tunnel
One project that has recently been completed isn't that of a railway but of two road tunnels that were so severely dilapidated they had to be closed down. The tunnels are located on SFOR route Gull, travelling Northwest of Sarajevo and located near the town of Mrkonjic Grad. The re-opening of the tunnels took place July 29 during a much anticipated ceremony. The work done by contractors is one example of the freedom of movement and how essential it is to the mission of SFOR. The closing of the tunnel caused travel delays for troops travelling into that region.
Reconnaissance
Another aspect of freedom of movement is that of reconnaissance. Teams of engineers spend a great deal of time literally driving throughout the countryside. The purpose of their trips is to observe the roads, rails and bridges as well as potential or actual landslide problems and then report the findings back to the shop. Once this is done, efforts are put into place to repair the situations to meet the minimum military requirements for travel.
It's all about movement
From land to air to sea to rail, moving supplies and troops throughout a theatre of operation is one critical aspect during any successful military mission. In the words of Lt. Col. George A. Clarke, U.S. Army reserve, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, CJ Engineers, "Ensuring that forces have the ability to move … to be first in and last out, it is our job to make sure that capability exists," he said.

Related links: SFOR at Work
Engineering