Lt Hollie Ryan
First published in
SFOR Informer#168, December, 2003

The Royal Gurkha Rifles of the UKBG conducted a Harvest operation, 10-20 November, in Gradiska Opstina. The soldiers were voluntarily given many weapons and rounds of ammunitions, however they discovered and confiscated motars and rifles, all in working order, from 2 hidden caches.

Gradiska Opstina - In 1998, a highly successful nationwide program began that has helped the population of Bosnia and Herzegovina rid itself of many firearms, munitions and explosive devices. The program, Operation Harvest, has been a cooperative initiative led by the Armed Forces in BiH (AFBiH) and local authorities, with support from the EUPM and SFOR, to remove illegally held weapons, munitions and warlike-materials from circulation.
While the AF BiH and local authorities are the lead agencies in Op Harvest, SFOR provides full support and is always ready to supply technical expertise. Typically, an SFOR battle group begins an information campaign before carrying out an intensified Harvest.
One would think that, after almost two years of Harvest operations being conducted in most of Bosnia, any efforts to collect weapons and ammunition at this point would have come up dry. Not so, on 10 Nov 03, Royal Gurkha Rifles soldiers of Bravo and Charlie Company from the UKBG, in conjunction with the local government, police and military authorities, began a Harvest operation in the Gradiska Opstina. Several weapons, rounds of ammunition and other dangerous items were handed in on the first day, approximately 70% of them were done so voluntarily.
The co-operation between the local authorities, SFOR and the citizens of the area was excellent, which helps to explain the high number of weapons handed in. Unfortunately, cooperation doesn't always happen voluntarily. On Tuesday evening, 18 November 2003, C Coy soldiers found fourteen mortar systems, 7 recoilless rifles and a number of small arms during a Harvest in the town of Liminci. The weapons were retrieved from the shed of a local resident, unassembled and well conditioned for storage. They were nearly complete, with only sights and ammunition missing for the larger weapons.
The following morning, VRS soldiers, along with local police, arrived at the Company location the following morning to recover and transport them for disposal. "To be honest with you, I wasn't expecting you to find so many weapons," said Dusan Malesevic, Deputy Mayor of Gradiska. "This is proof that the Harvest operations are effective and still needed."
Two days later, Bravo Company also discovered a significant cache of illegal weapons and ammunition in a woodland area of the Trebovljani region. Everything was found in good condition and was well protected from the environment. Some of the magazines were even loaded, ready to use. It was clear that there had been some recent activity in the area, given that it had rained the previous couple of days, and the paper and wool blanket used to cover the items were completely dry.
The excellent cooperation between the VRS, local authorities, and SFOR, is only part of the equation that will lead to eventually ridding Bosnia and Herzegovina of these dangers. The citizens who hide them pose an even greater danger by contributing to the fear that inhibits stabilization. That is why SFOR continues to support local organizations by encouraging all people of BiH to hand in whatever weapons and ammunition are still out there. With the country on its way to joining Partnership for Peace, there is clearly no longer a need for such dangerous items in the local communities, and every item collected and destroyed only brings it one step closer to being a safe place to live again.