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Implementation Force

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"IFOR" redirects here. For other uses, seeIFOR (disambiguation).

Implementation Force
Pocket badge of the IFOR
Active1995–1996
Country32 countries
TypeCommand
Part ofNATO
Nickname(s)"IFOR"

TheImplementation Force(IFOR) was aNATO-led multinationalpeace enforcementforce inBosnia and Herzegovinaunder a one-year mandate from 20 December 1995 to 20 December 1996 under the codenameOperation Joint Endeavour.

Background

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U.S. Army vehicles with IFOR crossing theSavausing apontoon bridge.The Brčko Bridge, seen at the right, wasdestroyed in 1992and was still being reconstructed byU.S. Army engineerswhen this photo was taken in 1996.

NATO was responsible to theUnited Nations(UN) for carrying out theDayton Peace Accords.The Dayton Peace Accords were started on 22 November 1995 by the presidents of Bosnia,Croatia,andSerbia,on behalf of Serbia and theBosnian Serb Republic.The actual signing happened inParison 14 December 1995. The peace accords contained a General Framework Agreement and eleven supporting annexes with maps. The accords had three major goals: ending of hostilities, authorization of military and civilian program going into effect, and the establishment of a central Bosnian government while excluding individuals who are serving sentences or under indictment by theInternational War Crimes Tribunalsfrom taking part in the running of the government. IFOR's specific role was to implement the military Annexes ofThe General Framework Agreement for Peace (GFAP) in Bosnia and Herzegovina.[1]

IFOR relieved the UN peacekeeping forceUNPROFOR,which had originally arrived in 1992, and the transfer of authority was discussed inSecurity Council Resolution 1031.Almost 60,000 NATO soldiers in addition to forces from non-NATO nations were deployed to Bosnia. Operation Decisive Endeavor (SACEUR OPLAN 40105), beginning 6 December 1995, was a subcomponent of Joint Endeavor.[2]IFOR began operations on 20 December 1995.[3]

The Dayton Agreement resulted from a long series of events, notably, the failures ofEU-led peace plans,the August 1995 CroatOperation Stormand expelling 200,000 Serb civilians, the Bosnian Serb war crimes, in particular theSrebrenica massacre,and the seizure ofUNPROFORpeace-keepers ashuman shieldsagainst NATO'sOperation Deliberate Force.[4]

U.S. Secretary of DefenseWilliam Perryand his Russian counterpart,Pavel Grachevagreed on October 8 that the peacekeeping operation name will be Implementation Force of the Peace Agreement on Bosnia-Herzegovina, that is without reference to NATO; other differences were unresolved at that time (chain of command, area of command and control).[5]On October 27 they agreed that "the Russian unit will not be part of the NATO peacekeeping force, but will perform special engineering, transport and construction activites".[6]

AdmiralLeighton W. Smith Jr.,Commander in ChiefAllied Forces Southern Europe(CINCSOUTH), served as the first Joint Force Commander for the operation, also known as Commander IFOR (COMIFOR). He commanded the operation from IFOR's deployment on 20 December 1995 from headquarters inZagreb,and later from March 1996 from the Residency inSarajevo.[7]AdmiralThomas J. Lopezcommanded the operation from 31 July to 7 November 1996, followed by GeneralWilliam W. Crouchuntil 20 December 1996.[3]Lt GenMichael Walker,CommanderAllied Rapid Reaction Corps(ARRC), acted as Land Component Commander for the operation, commanding from HQ ARRC (Forward) based initially inKiseljak,and from late January 1996 from HQ ARRC (Main) inIlidža.This was NATO's first ever out-of-area land deployment. The Land Component's part of the operation was known as Operation Firm Endeavour.[8]

At its height, IFOR involved troops from 32 countries and numbered some 54,000 soldiers in-country (BiH) and around 80,000 involved soldiers in total (with support and reserve troops stationed inCroatia,Hungary,Germany,andItalyand also on ships in theAdriatic Sea). In the initial phases of the operation, much of the initial composition of IFOR consisted of units which had been part of UNPROFOR but remained in place and simply replaced their United Nations insignia with IFOR insignia.[citation needed]

Components

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Map of the International Sectors under the Peace Agreement.

NATO member states that contributed forces included Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Non-NATO nations that contributed forces included; Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Morocco, New Zealand, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, Russia, and Ukraine.[9]

The tasks of the Land Component were carried out by three Multi National Divisions:[10]

On 20 December 1996, the task of IFOR was taken over bySFOR.[39]In turn, SFOR was replaced by the EuropeanEUFOR Altheaforce in 2004.[40]

NATO began to create service medals once it began to support peacekeeping in the former Yugoslavia, which led to the award to IFOR troops of theNATO Medal.[41]

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^The General Framework Agreement for Peace (GFAP) in Bosnia and Herzegovina
  2. ^"Appendix C: References",Federation of American ScientistsArchived26 September 2008 at theWayback Machine
  3. ^ab"Peace support operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina".NATO.Retrieved18 December2020.
  4. ^"NATO AIRCRAFT ATTACK BOSNIAN-SERB TANK"(Press release).NATO.22 September 1994.
  5. ^The United States and Russia failed Sunday to resolve....upi Oct. 8, 1995
  6. ^Russia-U.S. agreement on Balkans reached.upi Oct. 27, 1995
  7. ^SFOR leaves Residency Compound
  8. ^Operational Analysis Support to NATO IFOR/SFOR Operations
  9. ^Clark, A.L. (1996).Bosnia: What Every American Should Know.New York:Berkley Books.
  10. ^https:// armyupress.army.mil/portals/7/combat-studies-institute/csi-books/mcgrath_boots.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  11. ^The Multinational Division South-East in BosniaArchived28 June 2013 at theWayback Machine
  12. ^https://publicaciones.defensa.gob.es/media/downloadable/files/links/r/e/revista_ejercito_672.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  13. ^"Recap6-opex".
  14. ^"History: 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment | French Foreign Legion Information".Retrieved19 December2023.
  15. ^"Independence and restoration".Royal Moroccan Armed Forces.18 September 2013.Retrieved19 December2023.
  16. ^"Recap6-opex".
  17. ^"Recap6-opex".
  18. ^https://publicaciones.defensa.gob.es/media/downloadable/files/links/r/e/revista_ejercito_675.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  19. ^"The medal collection - Esercito Italiano".esercito.difesa.it.Retrieved19 December2023.
  20. ^"SPABRI I - Spanish army".ejercito.defensa.gob.es.Retrieved19 December2023.
  21. ^"Contenido - Ejército de tierra".ejercito.defensa.gob.es.Retrieved19 December2023.
  22. ^"Contenido - Ejército de tierra".ejercito.defensa.gob.es.Retrieved19 December2023.
  23. ^"British Forces Bosnia".Parliamentary Debates (Hansard).18 July 1996.Retrieved13 April2013.
  24. ^"Army senior appointments".United Kingdom Government News.23 July 2002. Archived fromthe originalon 26 July 2011.Retrieved13 April2013.
  25. ^Lord, p. 304
  26. ^2nd Battalion The Light Infantry Bosnia 1995 - 96 Op Grapple 7,retrieved19 December2023
  27. ^1 RRF Bosnia,retrieved19 December2023
  28. ^"The Dutch contribution to Implementation Force (IFOR), Stabilization Force (SFOR) and European Force (EUFOR) - Historical missions - Defensie.nl".english.defensie.nl.8 September 2017.Retrieved19 December2023.
  29. ^https:// canada.ca/content/dam/themes/defence/caf/militaryhistory/dhh/honours/commonwealth-foreign-honours.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  30. ^https:// army.cz/assets/en/ministry-of-defence/newsroom/publication/20-let-acr_en.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  31. ^https:// armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/military-review/Archives/English/MilitaryReview_20070831_art007.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  32. ^https://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/AA/00/06/21/90/00011/03-15-1996.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  33. ^https://collections.unu.edu/eserv/UNU:2429/ebrary9280810790.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  34. ^Nelson, James (2005).Bosnia Journal: An American Civilian's Accountof His Service.Infinity Publishing.ISBN978-0-7414-2321-4.
  35. ^https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA389550.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  36. ^https://icds.ee/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/RKK_Apprenticeship__Partnership__Membership_WWW.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  37. ^https://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/AA/00/06/21/90/00016/04-19-1996.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  38. ^https://ispaim.mapn.ro/webroot/fileslib/upload/files/Occasional%20Papers/OP%2016%202011.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  39. ^"History of the NATO-led Stabilisation Force (SFOR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina".NATO.RetrievedDecember 18,2018.
  40. ^Hawton, Nick (October 23, 2004)."EU troops prepare for Bosnia swap".BBC News.RetrievedDecember 18,2018.
  41. ^"NATO Medal for Former Yugoslavia (NATO-FY)".National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces.July 22, 2015.RetrievedDecember 18,2018.

Further reading

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Media related toIFORat Wikimedia Commons

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