(Key: an asterisk marks activities and events covered in this book; other political and military activities are listed to provide context.)
7 January
The 81st Fighter Squadron (FS) deploys with six A-10s to Aviano AB, Italy, in support of Joint Forge.*
15 January
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Kosovo Verification Mission (KVM) reports a serious deterioration of the situation in the area. KVM patrols witness Serb army (VJ) tanks and armored vehicles firing directly into houses near Malopoljce and Petrova, and notes houses burning in Racak.
16 January
Returning to Racak, the KVM confirms that Serb security forces had killed 45 Albanian civilians and stated that it had evidence of arbitrary detentions, extrajudicial killings, and the mutilation of unarmed civilians by the security forces of the Former Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY).
28 January
Secretary General Javier Solana of NATO issues a statement indicating that NATO fully supports the enhanced status for Kosovo, preservation of the territorial integrity of the FRY, and protection of the rights of all ethnic groups. The statement calls for FRY authorities to immediately bring the force levels, posture, and actions of the Yugoslav army and the Special Police into strict compliance with their commitments to NATO on 25 October 1998 and to end the excessive and disproportionate use of force in accordance with these commitments.
30 January
NATO’s primacy focus remains on the peace negotiations in Rambouillet, France; all the while, intelligence reports clearly show a significant buildup of FRY forces in Kosovo. The North Atlantic Council (NAC) gives Secretary General Solana the authority to authorize air strikes against targets on FRY territory.
7 February
The 81st FS is extended for 30 days and directed to stand up combat search and rescue (CSAR).*
1 March
The 81st FS is extended indefinitely and is authorized 15 A-10s.*
19 March
After the Kosovar Albanians sign the proposed agreement, negotiations are suspended, and the Serb delegates leave Paris without signing it. They denounce the Western ultimatum as a violation of international law and the UN charter. The KVM withdraws from Kosovo. Almost onethird of the FRY’s total armed forces, massed in and around Kosovo, commences the systematic expulsion of Kosovo’s ethnic Albanians, codenamed Operation Horseshoe. Many were driven out of their homes and villages. Some victims are summarily executed, hundreds of thousands are displaced, and many lose their homes when Serbs set fire to them.
21 March
US Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke is dispatched to Belgrade to deliver a “final warning” to Slobodan Milosevic.
23 March
Ambassador Holbrooke departs Belgrade, having received no concessions of any kind from Milosevic. Subsequently, Secretary General Solana directs Gen Wesley K. Clark, supreme allied commander Europe (SACEUR) to initiate air operations in the FRY.
24 March
Operation Allied Force (OAF) commences with combat operations against Serbian forces.*
25 March
The Yugoslav government breaks off diplomatic relations with the United States, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
27 March
After an F-117 is lost near Belgrade, a successful 81st-led CSAR effort recovers the pilot.*
30 March
Combined Air Interdiction of Fielded Forces (CAIFF) begins operations but is limited to 10 miles penetration of Kosovo.*
1 April
Serbian forces capture three US soldiers in the FRY of Macedonia.
3 April
NATO missiles strike central Belgrade for the first time and destroy the Yugoslav and Serbian interior ministries.
5 April
Maj Devo Gross flies his first combat sortie with Capt Lester Less.*
6 April
The first successful A-10 attack occurs during OAF. Weather finally permits an AFAC to locate and destroy a Serb truck park.*
Lt Col Kimos Haave controls an 18-ship package against military vehicles and petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) targets.*
7 April
CAIFF operations changes its name to Serb army (VJ)–Serb Interior Ministry police (MUP) Engagement Zone (VMEZ); included all of Kosovo.*
Maj Dirt Fluhr transmits on the radio: “Hey, they’re shooting at us!”*
8 April
Capt JD McDonough destroys fuel trucks.*
9 April
Capt Rip Woodard successfully recovers his A-10 after experiencing a dual-engine flameout in the weather at flight level (FL) 300.*
10 April
The NAC approves the concept of operations and the operations plan for Allied Harbor, the NATO humanitarian effort in Albania.
11 April
The 81st FS moves to Gioia del Colle.*
Col Al Thompson stands up the 40th Expeditionary Operations Group (EOG).*
14 April
Bear 31 (an F-16 AFAC) leads an attack on a column of approximately 100 vehicles. Many are destroyed, and 64 noncombatants are killed before Cub 31 (Capt JD McDonough) identifies the convoy as civilian. Bear 31 then terminates the F-16 and French Jaguar attacks.*
15 April
This is the first day that Macedonian airspace can be used to fly attack missions.*
The VMEZ changes to the Kosovo engagement zone (KEZ).*
Five 74th FS aircraft, nine pilots, and 65 support personnel arrive from Pope AFB and are integrated into 81st EFS.*
21 April
All European Union countries agree to stop oil-product deliveries by or through member states to the FRY. NATO missiles hit the Belgrade headquarters of Milosevic’s Serbian Socialist Party and his private residence; the allies believed that both could command and control VJ/MUP forces.
22 April
Alliance nations reaffirm the conditions that will bring an end to the air campaign and announce an intensification of that campaign.
Maj Devo Gross and Capt Boo Bullard destroy a group of 20–30 military trucks near U-Town and six tanks in a river bed.*
1 May
Four 40th EOG Sandys lead the rescue of Hammer 34, an F-16 pilot shot down in northern Serbia.*
Maj Corn Mays, Maj Devo Gross, Capt Meegs Meger, and Lt Scud Curley dodge multiple surface-to-air missiles (SAM) and attack a troop concentration.*
Col Al Thompson, Lt Col Kimos Haave, and others discuss ROE and Apache helicopter options with Lt Gen Mike Short and Lt Gen John Hendrix, USA, at Tirana, Albania.*
Three captured US soldiers are released into the custody of US civil rights leader Jesse Jackson.
2 May
Maj Goldie Haun kills a self-propelled artillery piece and strafes two tanks, is hit by an SA-14 missile, and recovers to Skopje, Macedonia.*
4 May
Great Flat Face–Giraffe Hunt begins.*
5 May
The ROEs change. The “within 10 nautical miles (NM) of the border” sanctuary is replaced by three zones: 0–2, 2–5, and 5–10 NM of border, with progressively increasing likelihood of target approval.*
7 May
NATO planes accidentally bomb the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, killing three and wounding 20. NATO describes the bombing as a “tragic mistake” caused by “faulty information.” The United States and NATO say that the intended target was a Yugoslav building with military use, but US maps used in the planning of the operation were old and had the embassy located at a previous address.
11 May
An A-10 AFAC is hit beneath the cockpit by a shoulder-fired missile. The warhead does not detonate, and the pilot is able to recover the aircraft to Gioia.*
A Predator UAV operator provides Lt Col Coke Koechle’s flight with real-time target coordinates of a Serb army command post and hidden armored vehicles. The Serb command post and armor targets are destroyed.*
Lt Col Surgeon Dahl flies the last flight of his tour (fini-flight) with wingman Lt Hummer Cerone on his first combat sortie; several military vehicles are destroyed with secondary explosions.*
14 May
At least 79 people are killed and 58 wounded when NATO missiles hit Korisa, a village in southern Kosovo.
Capt Hook Shenk flies a mission check-ride; Capt Scrape Johnson evaluates while flying as Hook’s wingman. They attack targets and dodge a SAM.*
19 May
Russia says mediation efforts with the West are deadlocked. A NATO bomb kills 10 inmates in a Pristina jail.
The 104th EOG arrives at Trapani AB, Sicily.
22 May
A UN humanitarian mission visits Kosovo, as NATO admits its mistake in bombing Kosovo Liberation Army positions at Kosare, near the border with Albania. Sources close to the KLA say seven guerillas were killed and 15 injured.
Milosevic and four other Serbian leaders are indicted by the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for crimes against humanity. The indictment is amended and expanded on 29 June 2001.
23 May
NATO begins a bombing campaign against the Yugoslav electricity grid, creating a major disruption of power that affects many militaryrelated activities and water supplies.
The 104th EOG begins to fly missions out of Trapani AB, Sicily.
31 May
1st Lt Hummer Cerone and 1st Lt Co Martin pass their flight-lead check rides and pin on captain bars.
8 June
The West and Russia reach a landmark agreement on a draft UN resolution at the annual meeting of the heads of state of the eight major industrial democracies (G8) in Cologne, France. NATO calls on Milosevic to resume military talks on troop withdrawal at once.Talks between senior NATO and FRY officers on a Serb pullout from Kosovo resume in Macedonia and continue into the night.
9 June
This is the last day authorized for NATO forces to expend ordnance.
Slobodan Milosevic capitulates and agrees to withdraw forces from Kosovo.*
Maj James “Jimbo” MacCauley and 1st Lt Scud Curley are shot at by mobile SAMs, return the attack, and score a probable SAM kill.*
Col Al Thompson attacks armored personnel carriers (APC) near Mount Osljak.*
Military talks continue with senior NATO and FRY officers. Late in the day, the two parties sign the Military Technical Agreement.
10 June
Secretary General Solana calls for a suspension of NATO air strikes after receiving definite evidence that Serb forces are withdrawing from northern Kosovo. The UN Security Council adopts Resolution 1244 on Kosovo. In Cologne, G8 ministers draft a plan to anchor the Balkans to Western Europe and rebuild Kosovo.
11 June
Col Al Thompson passes command of the 40th EOG to Col Gregg Sanders and returns to Spangdahlem.*
20 June
In accordance with the 9 June Military Technical Agreement, Serb forces completely withdraw from Kosovo, leading Secretary General Solana to officially end NATO’s bombing campaign in the Former Republic of Yugoslavia.
30 June
A-10s cease CSAR and close air support (CAS) alert as NATO occupation forces enter the KEZ.*
6 October
Milosevic concedes defeat in the presidential election to Vlajislav Kostunica. Milosevic gives up power after widespread protests and Russian urging.
29 June
Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic of Serbia invokes Yugoslavia’s obligations under international law to support the transfer of Milosevic to the UN war crimes tribunal at The Hague. Milosevic is charged with committing crimes against humanity in Kosovo and Croatia. In November 2001, the charge of genocide is added, stemming from his alleged activity during the 1992–95 Bosnian war.
12 February
Milosevic’s trial begins in The Hague with Milosevic acting as his own defense lawyer. He is the first head of state to face an international warcrimes court.