History of the Macon Volunteers 1825-2025: Bosnia Herzegovina

By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

 

 

The Road to Bosnia

Just two months after the 48^th Brigade returned from the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif., the country of Yugoslavia began to break apart as the first two of its six constituent republics declared their independence. Bosnia-Herzegovina followed in November 1991 and erupted into a brutal civil war and humanitarian crisis with nearly 1.5 million displaced refugees.[1] A peace agreement established in December 1995 authorized intervention by North Atlantic-Treaty Organization nations, paving the way for U.S. participation on Operations Joint Endeavor, Joint Guard, and Joint Forge.

 

By mid-1999, the U.S. Army was mulling dispatching the 48^th Brigade for peacekeeping operations in the former Yugoslavia.[2] In February 2000, the 48^th received word that it was slated for mobilization to Bosnia-Herzegovina in support of Stabilization Force 9. Lieutenant General Tom Carden, then a major assigned as operations officer for the 2^nd Battalion 121^st Infantry Regiment, recalled receiving the official notice of the deployment.

 

“The 48th Brigade commanding general at the time was Brig. Gen. Robin Hughes, noted Carden. “He notified the formation that we would deploy two battalion task forces and the 148th Forward Support Battalion to Bosnia as part of Stabilization Force 9. We had a large meeting at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center in Forsyth to go over the details of the upcoming mission.”[3]

 

The Bosnia deployment would encompass approximately 1,200 Soldiers from the 48^th Infantry Brigade. Brigade headquarters staff who would collaborate with staff of the 3^rd Infantry Division during the mobilization. The 2^nd Battalion 121^st Infantry Regiment would supply approximately 650 Soldiers to command a task force. This task force would be augmented by companies of the 1^st Battalion, 121^st Infantry Regiment while logistics, medical and maintenance support would be provided by the 148^th FSB. Company C, 648^th Engineer Battalion was assigned to provide engineering support while firepower would be provided by the Cedartown-based Company B, 108^th Armor.[4]

 

While the 48^th Brigade Soldiers that assembled in 2000 would not be the first mobilized to the Balkans, the deployment marked a sharp increase in National Guard involvement in Bosnia, a fact Maj. Gen. David Poythress, Adjutant General of Georgia, observed.

 

“The Department of Defense, the U.S. Army and the United States are demonstrating their confidence in the 48^th Brigade and the Georgia National Guard by selecting these units to lead the way for National Guard participation in support of this mission,” said Poythress in March 2000. “This is the first time that a National Guard combat unit of this size and capability will take over such a large portion of this mission.”[5]

 

Many Soldiers of the 48^th Brigade saw the deployment as an opportunity to demonstrate the brigade’s capabilities following the experience of the 1991 Desert Storm mobilization.

 

“There was real sense of determination from those who had been a part of the long rotation that we would leave no doubt the Georgia National Guard could and would be successful training for and conducting missions in Bosnia,” recalled Lt. Col. Jeff Freeman, who was a platoon leader in the 2^nd Battalion, 121^st Infantry Regiment in 2000.[6] 

 

The summer of 2000 brought significant changes to the 48^th Brigade mission. General Hughes was assigned as assistant commander of 1^st Army at Fort Gillem and promoted to major general. Succeeding Hughes as commander of the 48^th Brigade was Brig. Gen. Robley Rigdon who would additionally serve as assistant commander of the 3^rd Infantry Division in Bosnia. Colonel Tommy Stewart was appointed to serve as the brigade task force commander in Bosnia.[7]

 

Fort Stewart: The Training Begins

In three weeks of premobilization training at Fort Stewart in August and September 2000, the 48^th Brigade qualified on weapons systems and were certified in platoon live fire exercises. Soldiers of the headquarters company, Macon Volunteers, commanded by Maj. John Cole, were integrated into the 3^rd Infantry Division Headquarters as part of exercise Marne Focus.[8] As brigade headquarters, the Volunteers were then comprised of approximately 270 Soldiers. In addition to staff and headquarters personnel, these Soldiers also constituted military police, signal, chemical, and air defense artillery platoons.[9]

 

Images from Exercise Marne Focus. Georgia National Guard Archives.

Receiving federal orders in December, the Soldiers continued to prepare for mobilization at Fort Stewart. Brigade leadership visited Bosnia in January 2001 to meet with leaders from Security Force 8.[10] The following month, President George W. Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld visited the Soldiers training at Fort Stewart.

 

Fort Polk

Subsequent to the presidential visit, the 48^th Brigade travelled to Fort Polk for a rotation at the Joint Readiness Training Center. As at Fort Irwin, the Soldiers were housed in tents and spent long days conducting field and exercises. In place of sand and dust, the Soldiers endured rain and mud.

Returning from Fort Polk, the Soldiers were granted leave before assembling at local armories across the state for send-off ceremonies.

 

On March 12, 2001, more than 300 Georgia National Guard Soldiers departed Hunter Army Airfield Bound for Bosnia.[11] An advance party had set out the previous month to prepare for the brigade’s arrival. Passing through Shannon, Ireland, the Soldiers landed in Tuzla and were transported to Forward Operation Base Connor and Camps Commanche and Eagle nearby with the Macon Volunteers as brigade headquarters co-located with the 3rd Infantry Division Headquarters.”[12]

 

Assuming the Mission

The Macon Volunteers augmented Multi-National Division-North headquarters operations. Major General Walter L. Sharp commanded MND-N with Brig. Gen. Robley Rigdon, commander of the 48^th Infantry Brigade, serving as deputy commander. Command Sgt. Major Walter Kegley assumed responsibility as senior enlisted leader of Task Force Eagle ground forces. [13]

 

Brigadier General Robley Rigdon and Command Sgt. Major Walter Kegley Sr., command team of the 48th Infantry Brigade.

From Camp Eagle, the Macon Volunteers directed and resourced the 48^th Brigade elements in Bosnia. The 2^nd Battalion, 121^st Infantry Regiment assumed command of Task Force Eagle from 1^st Battalion 64^th Armor Regiment, 3^rd Infantry Division at Camp Comanche.[14] On March 31, the 148^th Logistics Task Force assumed the mission of supplying and equipping the mission[15] The 1^st Battalion, 121^st Infantry Regiment assumed responsibility for Eagle Base security April 2, 2001.[16] Company C, 648^th Engineer Battalion began a series of projects rebuilding bridges near Lukavac and  repairing a Bridge over the Drina River near the town of Kuslat.[17]

 

Patrols and Peacekeeping

Patrols conducted by the 48^th Brigade provided MND-N with community sensing and intelligence while also serving to locate weapons caches. During the brigade’s SFOR-9 rotation, Operation Harvest continued the process of demilitarization and marked the beginning of the transfer of responsibility from SFOR to local authorities.[18] From May to June 2001, MND-N collected more than 100 weapons, 23,000 rounds of ammunitions and nearly 800 grenades.

 

Memorial Observation

Monument in Srebrenica. Staff Sgt. Ken Hudson.

On July 11, 2001, a monument was dedicated on the sixth anniversary of the Srebrenica
Massacre in which thousands of Bosnians Muslims were killed in ethnic cleansing perpetrated by the forces of Ratko Mladić.[19] More than 1,200 Soldiers of SFOR-9, among them Soldiers of 2^nd Battalion, 121^st Infantry Regiment.

 

“We provided a presence to reinforce the authority of local officials. We never had to deploy a single Soldier to do their actual jobs. This is key to the eventual redeployment of all peacekeepers from Bosnia. While this will take time, July 11 should be seen as another milestone on the road to our final objective,” Carden observed following the ceremony.[20]

 

September 11, 2001

In September, the Macon Volunteers were arranging for the return of the 48^th Brigade from its successful SFOR-9 rotation. The first flight of 123 Soldiers returned to Georgia On September 4, with the remainder of the brigade scheduled to return over the four weeks.[21]

 

At 2:46 pm local time, The Macon Volunteers conducted routine operations at Eagle Base while Soldiers of the 48^th Brigade’s subordinate units executed their duties at locations throughout Bosnia. Within minutes, news of the first attack on the World Trade Center in New York began reaching to filter in. Soldiers watched events unfold on television without knowing at the time that they had become the first Georgia Guardsmen mobilized overseas in a more than two-decade long war on terror.

 

In the aftermath of the attacks, security measures were increased throughout the SFOR-9 area of operations. In the uncertain threat environment, many wondered if the brigade would return as scheduled, remain in Bosnia, or receive a new overseas mission. At a chapel service September 15, Maj. John Cole played the piano to provide comfort to the assembled Soldiers as Louis Stewart, first sergeant of the Macon Volunteers had done nearly 60 years earlier at Camp Atterbury.[22]

 

Return to Georgia

While uncertainty about the future may have circled through the ranks in Bosnia, officials from the Department of Defense and Georgia National Guard reassured families and citizens of Georgia that the brigade had trained for a specific mission, which by September was coming to a close.[23]

 

On October 12, 2001, the 48^th Brigade was released from federal service one week after its last flight of Soldiers returned home.[24]

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[1] Cody R. Phillips and Center for Military History, Bosnia-Herzegovina he U.S. Army’s Role in Peace Enforcement Operations 1995-2004, (Washington DC: Center of Military History, 2005), 5.

 

[2] Elliott Minor, Associated Press, “Ga. Army guard unit could go to Balkans,” Atlanta Journal and Constitution, August 12, 1999, D4.

 

[3] Tom Carden, interview by William Carraway, Marietta, Ga., September 20, 2021.

 

[4] Jim Driscoll and Ken Baldowski, “Elements of Georgia’s 48^th Brigade to Deploy to the Balkans.” News Release, Ga. DoD, March 28, 2000.

 

[5] David Poythress, “Command Focus,” Georgia Guardsman, Spring, 2000, 2.

 

[6] Jeff Freeman, interview by William Carraway, Marietta, Ga., September 20, 2021.

 

[7] David Poythress. “Command Focus,” Georgia Guardsman, Summer, 2000, 3.

 

[8] Tom Carden, interview by William Carraway, Marietta, Ga., September 20, 2021.

 

[9] John Cole, interview by Wiliam Carraway, online, April 16, 2025.

 

[10] “Credit Where Credit is Due,” Georgia Guardsman, Fall, 2000, 2.

 

[11] Jingle Davis, “Georgia Troops Heading to Bosnia,” Atlanta Journal Constitution, March 12, 2001, 1.

 

[12] Tom Carden, interview by William Carraway, Marietta, Ga., September 20, 2021.

 

[13] Walter Kegley Sr., interview by William Carraway, online, September 30, 2021.

 

[14] Noreen Feeney, “New Command Arrives at Camp Comanche,” Talon, April 7, 2001, 8.

 

[15] Noreen Feeney, “Logistics Task Force Transfers Authority,” Talon, April 7, 2001, 10.

 

[16] Christopher D. Carney, “Eagle Base Now in 1-121 IN’s Hands,” Talon, April 7, 2001, 9.

 

[17] T. S. Jarmusz, “U.S., Bosnian Serb Troops Bridge Drina,” Talon, June 2, 2001, 5,

 

[18] Catherine Farrell, “Weapons Turn-In Program a Success,” Talon, June 30, 2001, 11.

 

[19] Ken Hudson, “Srebrenica Memorial Honors Those Slain in 1995 Massacre,” Talon, July 21, 2001, 8-9.

 

[20] Ken Hudson, “Srebrenica Memorial Honors Those Slain in 1995 Massacre,” Talon, July 21, 2001, 11.

 

[21] “Russ Bynum, Associated Press, “Guard members return to Georgia after Bosnia tour,” Macon Telegraph, September 5, 2001, 7.

 

[22] Anthony Kooch, “Soldiers Stop, Pray for Victims,” Talon, September 22, 2001, 5.

 

[23] Drew Brown, “Thousands of reserves to be mobilized,” Macon Telegraph, September 15, 2001, 4.

 

[24] Debbie Rhyne, “48^th Brigade members go off duty today,” Macon Telegraph, October 12, 2001, 4.