Chapter 6 -- CFE Treaty Baseline

FIRST U.S. ESCORT MISSION

U.S. inspectors had completed seven missions (nine inspections) before they escorted the first Eastern inspection team on a declared site inspection of U.S. facilities. On August 10, 1992, the Russian government sent notices of intent to inspect to the German, Canadian, and U.S. governments.¹¹ The Russians intended to inspect U.S. and Canadian forces stationed in Germany. Germany received notice because it was the host nation for the Russian inspection mission, and as such would be responsible for the POE procedures, transportation, and other support for the Russian team while it was in Germany. On August 13th, treaty representatives of the three nations were present when the Russian team arrived at Frankfurt.

Major Les Garrison, USMC, and a Canadian inspector on a reduction inspection.

When the Aeroflot AN-72 touched down at Frankfurt International Airport, the Russian inspection team disembarked and proceeded to the VIP lounge where the POE procedures were conducted. The Russian team chief, Colonel Lev Vladimirovich Patsiorin, and the German escort team chief, Lt. Colonel Klaus Urban, agreed on a 1000 GMT arrival time for the inspection report. The U.S. liaison team--Major Dee Dodson Morris, USA, and Staff Sergeant Kent O. Elliston, USA--along with a Canadian liaison team, participated in the German escort team's inspection of the Russians' treaty-authorized equipment. The treaty allowed each inspected nation to evaluate the inspection team's equipment at the POE or, if necessary, at the inspection site. This one-time group inspection of the Russian team's equipment facilitated the inspection process. The Russian inspection equipment was acceptable as outlined in the Protocol on Inspection.

The Russian team declared Canadian Forces Base Lahr as its first inspection site. Major Morris notified European Command (EUCOM) and OSIA of the selection and then proceeded to the site. Major Morris did not attend the preinspection briefing because it was a Canadian military facility, and the Canadians chose to protect their national sovereignty. However, she remained in the Lahr area as the Russians inspected, in case any U.S. facilities were encountered. The Canadians billeted all inspectors for the night at Lahr. The next morning the Russian team finished its inspection and announced the sequential inspection site before signing the inspection report.

The sequential inspection was to be at an American site, the U.S. Army Airfield at Giebelstadt, Germany. Colonel Patsiorin declared the first sequential inspection site at 1150 GMT; 10 minutes later, Lt. Colonel Urban, the German escort team chief, notified Major Morris of the next inspection. Immediately, she notified Headquarters EUCOM of the sequential declared site inspection and then alerted the operations center at OSIA European Operations. Within 30 minutes of the Russian team's declaration, Major George P. Weller, USAF, the American escort team chief for this mission, received word of the inspection site. Ten minutes later his 10-member American escort team departed Rhein-Main, arriving at Giebelstadt at 1500 GMT.

While Team Weller drove to Giebelstadt, Headquarters EUCOM held a conference call with USAREUR, USAFE, and Headquarters OSIA to pass on the status of the inspection and to alert Giebelstadt to prepare for the upcoming inspection. Meanwhile, the German team assumed escort responsibilities from the Canadians as the Russians left the Canadian facilities at Lahr.¹² The German escorts delivered the Russian inspectors to Giebelstadt Army Air Field at 1915 GMT, seven hours and 15 minutes after Colonel Patsiorin had announced the site for this sequential inspection. Travel time to Giebelstadt was well within the nine-hour maximum, but long enough to provide six hours of preparation time at the Army Air Field. Team Weller arrived four hours ahead of the inspection team. The U.S. team used that time for its own site familiarization and to help site personnel prepare for the CFE inspection.

Five minutes after Colonel Patsiorin's team arrived, site officials presented him a site diagram. Thirty minutes later, he declared the 2nd Squadron, 3d Aviation Regiment as the OOV for inspection. At this time, unit personnel presented the preinspection briefing, which ended 50 minutes later, 2040 GMT. One point of confusion arose. The data presented in the briefing were dated August 14, 1992. The Russian team had deployed before the most recent data exchange and consequently held data from the previous exchange. Colonel Patsiorin accepted the new information, and he and his team retired for the evening.

The next morning, August 15th, at 0715 GMT, the Russian inspectors began the inspection. Site officials had briefed them that there were 14 AH-64 "Apache" attack helicopters, 11 OH-58 "Kiowa" multipurpose attack helicopters, and 3 UH-60 "Blackhawk" helicopters on site. There were differences between the reported and briefed numbers, and the reasons for those differences were explained to Colonel Patsiorin's satisfaction. At 2100 GMT Colonel Patsiorin officially announced the sequential site, the U.S. Army's garrison at Schweinfurt, Germany. At 2130 GMT Patsiorin completed his inspection report and both he and Weller signed the report.¹³

When the Russian inspection team left Giebelstadt Army Airfield at 2145 GMT, the Germans again assumed escort responsibilities. The Russian and German team chiefs agreed to follow the spirit of the treaty, not the letter of the law, and exceed the nine-hour travel time limit to the next site, allowing the inspection team to take advantage of a comfortable hotel in the vicinity of Giebelstadt for the night. The following morning the inspection team arrived at Schweinfurt at 0720 GMT. There, the Germans relinquished responsibility for the Russian team to the U.S. escorts for the inspection of the U.S. Army's Conn Barracks facilities at Schweinfurt, home of the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division.

Following the inspection of Conn Barracks, the Russian inspection team continued through three more CFE inspections: at the Grafenwoehr Training Area, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division; at Mainz, the Mainz Army Depot; and finally at Babenhausen, the 41st Field Artillery Brigade. The Russians had not planned to conduct the Grafenwoehr inspection, but all the tanks and most of the ACVs normally in place at Conn Barracks in Schweinfurt were not on-site; the American units had deployed to the training areas at Grafenwoehr. As a result, the Russian inspection at Schweinfurt was brief, since there was little equipment there. Because the deployed equipment represented over 15 percent of the declared equipment for Conn Barracks, the Russians exercised their treaty right to declare a sequential inspection to the location where the equipment was in place: the Grafenwoehr Training Area. Team Weller, OSIA's escort team, stayed with the Russian inspection team through the first three inspections. Colonel Lawrence G. Kelley, OSIA European Operations Command's Chief of Operations, chose to have Major Keith A. Oatman, USA, and his team relieve Team Weller enroute to the Mainz Army Depot. Kelley did this to mitigate fatigue and to allow Weller's team time to prepare for an upcoming inspection mission. Colonel Kelley also wanted to spread the escort experience among all of the teams.¹⁴ Major Morris and Staff Sergeant Elliston remained as the liaison team throughout the nine-day inspection trip, assisting the American escort teams and USAREUR site officials as necessary. At Grafenwoehr, a very large Army training facility, Major Morris also assisted in escorting the Russian team. This concluded the first series of Russian CFE inspections at American facilities. Colonel Patsiorin's team departed Frankfurt for Moscow at 0914 GMT on August 22, 1992.

The Russian team did not declare ambiguities during the inspections of the five U.S. declared sites. There were instances in which the briefed and the observed equipment totals differed, but U.S. escorts and site representatives fully explained those differences to the inspectors, who annotated them in the inspection reports.¹⁵

U.S. AH-64 "Apache" helicopters ready for inspection.

Colonel Kelley changed escorts at the Mainz Army Depot during the Russian inspection mission to mitigate fatigue and spread escort experience among the teams.