Reeling from a recent war, Bosnia was wrought with both danger and surprises at the turn of the millennium, as former CSS BN trainer Craig Allen recalls
Back in 1999, I was posted to Bosnia as a trainer with the British Combat Service Support Battalion (CSS BN). Initially based at DJ Barracks in Croatia, my role was to provide weapons instruction and supervise visits to the local firing ranges. To broaden my range of teaching skills, I travelled to Bosnia to take a course on landmine awareness at the Banja Luka metal factory. This had been taken over by the military during the war and was a familiar location for British troops posted to the country. The course itself covered all types of mines, aerial bombs and improvised explosives that littered the countryside in the wake of the bitter civil conflict.
With my newfound knowledge, on the drive back I was able to spot many of the improvised mine markers used by the locals. As a consequence, any move off-road was strictly forbidden and a halt to answer the call of nature was taken at the back of the Land Rover, never leaving the tarmac. It didn't help matters that, before the war, Yugoslavia had been one of the world's biggest producers of landm…
