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MISSION
Map of BalkansLast updated 21 June 1999

Operation Allied Force Objective: "Our military objective is to degrade and damage the military and security structure that President Milosevic (Yugoslav President) has used to depopulate and destroy the Albanian majority in Kosovo." 
(From prepared statement of William S. Cohen, Secretary of Defense, to the Senate Armed Services Committee on 15 April 1999.) 

NATO Goals: Air strikes will be pursued until President Milosevic:

  • Ensures a verifiable stop to all military action and the immediate ending of violence and repression 
  • Ensures the withdrawal from Kosovo of the military, police and paramilitary forces 
  • Agrees to the stationing in Kosovo of an international military presence 
  • Agrees to the unconditional and safe return of all refugees and displaced persons and unhindered access to them by humanitarian aid organizations 
  • Provides credible assurance of his willingness to work on the basis of the Rambouillet Accords in the establishment of a political framework agreement for Kosovo in conformity with international law and the Charter of the United Nations. 
From North Atlantic Council statement, 12 April 1999

Time of initial attack: 2:00 PM EST, 24 March 1999.
Suspension of bombing: 10:00 AM EST, 10 June 1999.
Bombing campaign halted: 10:50 AM EST, 20 June 1999.

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COMBATANTS
Enemy Forces:
  • Ground Forces: 114,000 active-duty soldiers and 1,400 artillery pieces. 
  • Anti-Aircraft Forces: 100 surface-to-air missiles: a mix of SA-2, SA-3, SA-6, SA-7, SA-9, SA-13, SA-14 and SA-16. All of these pose a significant threat to NATO airpower. Yugoslavia also has 1,850 air defense artillery pieces. Although not as effective as the missiles, these are dangerous to NATO planes. 
  • Air Forces: 240 combat aircraft, including MiG-21s and MiG-29s, and 48 attack helicopters. 
  • Mechanized Forces: 1,270 tanks, including T-72s, T-74s, T-55s and M-84s and 825 armored fighting vehicles. 
  • There are approximately 40,000 Serb troops in and around Kosovo now. These forces are equipped with tanks and APCs. 
  • Serb forces around the Kosovo border are divided into deployed forces, garrison forces, and reserve forces. The deployed forces have about 96 tanks, and the garrison forces have around 30 tanks in garrison. 
  • There is a concentration of Serb troops along the border between Kosovo and Macedonia, by the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. These forces have been building up for several weeks. 
Friendly Forces: All nineteen NATO countries are currently contributing to Operation Allied Force. The countries include Belgium, Canada,Czech Rep, Denmark,France,Germany, Greece,Hungary, Iceland,Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway,Poland, Portugal,Spain, Turkey,United Kingdom, and the United States.

U.S. Participation: Total: 31,600 personnel

  • Ashore - 18,400 
  • Afloat - 13,200 
hawkeye
A crewmember from Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron One Two Four (VAW-124) signals the pilot in an E-2C "Hawkeye" on board the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), as he turns the props on the flight deck. (U.S. Navy photo by PhotographerÕs Mate 2nd Class Jonathan R. Byrd)

 
AC 130 Spectre gunship
U.S. pilots are flying AC-130 "Spectre" gunships over Kosovo in an effort to hasten the destruction of Yugoslav troops, tanks and artillery concentrations.
Flags of NATO countries