Oct 11, 2004 - Road Trip!

Hello again everyone! My experiences driving in Bosnia continue to be. When we finally reached Banja Luka, here I am, having driven all that way (for hours, belive me), and a stupid driver, in town, suddenly decides to brake for a red light an extreme distance from the car in front of him. ... The next day, when we were returning from an outing in Banja Luka, an accident had just happened in front of us, virtually outside of BLMF in which four vehicles were absolutely crunched. ... I'm convinced none of the vehicles would be salvageable.Hello again everyone! My experiences driving in Bosnia continue to be. When we finally reached Banja Luka, here I am, having driven all that way (for hours, belive me), and a stupid driver, in town, suddenly decides to brake for a red light an extreme distance from the car in front of him. ... The next day, when we were returning from an outing in Banja Luka, an accident had just happened in front of us, virtually outside of BLMF in which four vehicles were absolutely crunched. ... I'm convinced none of the vehicles would be salvageable....

Sep 26, 2004 - The First 2 Weeks

Well I have been here 2 weeks now and what a time it has been. From there we took a military bus for 3 1/2 hours to Banja Luka where I am posted. ... Then it was off to Laktasi (just outside Banja Luka) where we had an entire hotel booked for a week of training. ... This training introduced us to the situation and the many different countries operating within Bosnia.Well I have been here 2 weeks now and what a time it has been. From there we took a military bus for 3 1/2 hours to Banja Luka where I am posted. ... Then it was off to Laktasi (just outside Banja Luka) where we had an entire hotel booked for a week of training. ... This training introduced us to the situation and the many different countries operating within Bosnia....

Sep 17, 2004 - Living at the Ritz

Well, here I am again! I have been on task force training all week away from BLMF and although the training has been in the nature of "death by powerpoint", and generally something that I cannot comment upon (it's boring anyway and you're not missing much. I was in Banja Luka last week, for example, and had to zoom, zoom around a fellow in a cart that was being pulled by a horse; apparently, that is quite common here. ... So, there is a facade here that I can see and although I think they will be able to gain admittance into the European Union sooner than later, they still won't be at the "level" of the rest of Europe as far as the economy, employment, and general standard of living are concerned.Well, here I am again! I have been on task force training all week away from BLMF and although the training has been in the nature of "death by powerpoint", and generally something that I cannot comment upon (it's boring anyway and you're not missing much. I was in Banja Luka last week, for example, and had to zoom, zoom around a fellow in a cart that was being pulled by a horse; apparently, that is quite common here. ... So, there is a facade here that I can see and although I think they will be able to gain admittance into the European Union sooner than later, they still won't be at the "level" of the rest of Europe as far as the economy, employment, and general standard of living are concerned....

Sep 10, 2004 - The Banja Luka Metal Factory

I'm beginning to settle in a bit at BLMF (the Banja Luka Metal Factory) which is the home to the SFOR (Stabilization Force) for NATO in this part of Bosnia. ... The rotation that is just preparing to leave call it the Banja Luka Mental Factory. ... I was out last night to Banja Luka for supper to meet with some fellow liason officers. ... For most of you, you will know that this was right up my alley! It was disappointing that there was no time to actually climb all over the battlements but I'm biding my time and I'm sure I'll be able to fit that in somewhere! Tomorrow, I have to sit my driver's test so that I can be issued a vehicle towards the end of the month and then my counterpart, Melanie Gravel, will be taking me out on Sunday around Banja Luka so that I can practice driving. ...