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The Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) is an international peacekeeping force overseeing the terms of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.

Background

Following the signing of the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty, the United Nations was asked to provide the peacekeeping forces for the Sinai Peninsula mandated in the treaty. The terms of the treaty required the presence of international peacekeepers to ensure that both Israel and Egypt kept to the provisions regarding military build-up along the border. ¹

Initially, the peacekeeping force was provided by the US Sinai Field Mission, while efforts were made to create a UN force.

On May 18 1981 the President of the UN Security Council indicated that the UN would be unable to provide the force, due to the threat of a veto of the motion by the USSR at the request of Syria.

As a result of the UN Security Council impasse, Egypt, Israel and the United States opened negotiations to set up a peacekeeping organization outside the framework of the UN. On August 3 1981, the Protocol to the Treaty of Peace was signed, establishing the Multinational Force and Observers.¹

Mission

Over the three decades that the MFO has carried out its mission it has proven a highly successful force. The desire for peace on the part of both Egypt and Israel, combined with the effectiveness of the MFO, has resulted in a durable and lasting state of peace between these two nations.³

Organization

The MFO has its main headquarters in Rome, where it is headed by the Director-General. It also has two regional offices, in Tel Aviv and Cairo, while the Force itself is based in Zone C on the Sinai Peninsula, under the command of the Force Commander.

The Force Commander is responsible for the military elements of the MFO, which comprise:

The Observer contingent of the MFO is made up of civilians seconded to the peacekeeping force. The observers are mostly retired US military and State Department personnel.

States involved

Uniforms

Military

Military personnel serving with the MFO wear national military dress appropriate to the climatic conditions of the Sinai. All contingents wear national flags or crests to identify their country of origin.

MFO crests are sewn on uniforms to identify the wearer as a member of the force. All military members of the force wear a terracotta-colored beret or bush hat. Some contingents, such as Colombia, also wear terracotta neck scarves when on parade.

The terracotta beret is unique to the MFO and was selected to show that the force is not a United Nations peacekeeping force. UN peacekeeping forces wear a distinctive light blue beret. An MFO badge is also worn on the beret, a metal badge for commissioned officers, and cloth badge for non commissioned officers.

Civilian observers

The 15 civilian observers employed by the MFO wore highly visible orange coveralls while carrying out their treaty verification duties until the arrival of US Foreign Service Observer Harry Holland in 2002, when he affected a change to bright orange shirt worn with khaki trousers, now used on all ground verification missions. The orange shirts have since been replaced by black polo shirts.

Chronology

Approximately 160 soldiers from Fort Bragg, North Carolina were deployed to the Sinai. The mission of this augmented company size unit was to establish support facilities in preparation for the upcoming arrival of the infantry battalions to monitor the peace. This was not a typical US Army logistical company. Initially those who deployed were required to wear civilian clothing, due to the security threat. They arrived in the middle of the night and were bussed to Etam, Air Base, Israel. This Air Base would later be renamed El Gorah after the April 25, 1982 transfer of the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt. These soldiers were to prepare to assume the mission of the Sinai Field Mission. The goal was to establish a command structure, fixed and rotary aircraft support, parts support, water and petroleum supply, medical, logistics for the Multinational Force which would later assume the mission.

Upon arrival they were initially housed in several buildings which were in existence as part of Etam Airbase. It was several months before permanent buildings were in place.

Australian and New Zealand military aviation units assemble and are deployed into the region on March 20 1982, as the Rotary Wing Aviation Unit.

The MFO assumed its mandate on April 25 1982, the day Israel handed over sovereignty of the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt. In 1995 the United States experimented with a composite battalion consisting of National Guard soldiers from Virginia and Maryland, and Regular Army soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division and the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). In April 2006, the Third Army Central Coalition Forces Land Component Command (CLFCC) assumed responsibility of the 1st Corps Support Command (1st COSCOM) from the XVIII Airborne Corps and re-designated it as the 1st Sustainment Command (Theater). Since January 2002, the United States has been supplying National Guard Infantry battalions.

MFO Director-General Leamon Hunt is assassinated in Rome while sitting in his chauffeur-driven armored car, outside the gates of his private residence. The assassins poured automatic weapon fire into the reinforced rear window until they were able to penetrate the glass and strike the director-general in the head. Credit for the assassination was claimed by Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Faction the Red Brigade.

Later that same year, American pilot Chief Warrant Officer Two Charles N. Hurt and two other crew members were killed on a UH-1 Iroquois test flight outside South Camp.^{citation needed}

Due to the imminent end of the four year Australian MFO commitment in April 1986, the governments of Israel, Egypt and the United States invited Canada to provide a contingent. Canada agreed to replace Australia in the MFO and to supply a helicopter squadron, staff officers and a flight following section of air traffic controllers totally 136 military personnel. The Canadian Contingent (CCMFO) was brought on strength of the Canadian Forces on September 26 1985. ⁸

On December 12, 1985, a chartered Arrow Air DC-8 with two hundred and forty eight returning members of the US 101st Airborne Division and eight flight crew crashed into the cold, damp landscape at the end of runway 22 at Gander International Airport in Gander, Newfoundland, with no survivors. The 101st was rotating home from a tour of duty with the MFO. The accepted theory is that the crash was caused by ice accumulation on the leading surfaces of the wings, but debate and speculation still rages that the crash may have resulted from some type of incendiary device placed on the plane.

The Australian contingent, consisting of staff officers and a helicopter squadron who were members of the initial deployment, withdrew in the course of their government's reduction of its peacekeeping commitments. They were replaced by the CCMFO Canadian Rotary Wing Aviation Unit, equipped with nine CH135 Twin Hueys, staff officers and flight following. The CCMFO was operational at El Gorah on March 31 1986. Canadian tactical helicopter units rotated to El Gorah for six month tours of duty. The primary units proving military personnel were 408, 427 and 430 Tactical Helicopter Squadrons and 403 Squadron Helicopter Operational Training Squadron. ⁹

A Canadian CH-135 helicopter on a maintenance test flight crashes one mile north of El Gorah. Both crew members are injured, one seriously.

After four years with the MFO, the Canadian helicopter squadron was withdrawn. This was due primarily to Canada accepting a new commitment to send a helicopter squadron to Central America with a UN peacekeeping force. This left 28 Canadian Staff and Air Traffic Controllers in the flight following role with the MFO, a commitment which continues to the present day. Due to the Canadians departure, the US split their rotary wing unit between South and North camps.

The Australians, who had been replaced by a British contingent, returned to the mission, and the British contingent withdrew.

Australian MFO contingent members were involved in a hit-and-run accident that they failed to report. The incident¹⁰ came to light when one of the vehicle passengers, army Staff Sergeant David Hartshorn, reported it after he'd been returned to Australia. Prima facie evidence of the incident was established and included in a formal inquiry by the Australian Government.¹¹

The 4-505 PIR assume duties as USBATT. This battalion is composed of Reservists and National Guardsmen in addition to active duty soldiers. The US Army used this group as a test to see if reservists could take over the mission in the future.

A Hungarian contingent arrived to serve as the Force Military Police Unit. The Hungarians replaced the Dutch contingent, and as well as military police include two members of the Force staff, a doctor and a liaison officer.

The most experienced civilian observer in the history of the MFO, Tony Puccini (retired US Navy Lt. Commander), with over 12 years service to the MFO Civilian Observer Unit (COU) in the Sinai, was presented with the Director General's Award.¹²

An MFO vehicle carrying two members of the Canadian contingent was badly damaged, the results of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attack. The Canadians were only slightly injured.

The 1-124th Cav Regiment assumed duties as the USBATT contingent. The 1-124th Cav is part of the 36th Infantry Division of the Texas Army National Guard. Units that were pulled together to complete the manning for the mission include 1-112th Armor, 3-112th Armor, and several other units.

MFO assisted Egyptian authorities in the search and rescue operation for the ferry boat El Salam Boccaccio 98 which sank on 3 February 2006 in the Red Sea. The ferry was enroute to Safaga from Dubaï, Saudi Arabia, with 1400 passengers on board. Italian Coastal Patrol Unit Ships patrolled for more than 90 hours in severe weather conditions. Eight passengers were rescued by MFO vessels "Vedetta" and "Sentinella".^{citation needed}

A suicide bomber attacked an MFO vehicle as it was driving along route Mike northbound from the North Camp base at El Gorah to the Rafah border crossing. Inside the vehicle was a Norwegian Liaison Officer and a New Zealand driver and two Egyptian officials. The vehicle was damaged, but there were no casualties besides the bomber himself. Half an hour later, a second bomber attacked an Egyptian police vehicle in the same area, with similar results.^{citation needed}

A French Air Force de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft on duty with the MFO Fixed Wing Aviation Unit crashed in the middle of the peninsula, 80km south of the town of Nakhl. Eight French and one Canadian passengers and crew were killed. The aircraft reported trouble with one engine and was attempting an emergency landing on a highway when it struck a truck. It crashed and exploded moments later. The driver of the truck escaped unharmed.¹³

The aircraft was operated by the French air force as their contribution to the MFO. It made regular flights between the two main MFO bases at El Gorah and Sharm el-Sheik, as well as conducting observation missions as part of the MFO's mandate.

Sinai Peacekeeping Zones

Article 2 of Annex I of the Peace Treaty called for the Sinai Peninsula to be divided into zones. Within these zones, Egypt and Israel were permitted varying degrees of military build-up:

In addition there are thirty smaller sites at various points within Zone C. One remote observation post (OP 3-11) is located offshore on Tiran Island, which is part of Saudi Arabia, requiring resupply by air or sea.

Zone C

Zone C is subdivided into sectors, each controlled by a Sector Control Center. The sectors are numbered from north to south and assigned:

Badges

External links

References

^ ^a ^b 10 Tactical Air Group: Canadian Contingent Multinational Force and Observers Handbook (unclassified), page A-1. DND, Ottawa, 1986.
^ Multinational Force and Observers Website accessed 30 August 2007
^ Canadian Contingent Multinational Force and Observers Handbook, 10 Tactical Air Group, July 1987 (unclassified) pg D-1
^ Australian Government Defence Website
^ Op Calumet Canadian DND Webpage
^ Norwegian Defence Force: Møtte nordmennene i Egypt (Norwegian)
^ Multinational Force & Observers Website: Major General Kjell Narve Ludvigsen
^ Canadian Contingent Multinational Force and Observers Handbook, 10 Tactical Air Group, July 1987 (unclassified) pg 1
^ Canadian Contingent Multinational Force and Observers Handbook, 10 Tactical Air Group, July 1987 (unclassified) pg 1 and A-4
^ A description by David Hartshorn of the Australian hit and run incident in submission No 52 to the Inquiry into the Effectiveness of Australia's Military Justice System
^ Transcript of evidence about the Australian hit and run incident (commencing page 64) given by Staff Sergeant David Hartshorn to the Parliamentary Inquiry into the Effectiveness of Australia's Military Justice System
^ Dave Winther (March 18, 2006). "The MFO Director General's Award". Retrieved on 2007-10-21.
^ Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (May 2007). "Quebecer among peacekeepers killed in Sinai plane crash". Retrieved on 2008-07-28.
^ Canadian Contingent Multinational Force and Observers Handbook, 10 Tactical Air Group, July 1987 (unclassified) A-4 and A-5

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