U.S. inspection equipment in metal cases known as "silver bullets."

FIRST U.S. INSPECTION

The first U.S. CFE inspection team, led by Lt. Colonel Elmer G. (Guy) White, USA, arrived in Moscow at 1700 GMT on July 18, 1992. Before Team White deployed to Russia, a great deal of coordination and preparation had been completed. In Washington, the Arms Control Policy Coordinating Committee had selected Buy, Russia, to be the first CFE inspection site and had notified Headquarters OSIA of the selection. Headquarters OSIA had then forwarded that information to OSIA European Operations. In Europe, Team White began its many checks to prepare for the mission. Lt. Colonel White prepared a "mission warning order" to notify his eight team members of the upcoming mission and the schedule of briefings required before departure. Through his warning order, he also assigned responsibilities for different elements of mission preparation to his team members.⁴ He later gave the Plans Section the information necessary to prepare the "Notification of Intent to Inspect" message, which would ultimately arrive in Moscow 36 hours before the American inspection team's arrival there.

The Plans Branch of OSIA's European Operations Command compiled the information Lt. Colonel White had provided for the intent-to-inspect message and forwarded it to Headquarters OSIA. There, Robert G. Green of the Treaty List Management Branch verified aircrew and team augmentee data such as names, birth dates, and passport numbers. Any discrepancies between the Headquarters computer lists and the data transmitted from the European Operations Command were resolved at OSIA before the Headquarters Operations Center forwarded the message to the Nuclear Risk Reduction Center (NRRC) at the U.S. State Department. Changes or discrepancies discovered in treaty inspector or flight crew lists would be corrected in a "Remarks" block of the notification. This action was critical to ensure that U.S. inspectors would be allowed entry without delay to conduct their inspections. Next, the NRRC sent the official U.S. government announcement of intent to inspect through the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) network, and the State Department sent the same message through diplomatic channels.⁵

Lt. Colonel White's briefing paralleled his mission operations order. In both, he outlined his basic game plan for the inspection mission, covering the type of inspection, the specific site, equipment subject to the treaty as well as any other equipment the team could anticipate encountering at the inspection site, and the composition of his inspection team. His briefing also addressed the site's terrain, the weather forecast for the mission, and how those conditions might affect the inspection. He also made certain that the team's time in country, from arrival at the POE to its return to a POE after the inspection, would be under 48 hours. The treaty allowed 48 hours in country to execute a single declared site inspection, and for any sequential inspections planned, the treaty allowed an additional 36 hours per inspection, up to a maximum of 10 days.

A British inspector drinks bottled water during an inspection mission.

Team White preparing to depart on the first U.S. CFE mission to Buy, Russia.

In addition to White's briefing, the ISS also provided team briefings before deployment. These included the latest information available about the inspection site, including imagery from national technical means (NTM), findings from inspections under the Vienna Document, and the CFE data exchanged. The ISS briefings provided an insight about the significance of the site selected and guidance on the kind of information required to satisfy U.S. government concerns.

In addition to these briefings, the Counterintelligence Section reminded inspectors of personal and team security requirements during CFE inspection missions. Topics included adherence to the two-person rule that prohibited U.S. inspectors from being alone outside their rooms or bathrooms during an inspection mission, the policy on alcohol consumption during a mission, and guidelines on what was appropriate for discussion with an Eastern escort, both in personal and business matters. The U.S. government expected its CFE Treaty inspectors to be open with their Eastern bloc escorts, but to remain unimpeachable in their behavior while implementing the treaty.⁷

The U.S. Air Force C-141 aircraft departed Rhein-Main at 1545 Frankfurt time, flew for three hours, and landed at Moscow's Sheremetyevo I Airport at 2052 Moscow time. As the team prepared to depart the aircraft, General Parker and Lt. Colonel White met the senior Russian CFE Treaty escorts. The team chiefs agreed to 1700 Greenwich mean time (GMT) as the official arrival time, as had been announced in the message of intent to inspect. A representative of the U.S. Embassy's Arms Control Implementation Unit (ACIU) met the American inspection team to assist them and the aircrew if needed. Meanwhile Captain Jeremy Wintersteen, USAF, the deputy team chief, gathered passports for processing. While "in country," diplomatic privileges and immunities were extended to inspectors and aircrews as outlined in the treaty. Team members unloaded their gear and, as planned for all changes of transportation, one member of the team performed a final sweep for anything left behind. The team then proceeded through a routine Russian customs inspection of personal belongings. Russian CFE escorts also completed a treaty-specified check of American inspection equipment. In accordance with the CFE Treaty's inspection protocol, the U.S. notification of intent to inspect specified a seven-hour delay between arrival time at the POE in Moscow and Lt. Colonel White's declaration of the first inspection site.

U.S. policy allowed U.S. inspectors to engage in toasts at the completion of the inspection.

Nearly three hours after the American team chief had declared the site, the Russians escorted Team White to an IL-18 aircraft, and the two teams left for Tunoshna. After a two-and-one-half-hour delay in acquiring ground transportation in Tunoshna, the team and escorts continued on, switching vehicles once again before arriving at Buy at 0855 GMT. The arrival time at Buy was within five minutes of the maximum nine-hour transit time the treaty permitted from the POE to the declared site, in this case approximately a 250-mile trip. The treaty allowed the inspected nation six hours to prepare a site following the inspection team's site declaration. In this mission the six-hour allowance was easily satisfied. Despite the long transport time, the American team was ready and eager to begin their inspection.

Shortly after arriving at Buy, the team notified the U.S. Embassy of its arrival. The senior Russian escort then presented the site diagram to the Americans. Lt. Colonel White immediately declared the 22nd Central Tank Reserve Depot as the object of verification for the inspection. The Russian escorts and site representatives in turn commenced a 42-minute preinspection briefing. During this briefing, they announced the depot's equipment quantities; they were considerably higher than Russian data had previously indicated in November 1990. A correction to the 1990 information had been made in February 1991, but even that was 17 months ago. The Russian military had experienced many changes since then, just as the U.S. military had in Europe. The Russian February 1991 data were outdated and would be updated soon, but that was one reason for the on-site preinspection briefing: to update information and explain any differences.

With approximately 31 hours remaining for the American team to complete its inspection and return to the POE, Lt. Colonel White broke the team into three subteams and began counting the equipment on-site. White led one team while his deputy, Captain Wintersteen, and Sergeant First Class Curtis E. Ingram, USA, led the other teams. Sergeant First Class Ingram, Staff Sergeant Walter E. Hare, USA, and weapons specialist Mike Holthus identified and documented the equipment at the 22nd Central Tank Reserve Depot. General Parker also contributed to the effort to identify and count equipment and record serial numbers. Two other specialists, John L. Detch, Jr., and Kip Melat, handled photography duties, while Sergeant First Class Kenneth D. Periman, USA, a linguist, bridged the communications gap.

Russian attachment to the Buy inspection report to clarify differences between declared data and current data.

CFE inspectors participated in brief cultural events or sight-seeing after completing their missions.

Team White notified the U.S. Embassy that the inspection was complete and that the Russian escorts had arranged for transportation to the POE within 20 minutes after completion of the inspection. Team White departed the site within 23 hours of its arrival on-site. That night the team toured Moscow, enjoying the hospitality arranged by its Russian hosts. The next morning, July 21st, the host escorts transported Team White to Sheremetyevo I Airport, where the team rendezvoused with the American C-141 aircrew and left Russia at 1115 GMT. Team White had completed the first U.S. CFE inspection and left Russia within the three-day timeline required by the NATO deconfliction schedule.¹⁰

While the inspection in Russia was over, the mission was far from finished. The C-141 flight back to Rhein-Main was a working trip as team members reviewed notes taken during the inspection. During the flight, Captain Wintersteen completed the CFE mission report for Lt. Colonel White's review. White would submit the report within an hour of the 1430 GMT touchdown at Rhein-Main. Over the next several days, while memories were fresh, the team participated in mission debriefs. They labeled the inspection film and turned it in for development, checked and repaired equipment as needed, replaced expendables, and returned issued clothing. Team White would soon prepare for its next CFE inspection mission, scheduled for August 4th at Shuya, Russia.

U.S. CFE Treaty Team Leaders

Declared Site/Challenge Inspections
July 17-November 17, 1992

Reduction Inspections
July 17-November 17, 1992