Multinational Force and Observers - Chronology

Chronology

January 1982

Approximately 160 U.S. 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.

March 1982

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

April 1982

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 82d Airborne Division and the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). In April 2006, the US Third Army, in its role as Central Command's Coalition Forces Land Component Command (CFLCC) assumed command of the 1st Corps Support Command (1st COSCOM) from the XVIII Airborne Corps. Under US Army reorganization, the 1st COSCOM has been re-designated as the 1st Sustainment Command (Theater). Since January 2002, the United States has been supplying National Guard Infantry battalions.

February 1984

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.

March 1985

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 totalling 136 military personnel. The Canadian Contingent (CCMFO) was brought on strength of the Canadian Forces on September 26, 1985.

December 1985

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.

April 1986

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 providing military personnel were 408, 427 and 430 Tactical Helicopter Squadrons and 403 Squadron Helicopter Operational Training Squadron.

December 1989

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

March 1990

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.

January 1993

The Australians, who had been replaced by a British contingent, returned to the mission, and the British contingent withdrew. Lieutenant Colonel Martin Hamilton-Smith was the first contingent commander of the returning Australians. He went on to become a South Australian politician after his military career.

August 1994

Australian MFO contingent members were involved in a hit-and-run accident that they failed to report. The incident 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. In an article by News Limited Network journalist Ian McPhedran on 30 August 2012, former Staff Sergeant David Hartshorn has received an apology from Australian Army Chief Lieutenant General David Morrison and Inspector General of the Australian Defence Force Mr Geoff Earley for being ordered not to report the hit and run accident.

January 1995

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.

September 1995

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.

January 2002

The 2nd Battalion, 153rd Infantry Regiment of the Arkansas National Guard become the first National Guard unit to deploy to Task Force Sinai as part of Operation Noble Eagle. They relieved the 2-87th Infantry of the 10th Mountain Division based at Fort Drum, NY.

January 2005

The most experienced civilian observer in the history of the MFO, Tony Puccini (retired US Navy Commander), with over 10 years and 10 months service to the MFO Civilian Observer Unit (COU) in the Sinai, was presented with the Director General's Award.

August 2005

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.

January 2006

The 1-124th Cavalry 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 elements of the 1-112th Armor and 3-112th Armor.

May 2007

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, 80 km 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.

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.

December 2008

The Czech Republic and the MFO announced that the Czechs have entered negotiations to contribute three staff officers to the Force as part of a new, permanent Czech Contingent. This proposed addition to the MFO is part of the Czech Republic's strategic plan to become more involved in foreign operations and is subject to parliamentary approval.

November 2009

The Czech Contingent (CZECHCON) is the newest member of the MFO family of troop-contributing nations. The first soldiers arrived in the Sinai on 17 November 2009. Contingent members consist of three staff officers in the following key positions: Assistant Chief of Staff (Lieutenant Colonel), Deputy Force Protection Information Officer (Major) and Force Engineering Staff Officer (Major). All officers will serve a voluntary one-year tour of duty with the MFO.

September 2012

Dozens of armed militants attacked North Camp on Friday 14 September 2012, breaking down a wall of the facility housing the MFO headquarters, setting fire to vehicles and facilities. MFO soldiers defended the base and there was an exchange of fire. Four MFO members were reportedly wounded.