December usually is a cruel month in Bosnia, the residents say. Low altitude coupled with surrounding mountains can create bone-chilling cold and mounds of snow. In summer, those same features produce steamy days sometimes topping 100 degrees. Once outside the wire, the first challenge is on the road itself. Driving in Bosnia requires sharp eyes and quick reflexes.
Civilians have a habit of walking in traffic on the narrow roads.
Sometimes at night. Often wearing dark clothes. Throw in the occasional horse-drawn carriage and other homemade contraptions, and Bosnia starts to look like a very scary driver's education video. The mission starts in land held by the Muslim-Croat Federation, a new entity that emerged when the country was partitioned in the Dayton Peace Accord of 1995. On the federation side, where Camp Dobol sits, many of the houses are tidy, with red roofs and cream-colored walls.