American soldiers are wearing helmets and flak jackets, and carrying automatic weapons at the ready as they patrol the streets and alleyways of Gjilane. Tripping over the boys and girls is, perhaps, the only danger that the Americans will confront as they march through Gjilane, Kosovo. On a hilltop near the border, the Americans maintain a small base near the village of Dobrisan. Dobrisan is in Serbia, but the people living there are ethnic Albanian. A rutted dirt road winds its way up through the hills to the base, and on into Serbia.
American soldiers guard the road, stopping every vehicle that passes by the base.
Foot travelers are also searched when crossing back and forth between Kosovo and Serbia. The danger to the American soldiers stationed at the border is greater than that faced by those patrolling in Gjilane. The Serbian army is less than two miles to the east, on the outskirts of the village of Dobrisan. During the night, the Americans can listen to small arms fire coming from the village. The conflict in the Presevo Valley is, for the moment, a small-scale affair.