Implementation Force (IFOR) - Components

Components

NATO nations that contributed forces included Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, The United States of America, and the United Kingdom. Non-NATO nations that contributed forces included; Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Poland, Slovak Republic, Sweden, the Russian Federation and Ukraine

The tasks of the Land Component were carried out by three Multi National Divisions:

• Multi-National Division (South-East) (Bosnia), Mostar - French led. Also known as the 'Division salamandre.' MND-SE included two French brigades, one Spanish brigade, one Italian brigade, and Egyptian, Jordanian and Ukrainian units(around 2,500 men), as well as a Moroccan task force. The divisional headquarters was provided in rotation by divisions including the 7th Armoured Division and the 6th Light Armored Division.
• Multi National Division South West, Banja Luka - British led. The British codename for their armed forces' involvement in IFOR was Operation Resolute. MND-SW included a British brigade which also included a Malaysian armoured battle group, and 2nd Canadian Multinational Brigade, which included a Czech battalion. Division headquarters was provided by 3 (UK) Division and 1st Armoured Division.
• MND(N), Tuzla - American led. Task Force Eagle. The US Army 1st Armored Division under the command of Major General William L. Nash, constituted the bulk of the ground forces for Task Force Eagle. They began to deploy on 18 December 1995. MND-N was composed of two U.S. Brigades, a Russian brigade, a Turkish brigade, and the Nordic-Polish Brigade.
  • A Russian brigade, initially under the command of Colonel Aleksandr Ivanovich Lentsov, was part of the Task Force Eagle effort.
  • The 1AD 1st Brigade was commanded by Colonel Gregory Fontenot and covered the northwest. The 1AD 2d Brigade, led by Col John Batiste, constituted the southern flank of the US sector, based in Camp Lisa, about 20 km east of Kladanj. Task Force 2-68 Armor, based in Baumholder, Germany (later re-flagged to 1-35 AR), was based in Camp Linda, outside of Olovo. This was the Southern boundary of the US Sector. The 1AD returned in late 1996 to Germany.
  • One of MND-N's components was the Nordic-Polish Brigade (NORDPOLBDE) (Polish: Brygada Nordycko-Polska) which was a multinational brigade of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden and USA. It was formed in 1996, and till its disestablishment in 2000 it was stationed in Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of both IFOR and SFOR. The Nordic Support Group at Pécs in Hungary handled the relay of supply, personnel and other logistical tasks between the NORDPOL participating countries and their deployed forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina. It comprised several National Support Elements.

On 21 December 1996 the task of IFOR was taken over by SFOR. In turn, SFOR was replaced by the European EUFOR Althea force in 2004.

NATO began to create service medals once it began to support peacekeeping in the former Yugoslavia, which led to the award to IFOR troops of the NATO Medal.