General Steeped in War Leads Troops Into Peacekeeping : Bosnia: Gritty veteran of Vietnam and Gulf wars will direct U.S., foreign forces in Tuzla sector.

U.S. Maj. Gen. William L. Nash came of age as a soldier during the Cold War, when being sent into action meant killing the enemy.

But now, Nash, who has served in two wars, will lead 20,000 U.S. soldiers--as well as 1,500 Russian troops--to prevent bloodshed and protect a newborn peace in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

“It is the irony of all ironies,” said Nash, puffing a cheap cigar in a rare interview at his home one recent morning with two cocker spaniels, Humphrey and Bogart, snoring by his feet.

Times change. And Army officers do too.

As Nash, 52, sees it, his role as the task force commander for the peacekeeping mission in the U.S. sector of Bosnia is clear.

“The responsibility for peace in Bosnia-Herzegovina is on the parties to the peace accord,” said the Tucson native, clad in a plaid flannel shirt and khakis. “They’re the ones who signed the peace accord. . . . It’s incumbent upon them to fulfill their responsibilities.”

Nash’s task will mean constantly making decisions about the best way to defuse tension and hostility between people more accustomed to war than peace.

“He’s got the most unique challenge presented to a division commander in the last 10 years--to take a strongly reinforced division and conduct an operation that no other U.S. commander has ever conducted,” said retired Army Col. Ben Covington. “It’s a job that’s going to require more than knowledge, it’s going to require wisdom.”

Nash, who likes to describe himself as the son of a soldier, has the martial experience. He and his older sister grew up moving from one military installation to another with his mother and father, Col. William L. Nash, a now-deceased post commander in whose honor a road is named at Ft. Drum in Watertown, N.Y.

Though accepted at the army academy, young Nash balked at a military career, opting instead to study chemistry at Tulane University. But after two years, he changed his mind. In 1963, he enlisted and later enrolled at West Point. After graduation, he served as a platoon leader and an executive officer in Vietnam. He was a brigade commander in the Persian Gulf War.

“I couldn’t see myself living in a chemistry lab the rest of my life,” he said. “The adventuresome life of soldiering appealed to me.”

A personable yet gritty general known for instilling loyalty among his soldiers, Nash speaks bluntly yet tactfully. This is a man who knows he is about to step into the spotlight’s glare, that he might fulfill the American desire for post-Vietnam heroes, as happened to Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf during Operation Desert Storm.

But Nash, a cavalry officer with NATO experience, takes the growing attention in stride.

On a recent day, Nash demonstrated his image-conscious media savvy, telling an anecdote about Vietnam, where he served two tours of duty. But he quickly admonished, “Don’t draw the parallel to Bosnia.” That was war, this is peace, he emphasized, speaking with the gruff finality of someone who is unafraid of trashing convention and who is accustomed to seeing others bend to his will.

Nash’s assertiveness earned him at least some media notice during the Gulf War. After its final battle was fought, Nash sat nearby as two reporters--Fred Bayles of Associated Press and John J. Fialka of the Wall Street Journal--begged his staff to fly them out so they could file stories about the historic event. Nash’s officers declined. Nash remained silent until one officer flatly declared no helicopter would be available, according to an account written by Fialka.

Nash then stormed into action. “I’m going to . . . make it happen,” he announced. Within two hours, the reporters were flown to a tent in Saudi Arabia where there was a satellite phone. They filed in time to make their deadlines.

When asked about the incident, Nash shrugged off Fialka’s flattering account, grumbling instead that the reporter had gotten a quote wrong in his story.

For the Bosnia operation, the 12,000 soldiers of the 1st Armored Division will provide the backbone of Nash’s U.S. force. In addition, Nash will coordinate the efforts of foreign soldiers, including 1,500 Russians, 1,200 Turks and about 4,000 Danes, Norwegians and Swedes from the Nordic Brigade.

In brokering peace, Nash must navigate a land ransacked by a war, frosted by bitter cold and pitted with an estimated 3 million to 8 million land mines. And his troops must be prepared for attack.

“Winter operations are the first major challenge,” Nash said. “I tell my sergeants, ‘You’ll be looking at a lot of feet over the year,’ ” inspecting them to ensure the soldiers don’t have frostbitten toes, Nash said.