ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how the mission evolved from the initial NEO to the first confrontations with the RUF and the development of a longer-term strategy. It analyses the initial deployment to secure Freetown and the Aberdeen peninsula. The chapter reviews the process of obtaining the release of the UN forces being held by the RUF. It also considers the initial approach taken to confront the RUF. The chapter examines the creation and deployment of a Short-Term Training Team (STTT). The STTT operation was therefore developed using a small team of British trainers backed by a security company of some 250 in total. The British government was still trying to establish what level of response it was prepared to make at the international level. The British government felt that ECOMOG would only complicate the situation further, especially given memories of their recent engagement.
