22 NAVY NEWS, FEBRUARY 2009
and we will
clr
r
n
● Men of Lima Company, 42 Commando, yomp towards
the setting sun at the height of Exercise Sond Chara
Continued from page 21 commander, Col Martin Smith, from a large swathe of the left We reported the deaths of Company. suspected insurgents arrested marina
The insurgents were less
his Afghan counterpart and the bank of the Helmand river. Mnes Georgie Sparks and Tony The aerial prong was and one Canadian soldier killed
, 42 cdo, cpl john rafoss usmc, sgt james elmer rlc, and lt andy cheal
easily dislodged from the Allies’
district leader were sitting down “These operations have been Evans in last month’s paper; supported by one on the ground, (by an improvised explosive
next objective. After several
in the mosque in the middle of successful,” said Col Smith. the names of green berets courtesy of 3rd Battalion Royal device).
days’ pause and regrouping,
town chatting with tribal elders “Many insurgents have been L/Cpl Ben Whatley, Cpl Robert Canadian Regiment. Yet again, said Lt Col
a commando-Army-Afghan-
and inhabitants at a shura killed – or have left the area – Deering and soldiers Rifleman Between them the Royals and Stickland, 42 Commando had
Estonian battlegroup began the
(meeting), discussing restorng and peace is returning to the Stuart Nash, plus three civilians, the Canadians searched more “dealt a serious blow to the
assault on Zarghun Kalay.
some form of normal life. heart of the district. have since been added to the than 50 compounds, buildings, insurgency”.
It proved to be the fiercest
For in the wake of the warriors “We do not underestimate roll of honour (see page 24 for farmsteads. He praised his men: “42
action of Sond Chara. Terrible
came teachers, medics, the challenges the Royal Marines’ The result was an enormous Commando now have a
weather, atrocious terrain,
engineers – Military Stabilisation ahead, but obituaries). haul of weapons – and a bomb reputation across southern
strong Taleban resistance.
Support Teams – all determined we will do factory smashed. Afghanistan for having a ‘ferret-
“The rain did not let up for
to restore public services, everything in AFTER a respite That latter success was like’ nose for weapons caches.”
three days,” said one gunner
notably health centres and our power to of a fortnight particularly welcome; Allied
schools, which had been non- support local or so, 42 troops and Afghan civilians SOND Chara, Shahi Tandar
yon, 45 cdo, and gaz faulkner
with 29 Commando Regiment
existent under the Taleban. people in their Commando around Kandahar had reported
RA. “We were up to our ankles
– the number and a host of other named –
While the peacemakers were quest to be free thrust another a surge in the use of booby
in muddy water. As we waited
establishing themselves in Nad of the oppressive
of hours sleep
and nameless – operations
dagger into traps by the Taleban in recent directed throughout southern
for ‘H Hour’, one of the guys
E’Ali, the last act of Sond Chara influence of the marines and the Taleban’s months. Afghanistan by 3 Commando
turned to me and whispered:
opened in the small hours of insurgents.” heart, this More than 100 detonators
‘Are we in Sennybridge?’”
Christmas Day. Lt Col Charlie
sailors can expect
Brigade require a huge
time near and three dozen ‘pressure supporting ‘pillar’ in the rear
For two days, the
Helicopters ferried 42 Stickland, during a convoy Kandahar. plates’ – triggers for mines and area.
fundamentalists tried to stall the
Commando into Chah-E-Anjir, 42 Cdo’s Shahi booby traps – were seized, plus With isolated, dispersed bases
es: la(phots) nick tr
Allied attack at Zarghun Kalay.
opposite Zhargun Kalay – and Commanding Tandar half a dozen tubs packed with and poor roads, the success
The pounding by Allied
a long-time safe haven of the Officer, added: “The enemy (Royal Storm) was a three- explosives, more than 20 rocket- of the supply chain supporting
airpower – Cobra and Apache
Taleban. knows there is no such thing as day Anglo-Canadian blitz of propelled grenades, rifles and the Royals determines whether
pictur
gunships – and the commandos’ By nightfall on this holy day, a safe haven and that we can insurgents’ compounds in the grenades. the mission in Helmand and
105mm guns, caused the the insurgents no longer exerted – and we will – reach out and districts of Khakrez and Shah The troops also uncovered Kandahar succeeds.
Taleban lines to crumble; they control over the village. Their key touch him.” Wali Khot – which border one ball bearings hidden in an In the first two months in
fled north, abandoning the control compound was in Allied Upwards of 100 enemy are of the main routes through underground cache and a Afghanistan, the Commando
town. hands (along with considerable thought to have been killed Kandahar province. sizeable amount of drugs, Logistic Regiment led 11
Barely 48 hours after the booty) and Sond Chara had during the two-week offensive As at Nawa a month before, including 20kg of wet opium resupply ‘convoys’ – now
battle for Zarghun Kalay began, achieved what it set out to do: which was sadly not without it began with a night helicopter (worth in excess of £125,000). renamed Combat Logistic
the commandos’ battlegroup to dislodge the fundamentalists casualties. assault by 42, this time Kilo Shahi Tandar also saw eight Patrols to emphasise the front-
0021-023_NN_Feb.indd 221-023_NN_Feb.indd 2 221/1/09 15:01:521/1/09 15:01:52
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