16 NAVY NEWS, FEBRUARY 2011 (Middl NORFOLK. Helmand Province. Not much difference there, then.


a thriving bazaar, meeting Afghan elders and keeping an eye open for insurgents, all within a few miles of Thetford. The Afghan village


Well, not when you are patrolling


is part of the Stanford Training Area in East Anglia, a key element in the pre-deployment programme for troops bound for Helmand. And so it was that some 600 Royal Marines from Arbroath-based 45 Commando headed south to undertake an arduous training exercise in Norfolk to help prepare them for a likely operational deployment to Afghanistan. Exercise Pastun Panther was designed to test the essential skills that are required for operations in Helmand, and the 30,000- acre site – known as STANTA – provided the best environment in which to do this. STANTA boasts an urban Middle East complex and a full mock-up Afghan village, built to the standards of a professional film set and opened in 2009. The bazaars, shops and houses are all populated by real Afghan people and other volunteers playing the role of the local populace, insurgents and the occasional injured soldier or civilian – those roles may be played by amputees to make the situation even more realistic.


From the call to prayer heard across a busy marketplace to the noise of a bustling family home and the tension of a patrol in a network of claustrophobic alleyways with high walls, the areas provide a complex and realistic way to train troops and test their skills under demanding conditions. The fertile green zones of Helmand have been recreated, complete with deep irrigation ditches full of water, providing challenging obstacles for the Royals as


they patrolled. Realistic Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) have been constructed, with each one serving as a base for one of the four rifle companies of the Commando. Throughout the exercise the


Marines were tested on the different scenarios that they would face in Afghanistan. Every opportunity to practise


were conducted jointly with Afghan National


counterparts. Meetings or shuras with local


and operations Army/Police


working alongside the Afghans was seized,


elders were conducted regularly, providing the officers and men of 45 Cdo with some valuable cultural experiences. Aircraft were also flown over


to provide fast air support to the companies or to respond to


● A commando listens to a briefi ng following a ‘shura’, a meeting with village elders


● A member of Mortar Troop, 45 Cdo, cleans out a weapon during an exercise LEANDER CLASS FRIGATE 1963


This model of the Leander Class Frigate represents the first batch of 7 vessels built with the narrow beamed hulls and the original configuration of 2 single 40mm Bofors guns, Limbo a/s mortar and variable depth sonar.


Models include HMS Leander, Ajax, Dido, Aurora, Penelope, Euryalus and Galatea Model measures 6.5” long mounted on a wooden plinth 11” x 2” with brass nameplate


£65.00


+ £3.00 p&p UK Only


Pictures: LA(Phot) Andy Laidlaw, 45 Cdo


To order your model send your name, address and daytime telephone number, along with your cheque or credit card details to:


Skytrex Ltd, Unit 1 Charnwood Business Park, North Road, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE11 1LE Tel: 01509 213789 email: sales@skytrex.com www.skytrex.com


PLEASE ALLOW UP TO 28 DAYS FOR DELIVERY ● A member of X-Ray Coy peers through the sights of his light machine gun


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