in plain view


Afghanistan. d, and the hint of snow, in the air, g given to the troops as well as the training as realistic as possible.


as a fighting force, but there is a sense that the country they are going to – or returning to, in many cases – for Herrick 14 is a different place from the one they left in the spring of 2009, on Herrick 9. From the commander right down to the troops on the ground, there is optimism that things are improving, and that the role of the Royals will be to help Afghanistan along the path to stability, although they are prepared to fight when they have to – hence ‘mission-specific training’ on


Marines are as good as they come in terms of warfighting, and they have been practising hard at that. No, it also means taking into account cultural factors, language, customs and so on, hence the field training exercise on Salisbury Plain, and the optimism that permeates the entire brigade as they count down the days to arrival in Lashkar Gah as party of Task Force Helmand. Brigade Commander Brig Ed Davis


said: “There are 6,500 men and women from across the Services who will be deploying to Helmand in April. “The vast bulk and the core of


Task Group Helmand come from 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines, and this will be our fourth deployment to Afghanistan – the first brigade to do that.”


be working closely with other nations beside local Afghan groups, including Americans, Danes and Estonians. “We have to set the conditions for the transfer of security responsibility from Task Force Helmand and ISAF [the International Security Assistance Force] to the Afghan national authorities. “We will be very lucky in the fact that


The Brigadier said the force would


icy Salisbury Plain and earlier in Norfolk, as featured in February’s Navy News. That doesn’t mean charging about and loosing off thousands of rounds of ammunition; we all know Royal


the


sm in the air of Salisbury Plain Commando Brigade moved a


in 50°C heat is no mean feat – but he said the old idea of winter down-time and a summer fighting season had not been true for some time.


Amongst those visiting Copehill


Down was Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox, who talked to personnel from the brigade, which includes elements of the Commando Logistic Regiment, 845, 846, 847, 857 and 854 Naval Air Squadrons, medical staff and a tranche of maritime reservists. Brig Davis also talked of identifying and protecting communities in Afghanistan, engaging with the elders and “finding out what they want, not what we want.” Hence the shura in the barn, at which


we will be inheriting an area of operations which is showing tangible progress and has done so over the past few months, building on the work and sacrifices of previous brigades wince 2006. “We will be going with our eyes wide open to threat to that process, which is fragile and reversible. That is why we will be ready to meet those challenges. “The training we have gone through has been second-to-none.


improvement since 2006 – there has been lots of investment and lots of sophisticated processes to make sure the lessons that have been learnt on the battlefield are being transferred into the training that we have gone through.” Brig Davis acknowledged that the


brigade’s first summer deployment to Afghanistan would bring climatic challenges – carrying 70lb of equipment


m 42 Cdo RM village elders vehicle parked Junglie leads ge; Mne Chris works his way


l Logistic Corps; oldier magazine


“It has been subjected to constant


Lt Ollie Augustine RM and Mne Chris Gell, of J Coy 42 Cdo, sat down with the elders of Copehill Down, the officer discussing issues and the marine taking notes.


This will be Mne Gell’s first


deployment to Afghanistan, but he has no major concerns. “I am fine about going,” he said. “I am looking forward to getting out there and doing what I joined to do. It is what I have been trained to do. “The training has been good – and it is better to make the mistakes now...” Chris’s colleague Mne Mike Chapman, also a member of the Fire Support Group, was out on Herrick 9 with 42 Cdo, and believes his second deployment to Helmand will be somewhat different to the first, back in 2008-09. “Last time we went out we were doing


strike ops out into rural areas, and the locals might not have much confidence in you,” he said.


“We just got the job done and got out.


We were quite divided from them. “But a lot of them, when you get to


know them, can have a bit of banter with you.


“From what I hear from my mate who


was with 40 Cdo on Herrick 12 [summer 2010] they said they are getting to grips with the locals now. “They come up to you and give you


pointers. They can see you are making a difference.”


With training providing an insight into


the Afghan culture – as well as giving the Royals courses in the Pashtu language – there is a sense that the gap between ‘them and us’ is shrinking. Dr Fox said: “I am always impressed by the standard of training and the level of preparation of our Armed Forces and today is no exception. “3 Commando Brigade are exceptionally well prepared for the tasks they will undertake. “They are already well used to working with troops from other forces, including Afghan personnel with whom they will be working very closely as we prepare to hand over responsibility for the security of Afghanistan to its own government. “I wish them well on Operation Herrick 14 and thank them for the service they do for this country and the contribution they will make to our security at home as they improve security in Afghanistan.” Following this training, many of those due to deploy will be taking pre-tour leave while elements of the 3 Cdo Brigade Headquarters staff will travel to the United States to make final preparations with the Americans.


NAVY NEWS, MARCH 2011


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