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Afghanistan 13


At this stage the Unit will check that all loose


items are removed, that all spares allocated to the vehicle are accounted for, that all Level 1 repairs – such fixing lights and indicators – are completed and that all paperwork is at hand and has been signed off. Once the soldiers believe it is ready, the vehicle is


inspected by the DSG. They either approve or reject it for POGO 1. If approved it moves across to the


Equipment Redeployment Hub Forward (ERHF) and into the hands of the Theatre Equipment Support Group (Th ES Group) where any outstanding mechanical maintenance is completed and any extra attachments and spare parts are taken off. “Everything is inspected to the highest standards – a


show room clean,” says Beaumont. “And everything that is done to the vehicle at every step of the way is logged.”


“We like to keep moving because when we stop we have to change posture to one that deters, and if we can avoid doing that, clearly we will.”


because Central Helmand is not a place you want to break down or get bogged down in. “Because it is, of course, while you are


stopped that you give the insurgent the opportunity to close with you. So we don't like to stop. We like to keep moving because when we stop we have to change our posture to one that deters and if we can avoid doing that then clearly we will. We do not like pointing our weapons at people, any more than people like us pointing our weapons at them.” “So having an equipment fleet that is quite


new, highly mobile and reliable and has the agility to attend to different types of task without being needy i.e. needing different types of specialist equipment to go with it, is a significant leap forward for logistics here in Afghanistan – we can basically do more with less and do it much faster and safer.” It’s not just the vehicles, Lt Col Caldicott


also has the use of the £183 million Management of Joint Deployed Inventory system (MJDI) which allows complete visibility of all materiel deployed in theatre by type and in different locations helping optimise stock holding. “What that enables us to do is redistribute


between locations to the point of need thus we are not asking for materiel to be brought in from the UK to an operating base that needs it when there is another operating base just a few miles away that has it and doesn't need it – at least not there and then. So we can transfer an item of materiel from one operating base to another rather than bringing it in from the UK. Now that saves time and money it also has helped prevent us overstocking forward. Prior to the introduction of MJDI inventory managers in the forward bases used to overstock to de- risk the possibility that they could not get


logisticsmanager August 2014


materiel when they needed it. “Basically we have got great IT systems,


great engineering systems all underpinned by world class training. That is how we can logistically bring this campaign to a successful conclusion with such a small vehicle fleet. Unlike many operations carried out in


Afghanistan the movement of a CLP no matter how small can hardly be done in secret. “If you were to do a SWOT analysis on my mission, and I do a lot, you’d soon recognise


You cannot hide when you are attached to a 30 tonne truck and you are part of a convoy...


that you are not got to hide from the insurgent,” says Lt Col Caldicott ruefully. “There is a lot of people out there that are quite happy to see us go about our business, then of course, there is a minority, who for reasons we perfectly understand, just do not and we cannot hide from them. “You cannot hide when you’re attached to


a 30 tonne truck and you are part of a convoy that creates a huge dust cloud that can be seen for miles off and there are limited routes. So it's very easy for someone to watch which direction we travel from out of here and then make a telephone call to someone else who is likely to receive us in a few hours’ time “There is nothing new or scientific or


secret about that and therefore we presume more often than not that if they wish to do us harm they will see us coming and


therefore we look to detect them and we look to deter them. We wish to protect ourselves from them and ultimately we are prepared to defend ourselves and that layers approach to getting through to our destination works as they seek to see us coming with our big trucks strapped to our arses we seek to see them. We then aim to deter them because we are armoured and because we carry a lot of firepower and they do well to stay clear of us and they usually do stay clear of us. And if in spite of all of that they decide to attack us we are well protected. The armoured systems we use are very effective and we are capable of defending ourselves, so that on the rare occasion that we have to fight, we fight and that probably also sets us apart from a local haulage firm. That's how 2CSLR does its business. “We have a good plan in place and right


now as I sit and stare at that plan and what we have to resource that plan, I have a real sense of confidence and optimism. I feel yearning to get this done. I have been in and out of Afghanistan for 10 years now and I have watched the local area evolve, grow and prosper. I have watched our own practices and procedures change. I have watched us get better and better at what we do and I watched the ANSF and the police to the point where it is time for us to lift off. “The last CLP that we prosecute will be the


last task for the Close Support Logistics Regiment in Afghanistan. That is it because our last task is to lift off Central Helmand and once the force is not based in Central Helmand there is no requirement for a Close Support Logistics Regiment. It means the completion of my last task is mission accomplished by definition and I will take everybody home.”


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