Update
Commanding Officer’s in-Theatre Update to The Colonel in Chief (as at 11 May 10)
This is our first report from Theatre: we are all now fully deployed to our operational locations. The move out here was without significant incident and the in-Theatre training package prepared the men well for movement up the line. Most importantly, it refreshed all of us, regardless of rank or position, on the counter- IED drills and skills that are fast becoming second nature to all soldiers in Afghanistan. I believe that you are aware of the decision to split the Battalion into four Company groups under command of other units and to use Battalion Headquarters as a building block for an Afghan National Police Development Team. I will not dwell on this issue but suffice it to say that, currently, Op Herrick requires more sub-units and fewer headquarters.
A Company under Maj Mark Ellwood were first out of the door and are now well settled in Patrol Base Wishtan in Sangin under command of 40 Commando Royal Marines. Despite Wishtan’s reputation, the men from B Company 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (Royal Scots Borderers) did a fantastic amount of work to both improve the base and, more importantly, develop relations with the local people. Interestingly, one of the methods developed for getting around the area is “grand nationalling” which involves the soldiers carrying ladders with them on patrol and, rather than following the well trodden paths, they climb over walls to make their routes slightly more unpredictable. It slows down movement but does avoid some of the channelling that the IED layer watches for.
B Company, our newest sub-unit, have deployed to Patrol Base 1 in the Babaji area. They are under command of 1st Battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles and Gez Strickland will look after them I know. We formed B Company at very short notice (mid March) when it was confirmed that we would not be deploying as a Battle Group. They are commanded by Maj Rich Grover, my last Adjutant, and he is rising well to the challenge. They have had a busy time expanding Patrol Base 1’s capacity in readiness for the arrival of Afghan National Army and Police. The signal intercepts being picked up tell us that they are known to the opposition as the “infidel slaves” which is causing great hilarity amongst the men. One soldier, Private Parr, has been injured through an IED explosion, but he took only a little shrapnel to his back and, after a short operation in the hospital at Bastion, is now resting and waiting to go back up the line.
C Company are in Patrol Base Rahim and this is, perhaps, the least well found of the bases in the Brigade area. They are under command of the Danish Battle Group who operate around the area of Gereshk and seem to be settling in well. Their Company Commander, Maj Chris Wood, has his work cut out as, so far, they have had to clear an area known as “the triangle of death” of IEDs, clear an area for the building of a new police station and secure a crossing area for a new bridge into the green zone. Inevitably, they have been worked extremely hard and have taken some casualties. An IED was command-detonated behind a patrol on 22 April and this wounded LCpl McCarthy, Pte Waring and Rgr Gray (a reinforcement from 2nd Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment). The injuries were primarily from blast and shrapnel and, whilst all three men are in Theatre recovering and preparing to return to duty, Pte Waring has lost some of his teeth! I was told just this morning that LCpl Smith fell from a roof during a firefight and may have broken some bones. If this is true, then he will almost certainly be returned to UK to rehabilitate.
G Company are also in the Danish Battle Group area and lie just over the Helmand River from C Company in Patrol Base Khar Nikah. So far, they have been able to dominate the area successfully and take over the good work of their predecessors in building relationships with the local elders. There is significant evidence that an aggressive patrol schedule has deterred insurgent activity in their area and, when coupled with the ongoing poppy harvest, has led to a busy but relatively peaceful few weeks. The Company, commanded by Maj Nick Aucott, are also covering a Danish Patrol Base that is normally home to men currently on leave. The base lies amongst the village of Zumbelay and I think that Nick has an aspiration to take this over permanently from the Danes and to work the population centre there. He possesses significant talent in the shura and I would imagine that the CO of the Danes will probably accept his proposal.
Battalion Headquarters is based out of Lashkar Ghar with our Quartermaster’s Department in Bastion. Whilst the work of police development is not a job I would have picked for myself/ourselves, it is proving to be interesting and busy. We have taken under command the Helmand Police Training Centre, manned primarily by B Squadron Queen’s Royal Lancers under Maj Ben Horne. This is the primary police training facility in Helmand lying just to the east of Lashkar Ghar. Ben and his men are doing a fantastic job out there and, at any time, have at least two courses of up to 150 men with them. The courses last 8 weeks and we start them every 3 weeks. We have an aspiration to commence NCO training in mid-May but more of this in my next report.
I think that, overall, the Battalion is in good hands, albeit not mine, and in good heart. The Battalion staff is working very closely with the Afghan National Police and the United States Marine Corps who have arrived in force in Helmand and I am sure that I will be telling you more about this in future missives.
12 October 2010 The Mercian Eagle
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