C Company 2ic: OC 7 Pl:
Pl Sgt 7 Pl: OC 8 Pl:
Pl Sgt 8 Pl:
OC Asslt Pnrs: Pnr Sgt:
Capt Bell Lt Scott
Sgt Laurie Lt Vause
Sgt Hopkins Capt Brigham Sgt Parkin
It has been a period of change for all in C Company since our return from Op Herrick 10. The Battalion’s OMLT rôle, which was built around C Company, meant that a re-ORBAT and the introduction of several new faces were required. Soldiers who had served on tour with A, B and D Companies were moved across on the Company’s return and work was needed at every level to ease the transition during the short period of well-earned rest and regeneration after a demanding tour. For some, this period was even shorter than for the rest of us as they opted to volunteer for the regenerating D Company. To step up for demanding career courses so soon after an operational tour shows their strength of character and we wish them all well.
The Battalion’s Freedom Marches in March, following on from the incredible numbers who greeted us in Worcester, Derby
OMLT 1
OC: Maj Moorhouse Ops Offr:Capt Mackenzie/Capt Agnew CSM: WO2 (CSM) Clark CQMS: CSgt Cox/WO2 Rogers
Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team (OMLT) 1 has spent the last six months working alongside 1/3/205 Kandak of the Afghan National Army (ANA) in the districts of Nad-e-Ali and Lashkar-Gah. The Company, broken down into a Company HQ and four Teams, had the unenviable task of mentoring a very battle weary Kandak.
The Company HQ was split between Patrol Base Argyll in the District Centre of Nad-e Ali and the rather more salubrious setting of Camp Shorabak. With Maj Moorhouse, Capt Mackenzie, WO2 (CSM) Clark and Cpl Gilmore based forward, it was left to CSgt Cox (and, subsequently, WO2 Rogers) and his team to provide the essential link back to the “real world”. Although frustrated to be sat back in Shorabak, they did a superb job of making sure that we received an endless
38 October 2010
supply of post and fresh food to supplement our normal diet of Ration Packs. The remainder of the Company was based either in PB Argyll or in isolated Patrol Bases across the two Districts.
This has been a varied Tour. When not fighting alongside the ANA to clear areas occupied by the Insurgents (Taliban), we have dominated those villages and routes already free from their influence. None of this was without risk, indeed far from it. Although the Kandak lost seven Warriors during our Tour, had it not been for the commitment and professionalism of every man in the OMLT, this figure would have been higher. To have had only three of our own injured reinforces this. Back in the Patrol Bases, the Teams worked hard to improve the ANA Warriors by providing
training in essential skills such as casualty evacuation and the detection of Improvised Explosive Devices. It was not all about fighting; all of the Teams have contributed to the local communities in one way or another: Mosques have been built, schools have been reopened and healthcare has been provided.
Mentoring has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It has not been easy working with the ANA; they can be exceptional fighters but they can also be stubborn, lazy and downright dangerous! The memories will be varied - and some of them quite unbelievable - however they sum up Op Herrick 10 for OMLT 1 as “…six months, during which every time we felt we had the measure of them, the ANA would surprise and shock us by their actions…”.
This is what the individual Teams got up to. The Mercian Eagle
and Nottingham before Christmas, were humbling in the amount of support we received. This was the case throughout the Tour and a big thank you goes to all for the letters and parcels that were received. Several hundred screaming school children may have had an adverse effect on our ability to hear words of command but they certainly added to the atmosphere at every parade.
It was not just a time of change in the Platoons as the entire Company HQ has changed in the first three months of this year. Maj Bob Moorhouse has moved on to the Afghan COIN centre to pass on his experience from two tours with the Battalion and Maj Tim Spoor will soon be joining us from APC Glasgow to take command. This meant that Capt Bell, belatedly taking over as 2ic after taking half the summer off, found himself covering two jobs which some people might say is karma. WO2 Clark has returned to his old stomping ground at Sandhurst, handing over the reins to WO2 Gardner whose hard work since taking over and valuable experience as an OMLT 2ic is sullied only by the fact that he is a lifelong Manchester City supporter - but nobody is perfect.
The integration of new faces to those returning from tour was made easier after
Christmas by the need to get back into the “green” mentality. A shake out on Ex Simple Skirmish was appreciated as the soldiers got to work together in the field for the first time and a Company smoker balanced out the hard graft that had been done during the week. The extraordinary contribution of members of C Company was made clear in the recent Operational Honours and Awards List with the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross to Sgt Giles, the Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service to Capt Brigham and Joint Commander’s Commendation to Lt Vause and LCpl Gray. The stories of each OMLT are shown below but it is impossible to do justice to the men who lived under such harsh conditions and conducted themselves with the utmost professionalism for the duration of the tour. After the friction of a new ORBAT, changes in personalities and the Company taking full advantage of its leave and recuperation period, we are now in good shape to look ahead to a busy year, culminating in Ex Askari Thunder. This will undoubtedly be a fantastic training opportunity and will provide the Company with a thorough run out as we all keep one eye on our scheduled deployment on Op Herrick 15.
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