E (Rifles) Company by Maj Watson
OC: Maj M Watson 2ic: PSAO: Capt K Mahoney SPSI: WO2 Shaw CSM: WO2 Groome QPSI: CSgt Winter
Introduction
There have been many changes over the last 12 months within the Company - the safe return of the soldiers from Op Herrick 10, the arrival of a new OC, Maj Martin Watson, and a new SPSI, WO2 Shaw, fresh from a training team in the Czech Republic. The Company continues to perform to the highest standards within the Battalion supporting all the major events and providing training support to exercises. This year, again, we are focused on providing soldiers for Op Herrick 14 in support of the 1st Battalion and, again, members of the Company have stepped forward to volunteer, including WO2 (CSM) Groome.
At the time of writing, the soldiers who have returned from Op Herrick 10 have been integrated fully into the training and day to day life of the Company and their experience is now being passed on to the rest of the Company as the Battalion prepares for the next deployment to Afghanistan in 2011. The Company continues to recruit well and our ranks swell at a steady rate; our retention of both recruits and trained soldiers means that the Company maintains a steady state of around 87% of our establishment. We have bid a fond farewell to Rfn Hubbard who has followed his interest in photography and is now part of the Media Ops Group: we wish him all the best in his new rôle and look forward to working with him in the future. The Company also congratulates the QPSI, Decca Winter, and his wife Elly on successfully adopting their daughter Sophie.
Training
The training during the last twelve months has been challenging because of the financial cuts but the Company has maintained a high level of training within these constraints. The biggest blow to the training of the Company was the loss of the major Company players to Op Herrick: on their return to the Company in early January, the training intensity of the Company increased tenfold as their recent operational experience was passed on, giving a more realistic and brass tacks approach to
The Mercian Eagle
training. The major focus for the Company at the beginning of this year was the running of a Contemporary Operating Environment exercise in Brecon; this was made harder for the Coy 2ic as the SPSI had been seconded away from the Unit. This minor setback did not stop the Company providing a complete Battalion exercise based around the experience of the Op Herrick deployment. The Company 2ic managed to produce a high level exercise which, based on his recent experience, provided a huge challenge to the exercising troops in the form of an aggressive and active ENFOR, CIVPOP interaction, IED strikes, Suicide Vests and Vehicle-borne IEDs. This all made for a very exciting and completely different exercise from those to which the Battalion is accustomed.
We held a Christmas and welcome home party for the Op Herrick Riflemen in the form of a cocktail evening for the Honorary Colonels, Civic Dignitaries and local newspaper Editors who received a presentation from the Company 2ic followed by a meet and greet with the recently returned Riflemen. This was followed by a meal. The Company also took this opportunity to say goodbye to the OC, Maj Mark Banks. Annual training this year was based around qualifying courses, Driver training and a Battalion JNCO cadre; we were delighted that Rfn Bate, White and Zaza completed the course successfully and were promoted to LCpl. We congratulate, also, WO2 Weston, CSjt Powell and Cpl Evans on their promotions.
Annual training again this year will focus on the training of the Op Herrick 14 deployment with field firing and Battle Camp on Thetford training area in September. E Company provided a guard for the Freedom of Telford with 2 RIFLES: this was warmly received and, as the weather held off, the Riflemen of the Company, many from Telford, took to the streets to be given a warm welcome home.
Op Herrick 10
Ten of our Riflemen deployed on Op Herrick as part of Normandy Company 4 MERCIAN; our task was to provide Force Protection for Camp Bastion, taking over the task from 6 RIFLES who had provided the cover during the winter months. We arrived at Camp Bastion in March 2009 and took over the rôle at the beginning of April, providing the main entry point search and guard, ground domination patrols, Tesseral Landing protection for the RAF and protection and
support for the Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT). We fell quickly into the day-to-day routine of Camp Bastion and, with the little equipment available and the many servicing issues with the vehicles, we managed to provide the required level of protection.
Two months into the tour, we were reinforced by a Flight from the RAF Regiment who brought their special weapons and snipers. Also, a flight of RAF Police joined the Force Protection with the responsibility of the MEP. This reduced the workload slightly for us but the pressure still remained. With this increase in manpower came extra vehicles including, by the end of the tour, three Panther liaison vehicles which increased our target acquisition and cross country capability. The night and thermal sights made the ground domination and Tesseral Patrols easier. At the end of June, the Company was spilt in two. One Platoon remained in Bastion to continue Force Protection, now supported by US Marines and the RAF Regiment, while the other two Platoons moved to Lashkar Gar in support of the Welsh Guards; this new rôle and new area to patrol came as a welcome break from the monotony of Force Protection. After a long CLP through Nadi e Ali courtesy of 19 CSS, we found ourselves in the sprawling city of Lashkar Gar, our new surroundings a complete contrast to the western desert: just to see the green of the green zone made a big difference to the Platoons.
We assumed our rôle with the Welsh Guards almost straight away, providing patrols of the city, rural area patrols and also a Platoon in a ground-holding rôle in Tapa Parang. Eventually, we supplied soldiers for Yellow 14 check point as a hard stop for Op Panther’s Claw. During the operation, the Platoon left behind in Bastion provided the MERT support and found themselves at their busiest. They excelled at providing both infantry and medical support in the Chinooks. The Platoons in Lashkar Gar settled into the routine of ground holding and found themselves in daily contact with the local population. Searches and finds were routine business and people moved to get away from the grip of Op Panther’s Claw. The Platoons found themselves defending the FOB from a Taliban attack, resulting in one gun shot wound to the shoulder. Constant surveillance by Taliban and PPIEDs were the order of the day, including route clearance for the CLPs along the main route and extraction
October 2010 83
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