Regimental News Operational Honours and Awards
Congratulations to the officers and soldiers of the Regiment on the honours and awards given as a result of the recent Op Herrick Tour in Afghanistan, the Op Telic Tour in Iraq and service in Northern Ireland. The names and abbreviated citations are printed below:
Afghanistan OBE
Lieutenant Colonel (now Colonel) Simon James Banton aged 42
off his feet and thrown violently against a compound wall. Composed, calm and fully aware of the danger the entire patrol faced, he ordered the QRF to halt, coordinated the patrol’s defence and, still recovering from the effects of the IED blast and under sporadic small arms fire, personally conducted a clearance to mark a safe route to marry up the patrol with the QRF. Giles’s actions were selfless and courageous.
LCpl Kyle Patrick Smith aged 21
Between March and September 2009, over a violent summer in Helmand, Lt Col Banton commanded the OMLT Battlegroup and acted as chief mentor to the 3/205th the Afghan National Army (ANA) Brigade. His has been a complex and dispersed leadership challenge which has served to lay the foundations for embedded partnering.
CGC Sergeant Marc Kevin Giles aged 29
Sergeant Giles, 2ic of an OMLT (Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team, was on a joint patrol in June 2009 with Warriors of the Afghan National Army (ANA) in Basharan to the north of Lashkar Gar. The OMLT Commander was trapped in the killing zone and Giles took command. Within minutes, an ANA Warrior forward with the OMLT commander was seriously wounded. He dashed across open ground grabbed the casualty, threw him over his shoulders and ran with him back across the killing zone and to the emergency rendezvous. As a Quick Reaction Force (QRF) drew close to the fight, Giles went to guide them with two ANA Warriors but was almost immediately blown
The Mercian Eagle
LCpl Smith was Section 2ic in Helmand Province in July 2009 when his Platoon was ambushed by insurgents from a well sited and strong position; an ambush was initiated by a Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) strike and several soldiers in Smith’s section became casualties. LCpl Smith moved to the nearest casualty, administered first aid and dragged him into cover. In the process of doing so, he knowingly - and with great courage - had to expose himself to heavy insurgent fire over 100 or so metres of open ground. Having reached the safety of cover and ensured that the casualty was secure, he immediately returned to extract a further casualty, once again placing himself in the line of fire, pausing only to return fire at insurgent positions. He dragged his comrade successfully to safety. Without the selfless, brave and timely actions of this young NCO, two of the casualties from the initial engagement would have remained exposed to the enemy and undoubtedly suffered further injury.
Sgt Alan Gordon Dennis aged 36
operating from Patrol Base (PB) Jaker, near Nawa in Helmand Province in April 2009. His team was deployed to conduct a joint patrol with Warriors of the Afghanistan National Army (ANA) and, whilst patrolling the Helmand River Valley, his patrol was ambushed. His example and initiative brought the ANA into the battle which saved the patrol from defeat. He was calm and collected under intense fire and displayed cool courage.
MC Cpl Craig Adkin aged 35
Cpl Adkin was the Company Medic in Babaji, Helmand Province in July 2009. Following a Rocket Propelled Grenade strike, he immediately pushed forward to locate the casualties and exposed himself to great danger. Able to assess the situation, he decided to run across 100 metres of open ground under fire in order to reach and treat the casualties. Knowing that further casualties remained in the killing area, he again crossed the open ground which was still under heavy fire, in order to provide first aid and triage to the other casualties. Subsequently, all casualties were extracted safely and the insurgent position was destroyed. His selfless and courageous actions have undoubtedly saved lives during the tour and he has placed himself in the most dangerous areas throughout.
Capt Edward Robert Brown aged 26
Sgt Dennis was 2ic of an Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team (OMLT)
From March to July 2009, Capt Brown commanded an Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team (OMLT) at Patrol Base (PB) Jaker in Nawa, Helmand Province, an isolated location no more than 500 metres away in all directions from the enemy’s forward line. The only manoeuvre force was
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