1st BATTALION UPDATE

1st BATTALION UPDATE

AFGAINSTAN 10th SEPTEMBER 2007

by Grenadiers Reunited

Although the 1st Battalion has been as busy as ever, it has been a relatively uneventful period, with three exceptions:

Gdsn Matthew Lyne-Perkis was wounded in a friendly fire incident on 30 Jul. Happily, his wounds were not too serious and he has now returned to duty with the Rear Party in Aldershot.
Gdsn Stephen Gillespie was wounded during a rocket attach on his base in Helmand Province on 18 Aug. He was wounded by shrapnel to his right eye and right arm. Very sadly he has lost the sight of that eye.
There was a further friendly fire incident in which 3 members of the R ANGLIAN Battlegroup were killed. This incident is still being investigated.

I have copied below a message from the Commanding Officer, Carew Hatherley:

"Life still goes on at Mach 10. The battalion and the Afghan Brigade have reached an uneasy steady-state where we are trying to get some in-barracks training done whilst also keen to get as many as possible out into Helmand
to find and close with the Taliban. Though I empathise with the Guardsmans' wish to get stuck into the enemy, but that is only part of our mission here. Where we have dislodged them we now need to fill the governance vacuum.
Though dangerous and hard work, the fighting part is straight forward ( find, close, defeat). It is the consent winning activity and reconstruction that takes time, effort and thought. It is also difficult to gauge with any certainty how well you are achieving the aim of spreading Afghan national governance in any substantial manner where they have not been before. In Helmand the locals are naturally reclusive around strangers, and particularly non-Muslims. Once the Taliban have spread the word through a mainly illiterate area that we are coming to destroy Islamic faith, it is
most difficult to gain the trust of the mainly agrarian population. With so many foreign fighters coming to Afghanistan it is difficult to truly target the indigenous population with our key messages. Until the inquiry is completed into the sad deaths of three Royal Anglian soldiers in a blue-on-blue incident last week near Kajaki we cannot give any further
details save that some of our Afghans and therefore Grenadier battle group were close by.

The Queen's Company are now in Sangin, securing the area in order to allow economic development start. By that we mean the markets and bazaars re-opening. The difference between April when we fought to dislodge the Taliban from Sangin and now, some four months later, is marked. What were deserted streets and empty shops have been transformed into a bustling towncentre filled with all the sights, sounds and smells you would expect in an Afghan town in the mid-summer heat. Their mission is to ensure that this progress continues. This is difficult and dangerous. Only two weeks ago the Taliban persuaded a young boy to push a wheel-barrow of fruit passed a police car in the centre of the town. Unknown to the child was that the barrow contained a remote control bomb, hidden under the fruit. When he was close to the police they remotely detonated the device, killing the child and injuring scores. Fortunately, the local elders are not stupid. They understand the evil and barbaric ways of the Taliban and hold them wholly responsible, rather than turn against us, which is the Taliban aim. The Captain meets regularly with the local elders, helping to guide his AfghanCommanding Officer through the shuras (meetings) with a deft touch. They
have made their austere base in the centre of Sangin their own and the Monarch's Mob continue to frustrate and at times kill a determined and crafty enemy.

Number Two Company continue to man the Afghan Development Zone to the South of Sangin based around the geographically important town of Gereshk. In the same manner as operations in Sangin they are trying to establish true Afghan Governance in the area. They are also charged with pushing the Taliban further and further away from the town so that more large scale reconstruction projects can begin. Gen Sir Richard Dannatt visited them recently and had a chance to spend some time with his son, who is the Second in Command of the Company. More adult and fully aware suicide bombers stalk Gereshk, fortunately Number Two Company are adept at moving in unpredictable
ways (much like back in Aldershot) in order to minimise the risk of meeting one head on. They meet the elders and officials of the town on a regularbasis and also had Village Medical Outreach sessions where our Doctor sets
up a temporary visiting clinic to try and improve the health of the locals who queue hours in the sun to attend them.

The Inkerman Company are based out of our main camp at the moment, sending groups of up to Company size to help with specific operations across Helmand as required. When not deployed they conduct in-barracks training in order
to better prepare the Afghans for their next operations. Far from being an easy stand-down time they are also taken to help train other UK units arriving in Helmand. Right Flank, Scots Guards have just arrived and so they will help run a tailor made induction package for them as they acclimatise. It has been a welcome relief to see more Blue-Red-Blue in
Helmand.

Headquarter Company remain the stalwarts of the tour. Augmenting the deployed Companies wherever possible and receiving our Companies as they return to Camp Shorabak, turning them around in good order for their next mission. As the count down has begun to our hand over, they are especially busy ensuring that both the kit and equipment we currently own will be properly accounted for and in the best possible condition whilst also trying to get the camp back into pristine condition. What seems a pretty boring task is in fact mission essential and a growing (some times grudging) respect for their efforts has steadily grown during the tour. The most unlikely characters have positively shone whilst some are quite literally half the man they used to be.

The BRF, based on our Support Company, continue to skulk with menace throughout Helmand. As they are the eyes and ears of the Task Force Commander woe betide any one silly enough to actually ask them what they have been up to and where they have been. Needless to say their beards are longer and more wind swept than any others in the Grenadier Battle Group.

Number Three Company have proved themselves to be pretty ferocious in the attack and tenacious in defence. As the scratch company made up from all those not required to mentor the Afghan Army, they have gone from a disparate (though I have also heard them called desperate) grouping to one that regularly gives the Taliban a bloody nose. I know it will be sad to disband them on their return, but we will mark the occasion with due respect and celebration. Likewise those with the Londons have continued to impress and the whole company continues to go from strength to strength, being used more and more for tasks they are fully capable of but normally associated with the role of the Territorial Army. In them we have seen the benefits of linking the Foot Guards with the London Regiment and the Grenadiers and Somme Company most especially.

I deliberately left my leave until well past the half way point of the tour. I spent the first few days visiting the families of those Grenadiers killed on this tour. The fortitude and character shown by all the families was most humbling. Visiting them left me wondering if I could be so strong and dignified if such a tragedy had occurred to one of my family. The funeral of Guardsman Hickey allowed me the chance to see first hand just how much extra work was being done by the Rear Party, who produced a polished performance worthy of a grenadier killed in action. I also attended the
repatriation of Guardsman Athertons body to RAF Lyneham with his parents and partner. I spent and afternoon in Birmingham to visit the injured in Selly Oak Hospital and then take out for dinner all the injured Grenadiers. CSM
Powell, our Liaison Officer there, is doing a fantastic job. Again the smiles and positive attitudes shown in the face of some traumatic injuries by all the Grenadiers was heartening yet humbling. Every one of them has requested to stay in the Regiment. I have readily agreed to this and they will continue to be gainfully employed amongst their fellow Grenadiers. In fact there is no reason why many of them should not continue to have a full career in the Regiment. Many will remember a Grenadier Signals Warrant Officer who only had one eye. There will be some who will find it difficult to return to "normality" given what I asked them to do out here. More than ever Grenadiers, past and present, will need to rally round, as you are doing already in order to help them re-adjust without lasting damage. It will take time in some cases and I have no doubt that we will still be feeling the effects of this tour when we deploy back out here in 2009.

We hosted Lance Ranson, currently a Lt Col working for the air planners in the Middle east and are currently trying to keep the boundless energy of Vaughan Smith under control. His Blog-site will open up in a few days with more detailed accounts of what some Grenadiers are up to out here. Captains Jim Green and Simon Gordon-Lennox have paid us visits in various military capacities. They prove a fillip as do all the letters and e-mails of support and condolence we have received. For which all of us out here thank you.

In my quieter moments (seldom) I have been working to change a demanding period between tours, to one that will challenge and re-invigorate the battalion. It will still involve hard graft on their part, but both HQ 12 Mech Bde and the Higher Headquarters are being most helpful. Having passed what the Guardsmen are calling "the ultimate man test" we need to offer them a varied, challenging yet rewarding period between tours. To that end the draft plan is to send all three rifle companies for six weeks each to the Falklands in the first half of next year. Each will take with it a slice of
the Fire Support Company platoons. Battalion Tac Headquarters will also deploy to put them through their paces. We will move from Aldersot to Wellington barracks in the summer but not go under London District Control, we will move to 11 Bde, who are based in Bulford. They will be our Headquarters in Afghanistan in 2009, so this seems a sensible approach to soldiering in London whilst retaining our war fighting skills. A live firing exercise in Kenya early in 2009 will kick-start our pre-deployment training and then we begin the run up to deploy back out here late in the summer of 2009. This is still a busy programme, but one that offers travel, new experiences and some fun, whilst achieving my aim of handing over a cracking battalion to a new Commanding Officer, ready to continue their handsome legacy from this tour when they arrive back in Helmand. Recruiting is up and retention is high.

The Rear Party are still doing sterling work not only supporting us in Afghanistan, the injured on return, but also all the families and loved ones as they go through the roller coaster of emotions this tour has thrown at them. We hope you enjoyed watching Guarding the Queen. We out here are our harshest critics and I have had to remind everyone that the battalion is only one part of this Regiment. Never the less we have had a good chuckle at some performances by individuals who will remain nameless, until we return...... "