Page 33 - Mercian Eagle 2012

‘Managing B (Champion) Company in the COIN environment’
WO2 Aley
The planning tempo, scale of resources and overall complexity of Coy level operations are now of an impressive magnitude. Although some of the CSM duties are the same, the role has considerably evolved. In my opinion, there are
fourth HERRICK tour – the last thing we needed in a contact was for a soldier not to understand what he was picking up and how it was to be used. Operational safety has increased significantly in recent years,
manpower was either extracting off the ground to go on R and R or somewhere
in the pipe between Brize and Bastion reluctantly attempting to get back. We resorted to using a tally card system for both tracking and planning. Contingency plans for getting troops back to Bastion were always factored in and the use of a visual planning aid exposed the detail for all to see who was on what lift whether it was by vehicle or helicopter.
Coincidently the busiest period during the tour was also the period when we had least resources. The priority for manpower is of course the isolated and vulnerable CP, but this often came at the cost of manning the main PB. It was an imperative throughout our pre deployment training that every man was comfortable in multiple roles and had
a variety of skills to offset difficult periods of manning. Whilst we arrived with a degree of redundancy, a great deal more had to be generated by training in theatre the RLC Chefs and REME LAD who also faithfully manned the sangars when the Company was deployed on operations. Fortunately we had also trained more drivers over and above the OET requirement and this kept our Mastiff Protected Mobility Troop on the road – we had planned to take over a 7km squared AO at the start of the tour and by the midway point it had grown to five times
many responsibilities involved which now give the role strong similarities to that of a junior staff officer. For the unprepared, this can be something of a shock and the learning curve in contact should not be underestimated. I was the CSM for
For the unprepared, this can be something of a shock and the learning curve in contact should not be underestimated.
and as with many inspections, while at
the time I thought this was an extra burden that could well be done without, my experiences from the tour in retrospect tell me that it was invaluable.
Winter is a natural enemy in Afghanistan, and although we were the third or fourth incumbents
NW Nad-e-Ali on
Op HERRICK 15 –a
period during which the word ‘transition’ was popular parlance and we saw our AO expand from 7km squared to 36, in order
to set the conditions to hand over security authority to the ANSF. At the start of the tour we had 164 men spread around four check-points (CP) and one patrol-base (PB). At the end of the tour this grew to 204 men in five CPs, three of which were different to the start of the tour, our original PB, while we had also taken on responsibility for the over-watch of a further four ANSF CPs.
During our winter tour there were a number of traditional responsibilities that will certainly not raise the eyebrows of those well accustomed to austere central Helmand living. Nonetheless, for the historical record and posterity it is still worth recording the main issues and some of the seemingly mundane. Over all, I had nine inspections whilst on tour, ranging from
fire Inspections and ammunition checks,
to the Army Air Corps checking the HLS,
a Board of Officers and the interminable LSI and MEI. The storage of ammunition particularly invoked a detailed inspection ensuring that all natures were in the correct groupings and separated into different batch numbers with stack tally cards. With Pl Sgts operating relatively independently from disparate locations, managing the shelf life and the different natures of ammunition once opened was a challenge to police. Interestingly, many of the natures were unfamiliar, despite this being my
in some checkpoints, many had still not been professionally winterised. The Royal Engineers and the Police Mentoring team provided a valuable capability and where they didn’t make it, Mercian soldiers ‘sourced’ materials and self-helped in time honoured tradition. The reduced visibility, flooding and mud challenged our ability
to re-supply to the check points, some of which could only be re-supplied using a quad and trailer with a 200m dash. Others were more exposed as the rain did away with the traditional mud walls that many
of the compounds
are constructed from. Accessing the majority of routes under these conditions provided
a planning nightmare from the comfort of a desk in the cold Ops Room bunker. Route assessment was vital.
The reduced visibility, flooding and mud, challenged our ability to re-supply to the check points, some of which could only be re-supplied using a quad and trailer with a 200m dash.
its original size which
in turn placed a greater burden on vehicles and drivers’ hours.
In summary the Modern Infantry CSM needs to maintain
the ethos and values which are expected
of the traditional role and adapt to become a ‘hybrid’ CSM who works hand in glove with the Second in Command, is prepared to produce staff work,
As well as providing a
mixture of G4 planning
advice and practical
enforcement, tracking
the allocation and flow
of manpower was an
equally critical task. R&R, although very good for morale, was the single biggest problem factor when it came to manning of Coy Operations. The pressure was particularly felt during the middle eight weeks of the tour when a third of our
assists with planning, manages and controls the OCs TAC and remains the reasoned voice of experience. The CSM now needs to fully understand joint effects and be able to assist in the management of a complex battle space.
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
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