Page 29 - MERCIAN Eagle 2011

on the Combined Arms Live-Fire Exercise in a new record exercise time.
Nearly as soon as the Company had recovered from Kenya, the men of B Company found themselves preparing
for the Spearhead Lead Element (SLE) commitment, a role which the Company assumed from May 2010 to March 2011. The SLE is a high readiness Battlegroup with a lead sub unit ready to deploy at short notice to anywhere in the world. The Arab Spring civil disturbances across North Africa and the Middle East stoked rumours of an imminent deployment, the most credible of which became Libya...followed shortly by Sudan, Egypt and then Syria! Nevertheless, the SLE commitment allowed the Company to steal a march on driving qualifications for the numerous protected mobility vehicles that would also be required in Afghanistan. It also focussed and sharpened the minds of our best soldiers; LCpl Chamberlain’s intelligence briefing to a senior visitor was proof that the Company Int cell was already maturing, even before Afghanistan pre- deployment training was officially underway.
Concurrent to SLE, the Company
began Individual Mission Specific Training (IMST) in earnest in December 2010.
IMST comprised of over 87 individual courses spread over 4 months, with skill set requirements ranging from specialist weapons to Search courses. Without doubt the Company is the most thoroughly trained and prepared for operations that the Army has ever known, recognising
the complexity of full spectrum counter- insurgency operations and the complexity of the technical equipment issued to
us. Furthermore, the mission in central Helmand has also moved on considerably from what old hands may be able to recall from previous tours.
• Op HERRICK 1 (Kabul and Northern
Afghanistan 2004-05). This first tour was primarily population focussed - presence patrolling amongst the people but also demobilising the remnants of the former Afghan army and various militias.
• Op HERRICK 6 (Upper Gereshk Valley, Garmsir, Sangin,
Lashkah Gah -
2007). Those on Op
‘chat-up man’. Nearly all of the Company have attended the Patrol Basic Pashtu course and everybody is proficient on specialist equipment which helps us to understand the population (Human Terrain), such as the HIIDE patrol camera. HIIDE
HERRICK 6 spent 6
months fighting toe
to toe with insurgents
and encountered
some of the most
ferocious fighting of
the campaign. The phrase ‘mowing the lawn’ was coined as an under resourced ISAF sought to eradicate insurgents from their strongholds.
• Op HERRICK 10 (central Helmand - 2009). Across Helmand, members of the Battlegroup mentored
and fought alongside
the Afghan National
Army.
that those involved in insurgent activity can be weeded out of their communities without compromising local loyalties.
It has been possible to gain experience with equipment during the MST collective exercises. These have been designed to bring the Company
together – with the many attachments
from outside of the Battalion - as a single cohesive entity. And although our emphasis in training has been on a population-centric approach, we have ensured that we retain an agile and aggressive capability in order that we dominate the ground and dissuade insurgents from operating in our Company Area of Operations.
• Op HERRICK 15
September 2011
– April 2012. The
maxim for the tour is
population first, Afghan
National Security
Forces second and
Insurgent third.
Ironically this will bring
together all of the central themes from each of the previous tours.
With much kinetic experience behind it, the Company has worked hard to change its mindset in order to place the population at the top of our priorities. This has involved the Company relearning the lessons from Op BANNER (operations in Northern Ireland). We have identified individuals best suited to speaking with local nationals
and they have been appointed the patrol
HIIDE is an acronym for Handheld Interagency Identity Detection Equipment
We have identified individuals best suited to speaking with local nationals and they have been appointed the patrol ‘chat-up man’
is an acronym for Handheld Interagency Identity Detection Equipment. It can store up to 22,000 full biometric profiles, each one including two iris templates, ten fingerprints, a facial
image and biographical data. The HIIDE will check through its database and let you know when it has found a match. By western standards this may appear to be a gross invasion of privacy, nonetheless, it proves to reassure the local population
B Coy Receive Aviation Training in MOB SIMBA, ARCHERS POST, Kenya
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
27