Page 49 - MERCIAN Eagle 2011

Two Platoon By Lt Martyn Burgess
Post BATUS
After returning from a tough but rewarding BATUS, 2 Platoon went through a period of transition as new faces arrived and old friends moved on with Cpl Geogehan
and Ptes Lee and LagiLagi moving to B Company as the Bn prepared for operations in Afghanistan.
In August, Cpl “Dirty” Dennis Mitchell successfully completed his long anticipated transfer from the Parachute Regiment to
the Mercian Regiment, a proud day for all involved, and shortly promoted thereafter to A/Sgt. He transferred to the platoon from B Coy and was closely followed by Cpl Cornbill who returned from posting at AFC Harrogate to take command of 2 Section. Cpl Watts also returned from instructing at Catterick
in March 2011 in time to take charge of 3 Section before deployment. With Cpl “Amos” Narukutabua already in place as 1 Section commander the platoon found itself in the solid position of having an experienced
Pl Sgt, three SCBC - qualified Section Commanders and five LCpls – Cosmos Cupid, ‘Babs’ Babitu, ‘Meerkat’ Neale, ‘Paddy’ Holmes and ‘Pops’ Hancock.
Pre – Deployment Training
2 Platoon re-organised into two multiples, 20A under the command of Lt Burgess and 20B led by Sgt Mitchell, before embarking on PDT in Lydd, Hythe and Thetford. In true British military tradition we trained for
a Middle East deployment in the rain, snow and freezing conditions of an English winter, becoming fully acclimatised for the months ahead.
Lydd and Hythe provided the platoon with an excellent live fire package which saw soldiers becoming acquainted with new weapon systems, Ptes Hill 97 and Odedina
becoming particularly proficient with L97 Sharpshooter Rifle. The platoon level ranges allowed the multiples to identify weaknesses and also hone the control and restraint which would become so important in theatre. This was immediately followed by a road move to Thetford where we undertook a Coy level exercise which saw the multiples deployed to several different FOB and CP locations in Op HERRICK style scenarios. The pinnacle of this phase of training, a ‘green – zone’ style Coy advance to contact, saw the men of 2 platoon drudging chest deep through the freezing waters of Norfolk, testing command and control to its limits.
January saw another road trip from Germany, this time to the desolate wastes of Salisbury Plain to conduct the Final Test Exercise before deployment, the greatest battle being that against the deep cold
of winter. During this period 2 Section underwent the All Arms Search Team (AAST) Advisers course which saw them earn a glowing report from their Instructors, Ptes Hartshorne and Skinner receiving particular praise for their competence in the detection of IEDs.
Op HERRICK 14
The Company’s AO was located in the Nahr- e-Saraj district of the Upper Gereshk Valley, straddling the desert / green-zone interface. Having already conducted numerous
patrols and contact battles with insurgents the platoon took a critical blow less than
a month into the deployment, a grenade attack on 20B’s checkpoint resulting in four casualties, Ptes Comer and Kelsall received fragmentation wounds to the legs, arms and lower abdomen whilst Sgt Mitchell suffered numerous fragmentation wounds and a
collapsed lung. The continued survival of the casualties rests squarely on the shoulder of the men of 20B, the calm leadership of Cpl Watts and clinical efficiency of MA Barnard, the fourth casualty of the attack having himself received fragmentation wounds from a grenade. Four grenades failed to detonate during the attack.
Exactly seven days after the grenade attack 20A were directly targeted by
a CWIED, having noticed the unusual behaviour of the locals around themselves the patrol spread to the very extremes of their ECM in order to mitigate the risk of multiple casualties should an attack take place. The enemy, no doubt anticipating
the patrol to have 5m between each soldier, detonated the device, the main blast erupting between two men causing disorientation and very minor fragmentation wounding.
Both incidents, so early in the tour, left the platoon unnerved yet strong in their resolve. Cpl Brown of 3 Platoon was promoted
and replaced Sgt Mitchell as Pl Sgt for the remainder of the tour. The platoon was subsequently bolstered at different stages
of the tour by in theatre replacements in the guise of Ptes Payne, Edwards, Duff, Shannon, Swindles and Nicklin. Having been point multiple on several Battle Group and Company level operations and spent the remainder of the time on tour in the three CPs, which provided the extended security bubble around the people of Rahim, the platoon returned to Bad Fallingbostel on 19 Oct 2011. Having been greeted in Cyprus by the still recovering Sgt Mitchell, 2 Platoon are now looking
to the future and preparing for their next deployment to BATUS in 2012 as Armoured Infantry once again.
3 PL MERCIAN By Capt Chris Groves
After a long and gruelling PDT period, 3 Platoon stepped off the plane in Bastion relieved to have finally made it into theatre. It was widely believed at that time within the Platoon that the army makes PDT such a punishing ordeal
so that finally actually closing with
the enemy is something to be looked forward to as a respite! With many new faces, the platoon settled well into the CPs around PB Rahim, despite a bump or two to begin with. Pte Raworth did well to demonstrate to the Pl that IR shermullies are best used at night and outside a Sangar rather than in one. Pte Doyle also demonstrated great acrobatic skill in avoiding an insurgent grenade only to be injured by an exploding excrement bag a few weeks later.
In order to meet the demands of the CPs that the Coy were required to occupy, CPs Richka, Manzeria and Rargay, 3 Pl split into two multiples,
30A and 30B. Captain Groves’ Multiple, 30A, enjoyed the rustic ambiance of
CP Richka in the green zone, while Sgt ‘Ginger Tom Cat’ Davies’ 30B defended CP Manzira at the edge of the security bubble in Rahim. Within a month both multiples had been in sustained contact with the enemy. Sgt Davies’ multiple were for a ten day period in contact every single day. It is a testament
to the professionalism and control demonstrated by the most junior soldiers and commanders that every weapon system was utilized effectively and in a measured but robust manner at all times.
The most impressive quality displayed by the men of 3 Pl was not only courage demonstrated by those up front with the Vallon patrol after patrol, Ptes Pennie and Finch spring to mind, but also the way that we could be in a highly dangerous and vicious ambush one hour, then the next hour we would
Capt Groves looking unimpressed with his cordon location
banter and maintain the excellent rapport we maintained - with the locals amongst who we lived and with the ANP and ALP with whom we worked and fought alongside. 3 Pl can look back on Op HERRICK 14 with pride after leaving the Rahim a far safer and more prosperous area for the locals to live - helped in no small part by a large degree of fortitude and no small amount of Stokie charm and Black Country wit.
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
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