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against him in areas beyond the main battle areas where he felt safe. All this to deepen the hold within the Khar Nikar Area of Friendly Force influence.
Every tactical/operational activity undertaken by C Company, less replenishment, fell from our Surveillance Target Acquisition Plan (STAP). In short,
this plan saw about half of our Sections fighting from small Afghan compounds or patrol bases that surrounded and protected our primary areas of operation, while the rest of the Company and our supporting assets worked hard to enable our partnered Afghan Army Tolay/Company, a fledgling Local Police Force, and the Security Shura, all the while conducting offensive operations against the enemy in depth. The number of supporting assets available at the Company level is extraordinary, but when organised and allocated through the STAP, entirely manageable. The best ‘trigger assets’ tended to be ‘our’ Local Nationals, STAP Patrols and our static Observation Posts (OP). The Human Intelligence (HUMINT) that LNs provided lacked detail, but came thick and fast, so if cross-cued with other assets over a period of time combined to form actionable target packs. In the areas that we needed intelligence most, local nationals needed safe and anonymous ways to convey intelligence, and most locals preferred to meet at OPs where Section Commanders worked tirelessly to inform, convince, reassure, encourage and compel
(chat up, ply them with Chai, and talk about girls) to get the information we required. Cpls Sweete, Coates and Biusavu, in particular, did great work with their Sections from OPs Akhtar, Bahar and Bahadur,
each fighting localised COIN battles while contributing to overall Company success.
A 9 Platoon patrol from PB Hazrat
that area, and had a relatively safe zone from which to launch operations in depth. Relationships were developed with a trusted few locals to such an extent that, when required, individual Afghans could be tasked to identify clear routes through the IED riddled countryside, then rendezvous at a particular place and at a particular time (having been issued an alarm clock) to lead patrols into insurgent areas for future
C Company worked hard to identify
local national needs and, by providing for them, continued to win the hearts, minds and acquiescence of
a population initially
secured by the Irish
Guards last year. A
requirement for physical
security was obvious. It
was provided through
the STAP and targeted
operations against the
insurgent. I wish that we could take all of the credit for providing physical security, but the reality is that local nationals and
C Company had a symbiotic security relationship; neither was secure without the other. Local Nationals perceived that we provided physical security, and they liked
it, so provided local intelligence to help
us become more efficient; around 90% of pre-detonation IED finds in the Company AO were identified and in some cases neutralised by local nationals, for example.
Providing freedom of manoeuvre within the Friendly Force Area of Influence, C Company was much more efficient in its counter-insurgent and influence activity in
operations.
The provision of
physical security was not, though, the reason our locals supported us so enthusiastically. They would probably have enjoyed a similar level of physical security at far
lower risk if we had been expelled from the area. What our physical Hold of the Khar Nikar area provided was economic security. ‘Our’ locals could not be taxed by the insurgent and, as such, enjoyed the fruits of their farming labours far more than those outside of our security ‘bubble’. Due to our dispositions and patrolling, locals within
our Area of Influence were protected from insurgent taxation and water restrictions. Locals grew what they wanted, and got to keep what they grew, making huge profits in the process. No wonder they liked us.
Some ‘insurgents’ in our area might have believed that they fought for their religion, money, adventure or manhood, but they
Locals grew what they wanted, and got to keep what they grew
A patrol pause in Bahar Aka Kalay
LCpl Wright - Jackal Commander and Javelin Operator extraordinaire
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
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