Page 7 - MERCIAN Eagle 2011

A Company
HERRICK 12
“Whilst the conclusion of the tour was certainly not as we would have chosen, the progress delivered by A Company in this most troubled district was significant and will endure for many years to come. Through our endeavours we and our Afghan partners, suffered terrible loss and injury; the sacrifice of those who Stood Firm and Struck Hard will never be forgotten by the men and women of the Wishtan Goats.” - Maj Mark Ellwood MBE
OC 2IC CSM
CQMS
1 Pl Comd 1 Pl Sgt
2 Pl Comd 2 Pl Sgt
3 Pl Comd 3 Pl Sgt
Maj Mark Ellwood MBE Capt Baker
WO2 Henry
vice WO2 Peckitt
CSgt C Beeseley Lt Sanderson Sgt Davies
Lt Cooke
Sgt Jessop
Lt Sugden Sgt Dickinson
The past year has been consumed by the Battalion’s preparation and deployment on Op HERRICK 12, arguably the Battalion’s hardest operational tour since the Second World War. Working out of FOB Wishtan
in Sangin, A Coy was thrown into a unique and extremely challenging environment. Unsurprisingly that tour will form the bulk of this article. However before this it is worth noting that the Company has already re- cocked and has begun to think and prepare for its next deployment on Op HERRICK 17.
The Company deployed to Afghanistan still unsure of its role or AO. Prior to the tour, the Battalion had been warned off
for numerous roles, including the Battle Group responsible for Musa Qaleh and augmenting the Scots Guards in Lashkar Gah. Upon arrival in theatre, the Company received the news that it would be attached to 40 Commando Battle Group in Sangin, and would be taking over the Wishtan AO. This was not without some trepidation:
the AO had gained a fearsome reputation through previous tours
where previous UK
troops had suffered
had as a result been augmented from Support Company with an FSG (Hades 53) lead by CSgt “Billy” Borlace and Sgt Kershaw; this gave the Company a strong three-platoon lay down. Supported by
a composite FST from the Royal Artillery, as well as a section of Royal Engineers, A Company had a strong team held together by good training and a strong Coy ethos.
The area of Wishtan where we were based is a sprawl of alleyways, compounds and open waste-land that constitutes the majority of the South-East of the Sangin DC. It is bordered by the Sangin Wadi to
the North; Route 611, the Bazaar and
the Green Zone to the West with a line
of Patrol Bases providing security; high ground to the South between Wishtan
and FOB Nolay’s AO; and Chakaw village out to the East. It is an area of mixed farmland and Desert with collections of compounds stretching two and a half kilometres, sandwiched between the Sangin Wadi and a low ridgeline that once was
renamed PB Usman, was a large PB, manned by a Multiple that was shared with an ANA platoon lead by Captain Attalikhan and then Captain Sadar. From here, patrols focussing on the Western side of the AO
as well as the cemetery to the north of the PB would be mounted. PB Chakaw was a small location capable of holding a Multiple, focussed on dominating the ground to
the East of Wishtan and out into Chakaw village. It also provided a buffer against insurgents using the Southern Wadi, or “Rat-Run”, an area of low ground leading out of the maze of compounds to the South of the AO to the East, as well as a deterrent against insurgent activity in the Sangin Wadi.
It should also be pointed out at this time that A Coy was supported throughout by a small but dedicated G4 team. Be it forward through the activities of Cpl Willerton or Bastion with CSgt Davison and Pte Scarf, A Company troops were impeccably looked after. No army can fight without logistic support, and this team under CSgt (now CSM Sp Coy) Davison ensured that A Company always had the means to fight. Special note should go to Pte Scarf who proved that soldiers were capable of doing a job not just “1-rank up” but 4 ranks!
The environment of Wishtan provides some quite specific difficulties when planning and conducting patrolling. The requirement to effectively target the right areas of the AO needed two things: firstly, a good knowledge of the human terrain and the Insurgent TTP’s (Tactics, Techniques and Procedures). This was handed down to us by B Coy 1 SCOTS who were, through accurate Human Terrain Mapping and G2 collection, able to hand over a
greatly in the alleyways and compounds
of this foreboding place. However, if any Company believed
it could take on the challenge it was the “Goats” of A Company.
Special note should go to Pte Scarf who proved that soldiers were capable of doing a job not just “1-rank up” but 4 ranks!
home to Mujahedeen Forces fighting against the Russians. The significance of this location was not lost on the men of A Company, aware that we were treading on previous battlefields where “Western” forces had come unstuck against the Afghan warrior.
The advance party
moved to FOB Wishtan
to start the handover process with B Coy,
1 SCOTS and soon got a taste of how dangerous and close the AO could be. Putting in a lurk, a combined 1 SCOTS/A Company patrol managed to successfully ambush an insurgent who was attempting to contact a call sign engaged in a Shura. This close yet fleeting glimpse, backed
up by exceptional use of ISTAR, was to encapsulate the nature of A Company’s tour.
The Company took over Wishtan in April with 4 Pl (Hades 51) headed up by Lt Neil Cooke and Sgt Jessop along with 3 Pl (Hades 52) headed up by Lt James Sugden and Sgt Dickinson. The Battalion had
been asked to provide a fourth Company, to support 1 RGR in NES (S), and so A Coy had lost 1 Pl, headed up by Lt John Sanderson and Sgt Davies. The Company
A Company dominated this area from three locations.
FOB Wishtan was situated at the heart
of the urban maze, on top of a slight rise that gave it arcs across the majority of the AO, aided by Base-ISTAR systems that enabled A Company to maintain “eyes-
on” into dead spots that our sangars
could not see. This was where Company Headquarters was situated, headed up by the OC, Major Ellwood, along with the QRF led by Company Sergeant Major Henry. The Influence Team was commanded by Capt Powell and the FST, Engineers and other attachments were also primarily based here. It was also where the Patrols Platoon would usually work out of due to its central location within the AO, and where the Guard/QRF Platoon was located. The other Platoon would then be split down between two locations: PB Tangiers, later
L – R LCpl Hodson, Lt Sugden, LCpl Dykes and Pte Stocker, re
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