Page 10 - Mercian Eagle 2013

OC
2IC
CSM CQMS
4 Pl Comd 4 Pl Sgt
5 Pl Comd 5 Pl Sgt
Major R C O Grover MBE Lt C Middleton
WO2 C Beesley
CSgt C Lavelle
2Lt R Peacock Sgt R G Ritchie 2Lt S Randall Sgt G Miller
8
B (Malta) Company
Introduction
The Coy has had an incredibly busy year since the last Mercian Eagle was published. From MST through to a deployment on
Op HERRICK 17 and coming back home for some well-earned leave, it is hard to believe this has all been crammed into
the space of 12 months. It is to the credit of all the Coy that it was done in good order, maintaining an excellent reputation
built and established over a number of operational tours. The Coy is in fine spirits, and has been left in cracking order following the tenure of Maj Darren Cook and his team. Now we flick our focus away from Afghanistan and on to a contingency focus, with training aligned appropriately. The year ahead looks to be no less busy than any of those previous; we are fortunate that we will shortly deploy to France to conduct CT2
urban training in CENZUB, an event that will surely feature in next years Mercian Eagle, and it will not be too long before we put the wheels in motion for the Arms Plot.
part of our success to the foundation they provided us. Within a relatively short period we had settled into life within the CP. The rotation of patrols and guard/stag duty became the battle rhythm that the CP ran to and the guys, to their credit, adapted to this routine quickly and with little fuss.
As a multiple of only 16 people in total, including my attached
4 Platoon – CP Zarawar, Op HERRICK 17 by Lt T J Fisher
It was around early September that
B Company were informed of the base locations that we would have to occupy throughout Op HERRICK 17 in the Kopak region of Nad-e-Ali. We were tasked with holding Patrol Base (PB) Salaang, and two Checkpoints (CP), Zarawar and Polad. It was with both excitement and trepidation that 4 Platoon were told they would be sending just half the Platoon, called a multiple to take control of CP Zarawar. CP Zarawar sat around 2.5km south of the
Neb canal within the green zone, with PB Salaang to the north and CP Polad about 2km to the East. I must admit that I, and I think the vast majority of the Platoon were happy with this news. As the commander
I knew that the responsibility, fragility and complexity of the situation that was being handed to us was considerable and was
a challenge that the Platoon would relish. Although I think another reason for the good nature in which this news was received was that the guys knew they would be out of
the Company Sergeant Major’s view for the duration of their stay in CP Zarawar.
LCpl Ellerton, Pte Glover and Cpl Holland enjoying a bit of downtime in between stag and patrols
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
After completing some basic in-theatre training at Camp Bastion I flew a few out to CP Zarawar on the 10th October 2012, with the rest of my multiple joining me a few days after. I think everyone was initially nervous in being in such an isolated location but
the excellent handover
we received from the
soldiers of C Coy, 1 R
ANGLIAN helped us
settle in very quickly.
The R ANGLIAN
soldiers filtered out over
a period of around two
weeks and remained
100 per cent committed
and professional to the
end. I would like to take this opportunity
in fact to give my whole-hearted thanks on behalf of myself and Cpl Holland to Lt Ship and Cpl Watts for their help during our handover period; we certainly owe a large
medic, fire support team commander and ISTAR commander (who was responsible for the upkeep and operation of the camera equipment at the CP) the daily schedule of putting between two and three patrols out
became quite punishing. Our effort was primarily focused in the surrounding green zone where we patrolled amongst the local Kalays (villages) in order to prevent Taliban infiltration into the area and to allow the local population to continue on the road
to a normal existence. Throughout our
time I was astounded by the strength of
the relationships that not just I, but each member of the multiple would build with the local population. We were blessed with a very pro ISAF population in our area who were strong, led by a very well respected local elder. They did not want, in any way,
a return to life under the control of the Taliban. The local elder in question actually owned the buildings that made up the CP with ISAF paying him rent for the duration of our stay. He came for a chat quite often with his conversations proving very useful although in hindsight he was probably just making sure we hadn’t wrecked the place!
The activities in which my multiple were involved were not limited to the green zone. Manpower was limited with the Company having only deployed with 2 platoons, so it was necessary on occasions to make the trip north through the dense and wet terrain of the green zone to PB Salaang in order
to join up with the rest of the Company for operations in the desert north of the canal. Throughout our time in Kopak the desert area, or Dashte as the locals called it, was
The rotation of patrols and guard/stag duty became the battle rhythm that the CP ran to...