Page 69 - QDG Vol. 9 No. 2 CREST

1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards
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Op SHADER
Deploying into a role in the US 3* Coalition Joint Task Force HQ on Op INHERENT RESOLVE (Op SHADER for the British) was my first experience of working in a multi-national head-quarters on operations.
As planning officer for the Syria Cell, I’ve worked primarily in a directorate with 20 individuals from 9 different countries and had to quickly get to grips with the intricacies of classification levels between different nations and the working dynamic when it came to reporting on the civilian environment. I was fortunate to be able to spend the majority of my time at Erbil airbase in N. Iraq/Kurdistan. Here I was co-located with a multi-national team which meant I had the opportunity to engage with a variety of different repre- sentatives on their roles in advising and assisting the Iraqi security forces in their mission to defeat Daesh. Through video links and time-zone coordinated phone calls, weekly engagement with the US Department of State, various NGOs and UAPs was another crucial aspect that providing a civilian perspective on the refugee and displaced population crisis currently facing the majority of Syria’s population.
With the campaign in its final stages and the spectre of the withdrawal
from Afghanistan lingering over the US military, the tour has been a fascinating opportunity to understand more of the convoluted political, economic and social climate in the Middle East. It will be very interesting to see how the campaign can move forward or indeed conclude in the region in the near future.
Outside of work, whether it has been the fiercely debated subject of cricket vs baseball with the Americans or explaining the nuances and history of
With my interpreters: Erbil & Kurdistan
the British regimental framework to the Europeans, it has been a pleasure and a privilege to work with such a diverse cohort at the strategic level. It has given me an invaluable insight into the planning processes and the complicated nature of operations within a coalition whilst also benefiting from the opportunity to meet and get to know a wide variety of people from around the world.
GJ
Outside Ba’ath Party HQ, Baghdad, Iraq