Page 71 - KRH Year of 2021 CREST

The Regimental Journal of The King’s Royal Hussars 69
Capt Selfe has also spent the winter months in The Gulf, work- ing with NATO Mission Iraq (NMI) the Ministerial and Strategic Advisory mission working with a number of organisations and schools across the Greater Baghdad Area. Like Capts Walch and Hatchley, he spends some of his time translating and bridging the cultural gap between the Americans (and the Australians) and the rest of the NATO nations, the majority of whom have a better grasp of English than the apparent native speakers.
Primarily working in J3 Current Operations Capt Selfe is also the Liaison Officer to Operation INHERENT RESOLVE and spends much of his time in the OIR TAC headquarters within Union III across the road from NMI. This is a new appointment recently requested by both missions to improve the intelligence sharing and operational and planning co-ordination between the two missions. It is a great experience to have exposure to Coalition
Operations on such a large scale and Capt Selfe found himself being poached for a month from NMI to work as an Operations Officer in the TAC headquarters.
Christmas in Baghdad was less romantic than it first sounded due to the 2nd anniversary of the assassination of Kuds Force Commander General Qasem Suleimani and Deputy Chief of the PMF Commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis (2 Jan), coupled with the agreed date (31 Dec) of the withdrawal of combat forces from Iraq; this led to a significantly increased threat period across the country. In addition to this the author finally succumbed to Covid-19 and spent much of the festive period in isolation in a shipping container a few days after receiving his booster jab from our American allies.
Life in Baghdad is a little more restricted than Jordan, but regu- lar route recces around the city and ground moves down to the Officer Academy in Al Rustamiyah have allowed Capt Selfe to gain a good understanding of the city and how quickly situations can develop, particularly in the aftermath of the election con- ducted 10 October 2021.
It is an absolute pleasure working with such a broad range of peo- ple and nations and it will be sad to leave Baghdad; it is a great privilege to have access to both a NATO and a large coalition mission as well as the Iraqi Joint Operations Command which is also based in Union III.
KJH, AJW & PGAS