Page 34 - The Bugle 2018

Operation SHADER: The Security Force
B Company Snipers provide overwatch for a standing patrol
TRUE TO FORM, ALL RIFLEMEN JUMPED AT THE CHANCE TO LEARN SOMETHING NEW
In June 2017 B Company deployed to Al Assad Airbase in Iraq as part of Operation SHADER 5. The Company’s role was to provide force protection to the coalition airbase, and formed the largest element in the coalition company known as the Security Force (SECFOR). In addition to B Company, SECFOR also held members from the Danish Army, the United States Army and the United Sates Marine Corps. This gave the Riflemen unique opportunities as they worked with personnel from across the globe.
Daily life consisted primarily of three tasks: firstly, providing protection for the camp. Secondly, holding a quick reaction force to respond to incidents. Normally this would be in the form of assisting the Iraqi casualty evacuation chain as they were taken into the Role 2 medical facility. However, the jobs could span from protecting the recovery of aircraft to providing support to the Iraqi-secured gates to the airbase. Thirdly, the Riflemen would also conduct standing patrols to deny enemy routes to the camp, and reassure the Iraqi positions around the perimeter, mentoring and teaching the soldiers
there. Again, this offered the Riflemen
opportunities to work with Iraqi troops in joint patrols and training.
Clearly six months of defensive operations were occasionally monotonous, however there was always a new challenge to look forward to. Whether it was the Danish Command march or B Company’s Serjeant Major inter-SECFOR fitness competition, there was plenty to get on with. Company Serjeant Major Long challenged each nation in SECFOR to a competition on their basic fitness tests, which saw Riflemen undertaking the United States Army and Danish basic fitness test as well as a highly compet- itive United Kingdom Personal Fitness Assessment. The Riflemen won overall closely followed by the United States Army. This camaraderie opened doors around the airbase allowing Riflemen to be shown around some of the other nations’ assets, mainly the United States air assets such as Apache helicopters and some of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.
The airbase was a fantastic place for the Riflemen to practise their shooting. Snipers regularly took this opportunity to data collect in the extreme climates and were managing to hit targets out to 1500m during training. Again, it was in the coalition