Page 84 - AGC Journal 2018

AGC JOURNAL 2018

Operation Trenton 5

By Captain Guy Page
Operation Trenton forms part of the United Nations mission in South Sudan

that focuses on delivering Engineering effect.

Building Facilities means a small task given that the deployment would
involve 31 units from across the Army, Royal Air Force and
The Royal Engineers have been tasked to build include a number of Reserves. It was clearly understood
accommodation and medical facilities for the United that getting the Task Force into country would be one

Nations staff. In parallel to the construction work, Royal of the hardest elements of the deployment and the
Air Force Medical are deployed to operate a level 2 medical responsibility would fall to us. The success or failure would

care facility to benefit the 17,000 United Nations staff purely rest on how we completed pre-deployment checks

members. It is now the turn of 36 Engineer Regiment to and subsequent reaction times to rectify any errors found.
take over those duties, supported by the Grenadier Guards South Sudanese Immigration system is paper based and
for Force Protection. The deployment is taking place from required due diligence when inspecting and recording
July 2018 to January 2019 during the rainy season. passport details. Any type of error on the visa application
paperwork would see the individual getting back on the
Administration Team aircraft at Juba International Airport.
The administration team is required to operate in Handover
dislocated parts of the country. Bentiu and Malakal in the
North some 200 kilometres apart and Juba, the Capital, I deployed a month ahead of the task force and took over
500 kilometres to the South. Lance Corporal Sagar Limbu from Captain Darren O’Connell of 21 Engineer Regiment as

and Private Jeremiah Fitzpatrick are located in Bentiu with the Task Force Regimental Administration Officer. This was
the Bentiu Engineering Group. Sergeant Anandbir Gurung to make all essential preparations for the incoming Task
and Lance Corporal Prem Pun are co-located in Malakal Force and maintain a level of continuity during the relief
with the Malakal Engineering Group and the Task Force in place. Our team worked tirelessly to ensure personnel Helping the Theatre

Headquarters. Myself and Warrant Officer Class 2 Lori Duke successfully navigated the nuances of the South Sudanese Enabling Group to build
support the task force from Juba as part of the Theatre visa system and the subsequent deployment to South emergency shelters
Enabling Group. Sudan could commence. This saw the Theatre Enabling
Group, led by myself, co-ordinate the relief in place of over
Task Force 650 personnel. This involved the coordination of dozens of

internal and international commercial flights, spread over The Dust Settles
Just like any deployment, it was imperative to get all the ten days. I am pleased to report that nobody was ordered Meeting the
pre-deployment checks completed. This would be by no back onto an aircraft at Juba Airport. Once the dust settled from the deployment, the team were Bangladesh Engineers
immediately put to work conducting checks, moving and
tracking personnel and cashing cheques. ‘Soldiers first’

rings so true and the team were happy to step up and out
of their comfort zone to become real force multipliers.
The team were no longer just administrators, but they
became overnight subject matter experts in the movement
of personnel in theatre. This was particularly important to
understand in order to deliver the Rest and Recuperation
plan to the deployed Service Personnel. During the
rainy season this is all done by air and requires a level
head, excellent communication skills and an intimate

understanding of the United Nations flight booking
system. Sergeant Anandbir Gurung and Lance Corporal
Sagar Limbu led the way before sharing those duties with
Lance Corporal Prem Pun and Private Jeremiah Fitzpatrick.

Warrant Officer Class 2 Lori Duke maintained overall

control of movement, whilst co-ordinating the flight humanitarian aid to the Internally Displaced Persons, a

bookings and onwards travel within the United Kingdom. humbling experience that brings back home how lucky we
The dislocation of the team meant that command are in comparison.
and control was difficult. We now have regular video

conferences where we discuss any arising issues. Endnote
Downtime To deliver administration effectively in a challenging

operating environment such as South Sudan and have

During downtime the team have enjoyed games nights, the capacity to step up in order to offer an extra service,

socialising with other nations whilst sharing good epitomises what the Corps has to offer. The deployment

practices and of course keeping fit, which is at the heart of would have certainly been a lot more difficult had it not

every good deployment. They have also taken part in some been for our soldiers just making things happen.
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