call of duty 2

Ready for anything: Paratroopers from 3 Para, on foot patrol in the hills of Helmand province, below left, and operating a ground-based, tripod mounted Heckler and Koch 40mm Grenade Machine Gun (GMG) near Zabol, southern Afghanistan, during Operation Janub Zilzila

Report: Karen Thomas
Pictures Sgt Craig Allen

IN the summer of 2006 the 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment underwent a baptism of fire as part of the Nato expeditionary force in southern Afghanistan.

Overthrown from government in the capital Kabul in the aftermath of 9/11 and driven south to its poppy heartland in Helmand Province, the Taliban had regrouped in strongholds and began harvesting the opiate to fund its ongoing insurgency. Sangin, Musa Qala, Kajaki, Lashkar Gar and Gereshk provided safe havens along the lush Helmand River valley now known as the green zone.

The men of 16 Air Assault Brigade fought ferocious battles in searing temperatures with a fanatical enemy, which had resolved to recapture the district centres and compounds at all costs from the 3 Para troops. Living in the most spartan conditions, the paratroopers repelled the unrelenting attacks and began to squeeze the Taliban out of town.

Every six months since 3 Para returned from Op Herrick 4 the baton for defeating a tenacious enemy has passed between brigades. This summer 16 AA Bde deployed again to Helmand but it has been the 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment that has borne the brunt of the fighting in the green zone.

The men of 3 Para were sent on a different mission working directly for a Canadian general. They found themselves back in Helmand and, for the first time, in neighbouring Kandahar and Zabol provinces. They sought out Afghans in places where few Isaf had been, working with local communities on development projects to get them on side with the new government and facing down any Taliban that crossed their path.

But the memories of the green zone were still fresh for 60 per cent of the regiment who lived through the fire of two years ago. Soldier recounts 3 Para’s Op Herrick 8 tour and asked the paratroopers who had returned to Afghanistan’s badlands how their work in 2008 compared to that of 2006.

3 Para Op Herrick 8 2008

march and april

3 PARA were first sent to Maywand district in Kandahar province. In Hutal, A Coy built a new forward observation base (FOB) for the Afghan National Army (ANA) and Police (ANP) to secure the town, which lies on the main route between Kandahar city and Helmand province.
A Shura – or council of elders – was called to find out what facilities were most needed in the town. Local artisans were used to renovate a school and install electricity in the health clinic. The school saw a four-fold increase in attendance and the market began to thrive as the community felt less intimidated by the Taliban.
The shuras continued to keep the Afghan civilians updated and strengthened their rapport with Isaf, the ANA and ANP.
The paratroopers were deployed to the desert to screen A Coy from Taliban attacks and disrupt the insurgents’ activities. This included a short strike operation to find a suspected bomb maker. On their first air assault the troops had to carry everything supported only by fully-loaded quad bikes.
They landed in a blooming poppy field and worked with the ANP when searching compounds. The Taliban attacked with their trademark “shoot and scoot” tactics.

may

The paratroopers returned to Helmand. As temperatures soared into the high 40s, they sheltered from Taliban mortars in shell scrapes, drinking up to 12 litres of water a day to stave off dehydration. The battlegroup punched into the green zone around Qal-eh Gaz, a valley between Gereshk and Sangin, forcing the Taliban to flee in the face of overwhelming force.

june

THE battlegroup deployed by air assault to the Mizan district of Zabol province. The troops were searching for weapon caches in mountain caves and tunnel systems discovered in a village at the foot of the slopes. On the third night the patrols platoon providing overwatch from the mountain slopes came under a sustained two-hour mortar and small arms attack. One member described it as more ferocious than anything he had endured during 2006.
The paras embarked on their first tour of Kandahar city where they lived in the landmark stadium in the wake of a massive prison break. After a week of foot patrols the local Afghans began to come out onto the streets increasingly confident that the Taliban were not around.

july

AS B Coy took R&R, A Coy conducted a strike op in a remote and barren area of Kandahar province with the ANA. On its return, B Coy pushed the furthest south in Helmand province that British Forces had been before moving to FOB Inkerman to cover for 2 Para’s R&R.

august

THE troops were back in Maywand district, establishing a permanent Isaf presence and looking for significant Taliban and drug lord figures in the community.
They found signs of an enemy hospital and large amounts of money and opium left behind in a hurried retreat. They detained a number of Taliban and held the first district governor-led shura for some years. Preparations then began for the biggest Nato operation since British Forces first deployed to Afghanistan.

september

OP Oqab Tsuka delivered a turbine to Kajaki by road which will increase the power output down the Helmand valley and into Kandahar. 3 Para commanded the op to repel Taliban attacks and allow safe passage of the convoy through the worst stretch of its journey with 2 Para and the ANA in support.