Terrain domination: Troops from 4 Bde secure the ground at Copehill Down

Report: Joe Clapson
Pictures: Steve Dock

AN URGENT call of “IED, IED” crackled over the radio while overhead the constant whirring of helicopter blades reaffirmed the amount of top cover being provided to the troops on the ground.

As an Afghan shura took place between British personnel and elders in the village of Towghi Keli, an EOD team moved in to safely dispose of the bomb, causing
a deafening explosion but thankfully
no casualties.

On this occasion the call signs and rapid efficiency with which the British and Afghan soldiers moved in to secure positions were all part of a final training exercise (FTX) on Salisbury Plain.

But the drills were the culmination of 18 months of preparation carried outby 4th Mechanized Brigade in readiness for deployment to Helmand province and the troops will soon be doing it for real on Operation Herrick 12.

The whole area of the Plain’s green expanse had been transformed into a parallel Helmand for the training.

For the shura, which was guarded by actual members of the Afghan National Army (ANA), Bowden Down Farm was known only as Towghi Keli.

Copehill Down represented the city of Sangin and, while on duty during the FTX and mission rehearsal exercise (MRX), the 3,500 soldiers were to work and sleep as if they were in theatre.

“This is Helmand,” 4 Bde media ops officer Capt John Gilbody told Soldier at a military cordon. “We have just put it on Salisbury Plain.

“This exercise is as realistic as it’s ever going to be – we’ve a lot of assets that you would not usually see in normal training.”

On both sides of the road by the cordon, the IED-disposal teams were carrying out ground clearance while Jackal vehicles cruised across the difficult terrain.

The whole situation was being watched over by two Sea King helicopters.

“Air-to-land integration is very important in Afghanistan so it’s crucial that we train with everything as it would be out there,” said Capt Gilbody, who is set to be based
in Lashkar Gah.

“The troops here will be exposed to everything that could happen to them in theatre – it’s a huge spectrum of activity.”

Headquarters 4 Bde is based in Catterick and its troops last deployed on operations to Iraq on Op Telic 11 in 2007-08.

Since September 2008, personnel serving with the brigade have carried out manoeuvres in Canada, Kenya and the Czech Republic, but it was on Salisbury Plain where the all-important mission-specific training took place.

“There is no more general war training, it is focused directly on Afghanistan,” explained Capt Gilbody.

An operations room mimicking Lashkar Gah has been set up on West Down Camp, with 250 troops working on computers – just like at the hub of information and intelligence found in theatre.

Capt Georgie Dunn, who serves with 204 Signal Squadron, will be working as an ops officer in Helmand province.

She said: “We are using real, up-to-date information from Afghanistan in training.

“To have the continuity is good because we’ve got soldiers who don’t have to worry about having to change and adapt to the different environments.”

There has also been a huge emphasis on training to counter the IED threat and to safely dispose of devices that are found.

On Herrick 12, 33 Engineer Regiment (EOD) will be working to rid Helmand of the makeshift bombs, which have caused the majority of British fatalities in Afghanistan.

Maj Matt Davies, counter-IED specialist with 33 Engr Regt (EOD), explained the
role of his unit.

“We’ll be working as a joint force with RLC high-threat operators. This was a good opportunity to come together as a task force and most importantly to work with the battlegroup.”

Scenarios on the ground on the FTX and MRX prepare personnel for the deadly spectre of IEDs.

“There are devices which simulate the effects of an IED going off,” said Maj Davies. “That tests the engineers whose counter-IED training has been increased.”

Back in the ramshackle village, a gathering of Afghan nationals strode into the open-air settlement to attend a shura.

While the locals sat barefoot on mats, speaking in Dari about local issues, British Servicemen and women watched from seats. Their role was to observe and listen, not to take part – exactly the same as will happen in Afghanistan.

“We are not part of the shura, we have just enabled it to take place,” said Lt Saf Greenwood (1 Mercian)

“For the purposes of training there are six members of the ANA here, which adds real value.”

Speaking to Soldier after the shura, Capt Khaliluraman Mangal, 3rd Battalion ANA, explained the significance of the training the British have been undergoing.

“It is important because Afghanistan is a Muslim country and the culture is totally different to here.

“It is good that that the British are attending shuras and seeing the Afghan people – if they do not they will increase the problems in Helmand.”

The Afghan officer added: “If foreign forces are not Muslim the locals think they are invaders, but when they see the British as supporters of our country it will make them realise they are there to help.”

As with many of the Army’s training facilities, Salisbury Plain has undergone massive changes to turn it into an area capable of recreating modern theatres of conflict.But while the Helmand-style desert is notable only by its absence and the weather may be slightly colder, the skills and drills drummed into soon-to-deploy troops from 4 Brigade are as close to the real thing as it is possible to get.

No-one can predict what challenges Herrick 12 will bring, but the extensive knowledge of those serving on it means it should present few surprises.