Super-size me: Sangers stand tall as monuments to the engineers’ skill as they provide 24-hour COB watch

Report: Karen Thomas
Pictures: Graeme Main

AS enduring as the foundations they build, 21 Engineer Regiment sappers were on hand when soldiers were called to respond to changes in the Op Telic 11 tempo.
The tour proved as unpredictable for the engineers as it did for everyone else working at the Contingency Operating Base (COB) in Basra. Halfway through, Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) tackled the wave of fighting that engulfed the province, requesting the support of the British Army in their successful bid to restore peace. But the sappers had the right formula for mixing up their widely varying tasks.
The COB got improved protection from insurgent attacks as the Great Wall of Basra and five super sangers went up. Iraqi bases in Basra and on the Iranian border also received some special sapper treatment, as did the Iraqis themselves when they were trained in combat engineering and mine awareness skills. Roads around the city and province were repaired by the engineers, keeping vital routes open for British troops.
The workload taken on by Sgt Rob Williamson, 73 Armd Engr Sqn, reflected on a tour that demanded many different sets of the engineer’s specialist skills. He assessed the safety of bridges, approved locations for forward operating bases and was embedded with the Scots Guards battle-group on strike operations.
“They did the striking and my job was to give them the explosive method of entry into buildings. I’ve trained with my team to get them to a good enough standard to break down a door if they needed to.
“I have probably had the best tour in the regiment. I’ve been on the ground, into Basra with the battle-group and managed to do my job.
“It’s taken my infantry perspective to a whole new level.”

Getting out and about

Get stuck in: Donned in full combats, the sappers clear a route of debris after a roadside bomb attack

CLEARING a route of debris caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) and making the road useable was just one of the tasks assigned to 73 Armd Engr Sqn. At very short notice, the sappers were called on to repair a badly damaged culvert on a vital convoy route. Less than a day later, they had fixed it so an articulated lorry could rumble across it.
In Basra, they got stuck into building showers and latrines for the Military Transition Teams (MiTTs) working with the Iraqi Army. On the Iranian border, sappers-turned-chippies made desks and carried out repair and maintenance work for the Iraqi officers based at the crossing points. Back home they stepped in for the infantry and provided force protection for the COB.
SSgt Nobby Hall praised the effort his sappers had put into being soldiers, combat engineers and tradesmen.
“If the lads are stuck doing a mundane but necessary job morale goes down, but when an operation goes out everyone wants to get on board. They have done really well as they have been working out of their trades.”

Super sangers and super Iraqis

Explosive partnership: Sappers train Iraqi trainers in the arts of mine awareness and detecting unexploded ordnance

SAPPERS of 4 Armd Engr Sqn turned their hand to mentoring Iraqi Army engineers while putting their backs into building five super sangers. The sturdy towers provide a 24-hour watch over the COB, as the engineers supervise their Iraqi counterparts. The British sappers helped rebuild forts and camps sited around Basra and trained the Iraqi 14th Division Engineer Regiment trainers in combat engineering and mine awareness.
Spr Joe Corrigan thought himself lucky to be chosen to impart life-saving knowledge on the deadly munitions, many of which were buried during the Iran-Iraq war.
“For two hours each day I’d go to an Iraqi Army camp and train them in mine awareness. They had very little knowledge of mines, which surprised me, and I think they found the training very beneficial,” he explained to Soldier. “I worked with the instructors who would pass on the training. They were eager and enthusiastic to learn and became very good at the drills on how to extract themselves from minefields. It made me feel dead proud.”

Great Wall of Basra

Concrete collaboration: Spr Tony Sivo works with Iraqi contractors on the Great Wall

THE wall was built by 7 HQ Squadron sappers to increase security of the COB and offer a degree of force protection.
It cost $6 million (about £3 million), all of which was ploughed into the local economy through hiring Iraqi contractors and sourcing the materials within country.
Vital statistics:
• 18 weeks’ building time
• 11.5km perimeter
• 6,500 ‘T’ wall blocks
• 12 feet high
• 5 feet wide
Cpl Fitzy Fitzell and his team worked with the same Iraqi contractors for four months. As well as constructing an engineering feat, they built a strong rapport with their colleagues.
He said: “The Iraqis are self-sufficient and know what they’re doing. When we finished one camp section, two of them brought in a dinner of traditional Iraqi fare. We sat down with them and ate it all. Although we have to accept the fact that building the wall might take longer, we are boosting the Iraqi economy.”