Officer joins Haiti relief effort |
Medics from the Canadian Armed Forces provide first aid to victims of Haiti’s devastating earthquakes
BRITAIN must maintain its efforts on Op Herrick to ensure its investment of “blood and treasure” does not go to waste, according to the head of the Army.
Speaking on BBC Radio Five Live, Gen Sir David Richards said the recent troop surge into Afghanistan meant that the mission in the country now had sufficient international military support.
But the Chief of the General Staff stressed that the allied community’s efforts would ultimately only be successful if Afghanistan’s own security forces are sufficiently well trained.
“I don’t think there will be a military presence in the shape it is today for more than about three-to-five years, but we’ve got to do this properly,” Gen Richards told presenter Kate Silverton.
“There’d be nothing worse than we hand over to an Afghan army and police that are not yet properly prepared to take over the role.
“But I don’t see why, in the case of Afghanistan where we’ve invested so much blood and treasure already, that we would just get out altogether.”
Comparing the public perception of the war with the middle years of Op Telic, Gen Richards said that an increase in equipment and soldiers on the ground would signify the start of a “more successful” period.
“Two years ago [in Iraq], people thought the country was about to implode. It looked pretty disastrous,” the senior officer explained.
“Today people are cautiously optimistic and I think we’ve just got to give Afghanistan time now.
“I know people have said we’ve had long enough, but actually we knew the ingredients – we never resourced them and understood the correct formula.
“I’m confident that in the next year, with all the extra resources about to go in, that it will become more successful and we’ll see our way out of it.”
Despite the combat troops in southern Afghanistan gaining the most public recognition, Gen Richards was quick to praise the British Army’s often-unheralded work in providing reconstruction and security for Helmand’s civilian population.
“What’s the most important thing to all of us? It’s actually security,” he said. “It’s the ability to go to work in the morning or to go shopping without risk of being blown up.
“We’re too often associated with killing and blowing others up. Actually what we most like to be associated with is securing other people’s lives. Nothing gives us more satisfaction and when we get the resources right we can do that.”
LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN
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SWAG |
FORCE FOR GOOD |
QUIDS IN |
| 1 |
£7,045 |
MIKE BUSS
Ex-Serviceman Buss smashed the 468-mile record for the furthest distance travelled on a treadmill in 24 hours by covering an astonishing 517 miles |
Help for Heroes |
| 2 |
£5,098 |
ALPHA TROOP, 256 SIGNAL SQUADRON
Soldiers from the strategic communication troop completed a sponsored 24-hour rowathon before marching the length of Hadrian’s Wall carrying combat fitness test weight in their bergens |
Help for Heroes and Cancer Research |
| 3 |
£1,719 |
124 FIELD SQUADRON, ROYAL ENGINEERS
Seven super-fit volunteers serving with the Cumbernauld Territorials took on the challenge of the 2009 Glasgow Half Marathon |
Scotland’s National Centre for Conductive Education |
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Wait out: Soldiers take a pause from patrolling during Op Lion’s Leap, which took place in Babaji district
SOLDIERS from the Coldstream Guards have penetrated a key insurgent stronghold in Helmand province as part of the ongoing campaign to bring development and reconstruction to the region.
Operation Lion’s Leap saw troops from 1 Company, 1st Battalion inserted by Chinook helicopter behind a strategic location in Babaji district so they could engage with local nationals.
The move was made in the western outskirts of the district, an area that was hard won by International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) personnel during last year’s Operation Panchai Palang (Panther’s Claw).
With patrols in these villages a rarity, the soldiers worked hard to find out what the resident Afghans needed and what issues they had.
“Certainly this area is fairly immature in terms of Helmand for how long Isaf troops have been here,” said OC 1 Company, Maj Toby Till.
“One of the most important things was for us to understand the local population and find out who the individual compound owners were.”
The troops spent two days on the ground and, despite coming under fire on one occasion, they returned safely to their patrol base.
“The contact was just a shoot and scoot,” said LCpl Tom Huchinson.
“We were defending a roadway and a guy jumped out from behind a corner and fired a few rounds at us and jumped back in again.
“We got a few rounds down at him but we didn’t hit him, we just chased him away basically.
“But we like to think it’s not really representative of the people here, he’s not really representing what they feel.
“He’s just a foreign fighter probably, they’re only here in groups of five or ten or so.”
The guardsmen also took part in the celebrations for Eid, an important date in the Muslim calendar, and visited homes to distribute gifts to more than 100 families which had a positive effect in terms of the information gathered about the region.
A medic provided treatment for a young girl at an informal village shura and troops spent a night in an abandoned compound that had no electricity or toilet facilities, with cooking restricted to an open fire.
LCpl Huchinson added: “We did some soft knock operations, basically knocking on a few doors to find out who the people are, what we can do for them and what they need in the way of building or construction.
“We’ve made a difference, we’ve reached out to different areas where the people before us could not reach.
“We have influenced this area in a positive way.”
Herrick kit boost announced
THE MoD has announced plans for a £900 million enhancement package for operations in Afghanistan to ensure troops have the resources they need to achieve success in the country.
With the department facing challenging financial pressures, Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth stated that spending would be reprioritised to balance the books and meet the demands of the campaign in Afghanistan.
The package will be delivered from the core defence budget and will improve troops’ safety and operational capability over the next three years.
Included among the enhancements will be 22 new Chinook helicopters to boost the number of airframes in theatre, an additional C-17 aircraft and improvements to the Army’s counter-IED capabilities.
Communications will be improved with the provision of more Bowman tactical radios and patrol satellite systems, while increased funding will be made available for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance capabilities.
In addition to the MoD package the Treasury will provide £280 million for additional vehicles, weapons, communications and surveillance assets.
This will include a 31 per cent increase in Husky tactical support vehicles deployed in Afghanistan, a 40 per cent rise in Jackal numbers and more equipment to combat the threat posed by IEDs.
To provide these vital assets, the MoD has had to make difficult decisions regarding areas of defence not directly linked to operations.
An independent review will be launched to examine whether further reductions can be made to the number of civilians working in defence while the number of Service personnel not critical to operations will be cut by 2,500.
This will be achieved by slowing recruitment and preventing extensions to service rather than through redundancies.
Harrier numbers will also be reduced, with the remaining aircraft being moved to RAF Wittering, resulting in the closure of RAF Cottesmore.
The Nimrod MR2 will be taken out of service in March – 12 months earlier than planned – and the introduction of the Nimrod MRA4 will be delayed until 2012.
On announcing the package, Mr Ainsworth said: “These decisions have not been taken lightly but these are tough times for everyone in defence and we must ensure we prioritise spending on operations to achieve success in Afghanistan.
“As we implement the changes we will ensure that safety requirements are maintained and those people affected are supported.”
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Aces with spades: Deepcut-based loggies clear the snow from outside Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey
MILITARY personnel braved the arctic winter weather to help those affected by the severe snowstorms that swept across Britain in early January.
Heavy snowfall saw 600 vehicles stranded on the A3 in Hampshire and 47 Regiment, Royal Artillery deployed a Land Rover and a four-tonne truck to provide humanitarian aid at the southern end of the blocked road.
A further Land Rover and three four-tonne trucks belonging to 104 Battalion, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers deployed from their base in Bordon to offer similar assistance at the northern end of the A3 around Petersfield.
Along the way two trucks helped 200 stranded vehicles on the A325 near Bordon by transporting motorists to a rest centre in the town.
More than 30 troops from 47 Regt RA, 104 REME and Aldershot Garrison were called into action to recover snowed-in lorries, coaches and tankers as well as clearing roads of fallen trees and taking beleaguered drivers to emergency aid centres.
The following day seven Land Rovers from the Royal Military Police based at Longmoor deployed with ten soldiers to help assist more motorists on the A3.
In the north east, soldiers from 146 Field Company, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers – part of 15 Brigade – worked with charity Sue Ryder to deliver meals to vulnerable people in south Yorkshire.
Across the Pennines, 42 Brigade handled a request from United Utilities to assist with the movement of chemicals to an isolated treatment plant in Cumbria.
Back in the south, 43 (Wessex) Brigade provided 4x4 vehicles to move staff to and from hospitals in Bath, Cirencester and Blandford while 49 (East) Brigade helped transport non-critical patients and equipment to hospitals in Colchester.
Royal Logistic Corps soldiers based at Deepcut also offered assistance by clearing emergency access routes to allow ambulances to reach Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey.
Radio key to family’s fortunes
A BRITISH-FUNDED scheme to distribute wind-up radios to the people of Helmand province helped reunite a lost child with his family.
The five-year-old boy was found wandering alone in Musa Qala district centre by an Afghan National Army patrol which then used the Radio in a Box (RIAB) equipment to put out a plea over the airwaves for his relatives to come and collect him.
It did not take long for the child’s uncle, a pharmacist working in the nearby bazaar, to come forward and the lost boy was soon reunited with his parents.
Sgt Casper Grainger, a British Army senior NCO serving in southern Afghanistan as part of the team running the radio project, said: “It just goes to show the power the RIAB can have.
“We know it is effective because of the letters we receive – it is not unusual for us to receive up to 150 a week; some of support, some asking for certain songs to be played and some with specific messages.”
RIAB, which is jointly funded by the MoD, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development, is administered by the International Security Assistance Force and has been running in Afghanistan for the last four years.
Originally set up to provide Afghan civilians with a different source of news to the Taliban’s, RIAB is now used extensively to advise local residents about impending operations, warn children about the dangers of playing with explosives and other munitions and as a community information tool.
Local residents act as the DJs and broadcast a mixture of music, education and comedy programmes to the radio units, which are stored in hardened cases to protect them from the elements.
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Public support key says Rammell |
THE British public must have a better understanding of the military and how they operate if the UK is to prevail in Afghanistan, Armed Forces Minister Bill Rammell has said.
Speaking at the Institute for Public Policy Research in London, the MP admitted his concern that most people in the UK had no direct connection to those in uniform and could not relate to modern operations.
Mr Rammell told the Institute: “We all need to have a better understanding of the Armed Forces and what they are doing because it is on the home front that Afghanistan will be won or lost. The Taliban and Al Qaeda know this.
“Military operations, and the money to pay for defence, relies on the willingness of the public to support the policies of the government of the day and a preparedness to pay the taxes.”
Mr Rammell said it was right that the Government was challenged over its decisions, adding: “No British Government would ever commit military forces to an operation unless it genuinely believed that the national interest depended on it.”
