Task Force Helmand Engineer Group News Letter

Edition 10 31 July 2011

Commanding Officers Foreword

Salaamu alaikum At the very beginning of our deployment on Op HERRICK 14 I gathered the TFH Engineer Group command team together and briefed them on the approach I wanted to take during our time together in Central Helmand. I majored on 3 themes; professional soldiering standards, a focus on mission success and adopting a campaign approach. These 3 themes have kept the Engineer Group on track during the demanding times we have shared in Afghanistan and they are as relevant now as they were when I briefed them back in March. I thought now, as we drive towards the end of the tour, was a good time to remind you all what I said: 1 4 Professional Soldiering Standards I stated at the very start of pre-deployment training that our highest training priority was to be individual soldiering skills; especially fitness, operational shooting, battlefield lifesaving skills, communications, and understanding counter-insurgency and cultural issues. This direction has successfully steered us through our training and driving professional soldering standards is to remain a high priority throughout HERRICK 14. I expect the chain of command to drive pro-

Inside this issue:

Regimental Headquarters 54 Commando HQ & Support Squadron 3 Armoured Engineer Squadron 26 Armoured Engineer Squadron 31 Armoured Engineer Squadron (Talisman) 39 Armoured Engineer Squadron

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59 Commando Squad- 23 ron Support Commando Sappers in AfghanistanWrist Bands 30

Commanding Officer Task Force Helmand Engineer Group Lt Col L Tingey

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Commanding Officers Foreword(continued)

fessional soldiering standards, battlefield skills and drills, battlefield discipline, field-craft and the wearing of individual protective equipment at all times; I have no doubt that we will save lives and serious injuries if we get this right. As Sappers our ability to deliver on operations is invariably driven by our resources, equipment and plant. HERRICK 14 is no different and I therefore expect everyone in the TFH Engr Gp to take their responsibilities for resourcing, equipment husbandry and equipment care seriously. Finally, I expect our general standards of discipline and dress to be beyond reproach; there is no excuse for sloppiness in either area, irrespective of role or battlefield location. The RSM has already made his views on this extremely clear; he has my full support and, again, I expect the chain of command to lead by example and to demonstrate their moral courage by gripping this issue. Mission Success The TFH Engineer Group will be required to provide the full spectrum of military engineer effect to TFH, and other coalition partners as directed, throughout HERRICK 14. For clarity we will adopt the familiar framework of enabling the Fight, Move and Live. Afghan National Security Force Development will be an important 4 th enabling task. Significantly, enabling the Fight, Move, Live and Afghan National Security Force Development will enable TFH to deliver its Decisive Objectives. This will require a determined, imaginative, pragmatic and resourceful approach from all levels within the TFH Engineer Group. I expect everyone to be focussed on mission success and to be utterly ruthless in achieving it; a forward leaning attitude that is driven by solutions rather than problems, freedoms rather than constraints is vital. Everyone must be prepared to think up, down, sideways and outside the box. Furthermore, I expect everyone to be absolutely clear on the decisive level within the TFH Engineer Group; the Section and the Troop. These are the levels that invariably support the ground holding sub-units and it is these levels that are to be viewed as the supported; all other levels of command are supporting. The importance of an offensive spirit must also never be forgotten; when it is required it must be used ruthlessly against those that seek to undermine the legitimate efforts of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Afghan National Security Forces. A Campaign Approach Key to all of our thinking must be the HERRICK 14 mantra of People First, Insurgent Second and the view that HERRICK 14 sits firmly on the seam between the Deepening of the Hold in Central Helmand and the transfer of lead security authority to the people of Afghanistan. Therefore, overarching all our efforts on HERRICK 14 are the requirements to focus on locally driven Afghan solutions to Afghan problems and to set the conditions for the transfer of lead security authority to the Afghan National Security Forces in line with the Helmand Plan. We must, therefore, adopt a campaign approach throughout HERRICK 14. We must maintain campaign continuity with the HERRICK 13 TFH Engineer Group, rapidly establish the December 14 End-state and then work backwards to establish our way forward; Afghan National Security Force infrastructure is one such area where this approach is vital. We must always be mindful that 6 months is a very short time in Afghanistan; all progress must be driven by our Afghans partners and must help to set the conditions for the success of HERRICK 15 and beyond. Further, as a TFH Engineer Group we will collectively drive forward the development of the Afghan Engineer Tolay and the evolving Afghan Route Clearance Company. I have no doubt that we will be required to deliver progress across all 3 Lines of Operation (Security, Governance and Development) throughout HERRICK 14. However, I assess that progress along the Security Line of Operation will remain the primary focus of TFH and that Combined Force action will be decisive in delivering it. Direct support to the Combined Forces will therefore be my highest priority on HERRICK 14, with other tasks and resources being prioritised against the assessed need thereafter. I firmly believe that continuing to focus on these 3 key areas will keep the TFH Engineer Group on a sound footing for the remainder of HERRICK 14. Professional soldiering standards, a focus on mission success and adopting a campaign approach will ensure thatUnited We Conquer. Commanding Officers Footnote: I hope you are all well and are beginning to see a small light at the end of the tunnel. As always, I continue to be impressed, humbled and extremely grateful for the continued efforts and support of those deployed in Afghanistan, the Rear Ops Groups and the numerous friends and family who are living and breathing Op HERRICK 14 with their loved ones. Take care.

De khuday pa amaan CO

24 COMMANDO ENGINEER REGIMENT OPERATION HERRICK MEDALS AND WELCOME HOME PARADE THURSDAY 6 OCTOBER 11
24 Commando Engineer Regiment will be conducting our Medals & Welcome Home Parade on Thursday 6th October 2011 and are inviting all friends and families of the Regiment to celebrate this occasion. The day will consist of a Medals Parade followed by a buffet lunch and then the Regiment in its entirety will march through our home village of Braunton. The day will culminate with a social function on RMB Chivenor.

Timings for the day:

1030 1100 hrs 1120 hrs 1125 1300 hrs 1315 1415 hrs 1500 1545 hrs 1600 2000 hrs Families and Guests arrive at RMB Chivenor All Families and Guests seated for the Medals Parade Medals Parade RMB Chivenor Buffet Lunch Regimental Welcome Home March through Braunton Regimental Social Function & BBQ

Children's activities and Regimental displays will run throughout the social function.

Transport will be provided to and from the married quarters to the Medals Parade and then onto and back from Braunton. For further information contact Duty Welfare Officer, Sgt Paul Southwick Monday Friday, 0800hrs 1600hrs on (01271) 857713 Please keep in touch through Task Force Helmand Engineer Group Facebook Page Click on link

Task Force Helmand Engineer GroupFacebook Page

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Task Force Helmand Engineer Group

54 Commando Headquarters and Support Squadron OCs Farewell

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It is with a heavy heart and much sadness that I hand over my command of 54 Commando Squadron. When I commissioned into the Army 20 years ago it was to command men, in particular on operations. Since then I have been fortunate to spend 10 years of my service in 3 Commando Brigade, Royal Marines serving as a Commando Sapper. I have deployed widely and served with many units, but I can honestly say that my time in command of 54 Commando Squadron has been the best 2 years of that service. I have been supported throughout by an able and professional team, with well motivated and committed soldiers. Together we have achieved so much, from running the Regiments first PNCO Cadre, to completing the construction tasks and jungle training in Belize on Ex SAILFISH last year, to supporting 5 other sub units in the TFH Engr Regt on a demanding operational tour. I have many fantastic memories, ranging from Major Bradshaw inspecting the Squadron in Belize, picking up the troops for not being ally enough, to being guest of honour at the Cpls Christmas function and Cpl Cutler successfully leading me astray all the way to Tokos nightclub! A particular highpoint was seeing so many of my senior sappers successfully complete their PNCO Cadres over the last 2 years. Of particular delight was LCpl Smith delivering a first rate performance and achieving top student on the 2010 cadre in Hohne. Ours is a squadron of characters and a squadron with character; above all in the last 2 years I believe we have built a team that lives and breaths the commando ethos and oozes commando spirit. Although we provide a diverse range of capabilities and operate as small bands of determined men, we have a common grounding; I firmly believe that people fight in tribes, and at troop and squadron level 54 Commando Squadron is a tribe and a tight one at that. The squadron has a proud history, formed as it was in 1900 as a Field Company at Chatham for service in the Second Boer War, fighting in Burma in 1944 and 45 as part of Field Marshal Slims 14 th Army and then inheriting the commando legacy in 2008 when the squadron re-formed as part of 24 Command Engineer Regiment. We must live up to that legacy every day, for it is on your legacy that you will be judged. On this tour I firmly believe the men of 54 Commando Squadron, performing a myriad of roles across the Engr Gp, imbedded in the Brigade Advisory Group and with the Brigade Recce Force, have lived up to the commando legacy and really delivered; I am immensely proud of all you have done and thank you all for the commitment, effort and humility that you have shown. With 7 weeks to push, I wish you all a safe and successful conclusion to the tour and know that you will support the new OC54 as well as you have done me. Thank you and farewell. An Army is a team. It eats, sleeps, lives and fights as a team. All this stuff you have heard about individuality is a bunch of crap. Every man, every department, every unit, is important to the vast scheme of things. General George S Patton, Jr. June 1944. Major Karl Parfitt TD, Officer Commanding , July 09 Aug 11

OC Maj Parfitt hands over to Maj Michael

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Support TroopAnother month ticks by

As another month draws to a close in sunny Afghanistan, the lads of Support Troop are starting to see a ray of light at the end of the Operation Herrick 14 tunnel. That ray of light just happens to be the end of tour! There may well be another month and a half to push, but we have broken the back of the tour and it feels good knowing we are nearly on the home straight. Most of the ABLE Section have booked a post tour holiday to Ibiza. All except Cpl That music makes my ears bleed! Nott; who has instead bought a new bathroom suite. Oh, the rock n roll lifestyle of a married soldier! Most of the lads have had their R&R or are currently enjoying a nice cold pint back in the UK as I am writing this article. Seeing the sad, depressed faces of the boys returning to theatre after 2 weeks of leave, is actually one of the main things spurring on us lads who were unlucky enough to have been spammed with the last few R&R slots. We are currently waiting for LCpl Pull up a sandbag Bradshaws triumphant return to Bastion, so he can spin 2 weeks worth of crazy alcohol related DITs to the troop that should take us through to decompression. I dont want anybody getting the wrong idea, Support Troop arent sat round twiddling our thumbs waiting for September to arrive. Work is ongoing and we are keeping ourselves busy. Whether it be carrying out Escort Multiple duties around Central Helmand, maintaining our vehicles and keeping on top of the relentless duty driver rota, there will always be a steady supply of jobs whether we want them or not. There is nothing more to say really so I am going to go to the gym and tick off another day on my chuff chart. 19 days until my R&R..Not that Im counting!! LCpl Scouse Royle ABLE Section

Resources TroopThe long, long, long journey so far!

We may have seven weeks till the end of our tour but it is still business as usual at the Engineer resources with the team having totally gelled and always capable of delivering at all times. Always give 100% at work is our motto. The past two weeks have seen the return of SSgt The Hannibal Wilkinson from his well deserved R&R - yes we missed you staff. It wont be long before Troopy and the dad to be Spr Rhodes are on the plane. We have also witnessed the departure of Dave who ended the tour early as he heads to good old Chatham for his class one fitter course. The celebrations are still ongoing Dave. The morale of the team is still very high even though the resources jogging club has lost one of its most valuable members; SSgt Wilko, who is on a different programme but we do aim to recruit LCpl Yam Penn to the squad. The health and safety visit was a great success and well done to everyone who has maintained the high standards of professionalism at all times. With the resources yard experiencing a surge in the amount of kit coming in, a new routine was introduced to enable the yard to be manned 24hrs. Unfortunately the routine didnt last for long thanks to the RAF not keeping up with the schedule which left us very disappointed - especially the night shift who were looking forward to doing a fabulous job. Last but not least big thank you to family and friends back at home who have continued to support us - please keep it up.

The Resources Troop Rule for Work.

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Task Force Helmand Engineer Group

3 Armoured Engineer Squadron

FOB SHAWQAT

Shall we put the FOB here!

The 5 July 2011 marked the first day of the final task for 1 Troop however, due to unforeseen delays at Nahidullah the words that no soldier wants to hear were muttered, SSM you will have to go forward and Command 1 Troop. That marked the end of 1 Troops morale. So off we went, a 3 man advance party consisting of Sgt (Lee) Amey, Spr (Dean) Courtis and WO2 (Taff) Hamilton. The first thing to do was establish our office and sleeping area and make arrangements for our 40 strong workforce who would arrive over the following few days. 24 hours later we were all set, site set out, accommodation sorted, and then it started. Working in Afghanistan is like catching a British Train Delay, Delay, Delay, from the arrival of the manpower to the arrival of the stores, all delayed! Eventually, a week late, stores started to arrive and a trickle of manpower began to turn up and with a very determined start by the lads of 1 Troop, the lost time was soon made up. The Hesco perimeter wall was being erected in double quick time thanks to the help of the local children who decided to lend a hand, though the Health and safety Merchants in the UK may have blanched at the sight of 5 year old children bouncing out razor wire in their Pyjamas!! The mail has started to reach the lads at their new location and the shock of working alongside the SSM (who contrary to popular belief did not join the Army as a SSM) is subsiding, morale is high and the Troop seem more determined than ever to complete the task ahead of time. The opportunity to get a cool, Ice-cream head inducing slush from a small EFI shop here may also have a huge contributing factor for the heightened Morale.

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Sgt Amey at work

Nearly 3 weeks in and the work is coming along nicely, more stores have arrived and even more importantly, more manpower. With a normal working routine being well established by Sgt Amey and his team, it was time for me to say my farewells and return to a more sedate pace of life in Bastion, with the rest of SHQ. With the back of the tour well and truly broken all the mens attentions have been well fixed on firstly finishing the task, and secondly returning home and re-acquainting themselves with well missed families and beer, only another 4 Weeks (RAF permitting) and they will be home. See you all soon. By SSM WO2 (SSM) A Hamilton

PB NAHIDULLAH COMPLETE!
Yes readers, your eyes do not deceive! B Coy 4 Scots are now sitting proudly in the newest, up-to-date, all singing, all dancing, level 3 accommodation in theatre. The bonuses for them include new welfare and dining facilities, more or less one toilet each and no cold gerry can showers any more. The down side is with 4 sangars and 6 CPs to man, they wont be able to enjoy their new facilities as they will be too busy stagging on or trimming their sideburns!! The final couple of weeks work was not as smooth as hoped for, so I shall enlighten you as to what occurred. All was going swimmingly and then July arrived, great we thought, the mythical halfway point was here, but the new month brought with it some un-foreseen problems. With all the other tasks being completed and this hurdle wobbling but passed, next came the water-jump the laundry units we had installed were in fact obsolete and needed replacing 5 minutes ago. Winners! Good job they werent surrounded by TCUs, accommodation tents and Hesco. Oh thats right they were! The lads were getting used to shifting tents by now, so they were ripped out in no time. Then it was time for the gladiator to enter the arena to save the day again. Fresh off the helo stepped the combat crane op LCpl Dan killer McLaren. He wasted no time, well actually about 6 lifts, to move the first unit to within reach of a DROPS vehicle however the second unit wasnt going to be that easy. It was too heavy for the reach of killers beast. With visions of TCUs being moved or Hesco stripped

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out, the REME SVR happened to drive by and there we had it well drag the bugger out. So we did. But with the handover looming we still had to get the new ones in and connected up sharpish. Well done to Plumber extraordinaire Spr Woz

Lt Farminer's bed space is eventually emptied

Warren and POM Spr Phil McCracken for going old-school and working til day break to get the job done. The handover came and went with no worries, and some of us even got to savour the fruits of our labours in the new showers, which after 10 weeks of cold gerry can Jesus showers, felt amazing. Oh and then every flight out of NDH with BAM pax booked on mysteriously got delayed or cancelled, so please raise your glasses to Cpl Dan Taylor and Spr John Zanku who were last seen ironing their T-shirts for breakfast as the last helo took off Joking aside, hello and a big thank you to all the loved ones at home for all of your support. The guys will be back before you know it. Have a drink for us! By SSgt Bri Mills

Cpl Roberts moaning again to SSgt Barker, These shovels are too short!

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PB ATTAL Update
A quick update from 2 Troop at PB ATTAL. Over the last couple of weeks the lads have been busy building the accommodation area. This has been a troop effort which has seen the abolishment of the shift pattern and back to the norm of early starts, late finishes and nice long lunch breaks to avoid the scorching midday heat. For some inexplicable reason the 0430hrs starts are not favoured by the majority of the troop, with all communications before breakfast being either grunts, growls or the occasional teddy bear flying through the air (and that is just the Troop Commander). By breakfast though the banter is back up and running, with Sprs Noodles Batstone, Ash Ritson and more controversially but not surprisingly, the Troop Commander on the receiving end of the majority of jovialities!

Santa found up a Chimney in FOB Shawqat

The task has run quite smoothly with the perimeter of the accommodation pad being built out of HESCO and the tents being put up quite quickly. The Troop Staff Sergeant Ronnie Barker claimed the tents would fly in but after one solid eight hour shift and only four tents complete out of the total of 44 it was swiftly realised that the thermal liners for these tents were no easy task. With a lot of swearing (again the Troop Commander) and a few rapped knuckles from rogue bungees, the tent construction drew to a close only to be succeeded by everyones favourite task concreting!! With a quick maintenance day to bring the kit and plant vehicles back to life Cpl Brown and Cpl Roberts sections moved onto four nights of extreme concreting. They were concreting 3 Bio Discs into the ground, which to save you all from the waffle often associated to this Troop Commander means about 12 hrs of solid shovelling for the concrete, which is no mean feat in these temperatures. Bizarrely, the morale of the lads seemed to improve the earlier into the morning the task got which is only testament to the bond between these fellas. Whilst the night shift were steadily chipping away at the concreting tasks, Cpl Rai and LCpl Ushers sections were on days, steadily cracking on with the construction of the EPATs (Expeditionary Protective Accommodation Technical). This would not have been an easy task to undertake were it not for the arrival of Cpl Rochester from 1 Troop who fortunately has experience in the dark art of EPAT roof construction. Apart from the hard work carried out by the other sections an elite splinter group, headed up by LCpl Shepherd went rogue to construct the HESCO wall around the perimeter. Hoping to beat a Personal Best set in FOB SHAZAD of 93 bays in a day, which I might add he is nowhere near achieving, leading to doubts as to the validity of the original claims, apparently his beloved SLDT (Self loading dumper truck) is not running at full strength at the moment! You make your own minds up...... On that bombshell, thats all from PB ATTAL until next week.

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26 Armoured Engineer Squadron

OCs Foreword
By the time this Newsletter reaches you, the Squadron will be into its sixth month in Afghanistan with the light at the end of the tunnel moving ever closer. The Sappers on the ground continue to impress with their work ethic and standards of construction. This week has seen 3 Troop build an Afghan Local Police checkpoint in Khar Nikah a week ahead of schedule, resulting in a tangible and positive effect on security in the local area along with a colourful Afghan opening ceremony. I was also privileged this week to receive on behalf of the Squadron a signed plaque from the Danish Commander as thanks for all the work that we have done in their Area of Operations over the last five months. Plans for our homecoming celebrations are being pulled together by the Regimental Rear Party in Hohne, with the medals parade still planned for 27th September before a well earned period of post operational leave starting after work on the 29 th September.

Danish Sports Day

RSOI Training for Armoured Engineers

The Sqn work very closely with the Danish Army, whom without we could never move our stores and equipment around our area of operations and therefore never have achieved what we have so far. Working alongside SSgt Gallagher and his team, the Danes have transported hundreds of ISO containers over the last 5 months. They are due to return to Denmark in the coming weeks, therefore a UK Engrs (26 and 39 AES) vs Danish sports day and BBQ was organised to thank them for their support. The sports day was organised

Trojan working hard with the ASG

by SSgt Gallagher and involved volleyball, 5-a-side football, darts, FIFA 2011 on the PS3, table tennis and nails followed by alcohol free beer and a curry. Volleyball expertly commanded by Spr Navacamadoublemochachocamacea but poorly supported by a rabble of distinctly average players. The UK Engrs comfortably won the first game. The Danes then came back to draw the scores and ensure a final decider. The Danes went 10 points up, however Spr Nav found
LCpl Nicholls getting thrashed at Table tennis

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form and brought the scores to 10-10. The Danes then came back and won the decider. First blood to the Vikings. Table Tennis A valiant attempt by UK Engrs, however it was only ever going to go one way. Total Danish victory, with hardly a UK point scored. 5-a-side Football The scene was set for an epic battle after much hype. Scores were drawn after half time at 22, however the Danes pulled it out of the bag and won the match 3-2 by the final whistle.

Darts Time for a proper athletes sport, none of this girly table tennis and volleyball. UK Engrs were favourites and brought out their best dartists. LCpl Milky Judds who is actually Andy Fordams love child comfortably won his dual by throwing his golden arrows straight and true. SSgt Dewsnap was up next. Another true athlete perfectly build for darts with a lower than average centre of gravity. He easily swept aside his opponent. UK Engrs pulled one back! PS3 football Best of 5 games and it was 2-2. Another final decider and after some shocking decisions by the referee the Danes won. We were starting to wish wed never invited them. Nails Surely we couldnt lose this one, although we were missing a key ingredient that usually accompanies this game alcohol. This was UK Engr territory, especially as the Danes had never played before. The only scare can from Sgt Tidderbomb Tidmarsh when he had to use both hands as a result of running out of strength. The result was total UK Engr victory. It was then onto prize giving and obviously the Danish had won overall. It was a fantastic event and allowed the Sqn to say a great thank you to the Danish for all their hard work and effort over the previous 5

Spr Nav with a winning shot

UK Engineers Volley Ball Team

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The Danish Nails team

RSOI Training for Armoured Engineers

months. It was also a great chance for Bastion based elements of the Sqn to have relaxing afternoon outside of the normal pattern of works.

Check Point MAIWANDI - Afghan Local Police Station

The fighting third have been kept busy down in PB Khar Nikah over the past few weeks, with the main focus being the build of Check Point (CP) MAIWANDI which is a base for the Afghan Local Police (ALP) to live and operate from. The build was a 30x30m HESCO compound with basic accommodation, kitchen, toilets and a shura area. The first day of the build was spent trying to fend away the local kids whilst a huge amount of stone and aggregate was delivered, luckily the insurgents decided to assist with a few random and inaccurate shots of AK47 fire. Once all the stone was delivered, it was in with the main HESCO walls. Luckily with two medium wheeled tractors the fill was used up in no time, even though the civilian operators decided to take a fag break every 5 minutes. Having being ahead of schedule and having used all the aggregate, the Section was allowed to return to the main base at Khar Nikah for some teamuch to the disappointment of Cpl Mackay. Days 2 and 3 were just your average HESCO filling days which we all know and love so much. The highlight being at the end of the third day where C Coy, 3 MERCIAN let loose their first JAVELIN and watching the ALP fighting over the free HESCO tools you get in every pack. No change there then. As the build went on the ALP tried to help out more and more, pointing out that they didnt need a urinal that we had build because they preferred to squat on the floor. The ALP were a good bunch and although they liked to air their opinions they ensured we had a healthy supply of water melons and bread throughout the task. The hardest part of the whole task was the build of the elevated sangar as the only bit of machinery able to reach it was the SLDT (Slowly Loading Dale Truck) operated by Spr Dale Sumner who likes to refer to himself as The Asset. We managed to finish the build on the ALP pass off day and also had a visit from an American General. Everyone was happy with the build and all in all it was a good job finished well ahead of schedule. by Spr Cooper

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Just your average HESCO filling day

3Tp in PB Khar Nikah

Little mans had a busy day, Cpl Mackay sleeping on the job

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Observation Post AKHTAR

Spr Somers lugging fill up to the EES

So far, our work in KNK has been a mixture of upgrades of base locations and close support taskings, with 3 Tp completing more explosive breaching tasks than the entire Engineer Group combined. One of our main tasks was to upgrade two outposts named OP AKHTAR and OP BAHAR. These were manned by a small team of Infantry and took the brunt of insurgent attacks on the KNK area. OP AKHTAR was first on the list, however due to its remoteness it caused significant issues with delivery of stores. It was decided that an Elevated Expeditionary Sangar (EES) was required as well as a full revamp of all amenities. With access only by foot, everything would be built by hand.

The stores for the EES were dropped by helicopter into a muddy field next to the compound. Once all stores were accounted for the build began and the framework for the EES was completed within the day. Knowing that we were going to be exposed above the protection of the compound walls, the lads had the next morning to rest before building the rest of the EES through the night. With no machinery, the lads had to fill Bergans with aggregate delivered by a local farmer, run it to the top of the EES and tip it out in to the HESCO baskets. It would take 72 trips to fill just one HESCO basket, there were fifteen baskets still to be filled. The lads got stuck into the build which was nothing short of exhausting and made excellent progress. One by one the HESCO baskets were filled until eventually after 1152 trips and 3 nights all sixteen were complete. This was a massive relief for the lads with an immediate morale boost once finished. With the sanger now completed, the ablutions followed. The lads dug out blind throughout the build and we all agreed that it was one of the most tiring and exhausting things that we had ever done. C Coy were extremely pleased with the new OP AKHTAR. It had more protection, better arcs of fire and superior living conditions. Overall, an excellent job in hot and sweaty conditions. by Cpl Taylor

Cpl Taylor Members of the Sect infront of the EES

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31 Armoured Engineer Squadron (Talisman) OCs Foreword.

Another 14 days have passed in the Afghan time machine and the TALISMAN Squadron is turning its attention to the preparation of vehicles and equipment ready to handover to 77 Armoured Engineer Squadron from Paderborn in early September. The operations have abated a little but we continue to support the Combat Logistic Patrols deep into the Green Zone surrounding the Helmand River. Thats not to say there isnt variety in all that we do; far from it. Every patrol or operation is different and requires a tailored approach from the threat assessments in planning through to the actions taken by our soldiers when interacting with locals and winning over their hearts and minds. In Afghanistan, the children are the vital ground. The next generation are watching us everyday; every action, reaction and initiative is scrutinised by their inquisitive minds. They strive for a better life and, in my experience at least, would prefer a pencil and paper over a bottle of fresh water and a pack of sweets. Schools are being created and developed but there arent nearly enough to school every child currently. For some, the opportunity may never come and they will follow countless generations into subsistence farming and the hand-to-mouth existence which is so prevalent in Helmand. That said, one should not underestimate the tenacity and innate street sense they have as I found out on one of the patrols with 2 Troop. Lastly, I would just like to reiterate the thanks and appreciation from all the soldiers under my command for your continued support. Welfare parcels, emails, blueys; they all raise morale and there is nothing better than returning from a long operation to a pile of mail. That is, provided there are no more than 5 items as that would cost the individual a crate of soft drinks for the troop! Still, definitely worth it in my view. Enjoy the articles. Sam Stuthridge. OC 31 Armd Engr Sqn

Out on another MUBAREZ

As with previous operations that 2 Troop have been involved with this Combat Logistic Patrol was supposed to be a relatively straight forward journey, starting and finishing at Camp Bastion.

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Starting to get dark!!!

We set out on the 22 July at 0730 hrs and headed across the vast, featureless Dashte (Pashtun for desert) south of Camp Bastion. It was a bumpy ride, the suspension of the vehicle creaking and groaning under us. Despite the GPS system in the lead vehicle breaking down on exit from the south gate, the Troop Search Advisor Sgt Steve Smith RE set a relentless pace, so fast that the Lynx helicopter providing over watch asked us to slow down. Major Sam Stuthridge the OC, was providing top cover on the troop stores vehicle and could be heard wailing in distress as his rib cage was pounded against the unforgiving edges of his cupola. At one point, looking behind my packet of vehicles, I was struck by the awesome sight of the Combat Logistic Patrol convoy, powering its way through the dust, stopping for no man, like a giant, aggressive metal serpent ready to breathe fire upon anybody who

would try and tangle with it. We reached the first check point within two hours, crossed the precision built piece of British engineering which is the envy of the civilized world that we call the Logistic Support Bridge and breathed a deep sigh of relief as we rolled onto the hard, smooth tarmac. The bumpy desert was like a fading nightmare and the tarmac held the sweet promise of a new day after an overnight thunderstorm. No IEDs dug into it, and no more listening to the endless groaning and wailing of the leaf spring suspension systems on our vehicles. The CLP had to make Before it started to go wrong!!! 3 deliveries at the next stop which was going to take quite a while so the decision was made to push 2 Troop further along the route we had to go down. This was because the route wasnt

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made of tarmac and was perceived as the highest threat area for this move. Over the net we heard that the CLP were having problems with one of their vehicles hydraulics which was causing a delay unloading the stores. This came as an enormous surprise to all of us as the CLP almost never have problems with their vehicles. What could have happened? Then another call, the rear vehicle of the CLP was coming under intense and sustained bombardment from children with stones. I sat, sweating in my body armour, fearing for the safety of those men, empathizing with the pure unadulterated terror they must be feeling under the hail of stones from the laughing children. Patiently we waited, cursing the faulty hydraulics under our breath. Clearly we should not have done this because Karma played its hand and we began to have a vehicle problem of our own! The SV(R) (recovery vehicle) had an air pressure fault causing complete brake failure. Fear not, a solution was at hand. The OC dismounted from the stores truck and cleared a safe lane back to the stricken vehicle, where our resident REME legend, call sign Rhythm Stick 69 Golf, known to his friends as LCpl Liam Gowan was able to try and repair the damage. Major Stuthridge stayed on hand to provide close protection while this vital recovery task was completed. At one point, I feared for his safety as a crowd of children began to move in. They approached the OC and tried to steal some of his kit, my heart was in my mouth, How will he save himself? I exclaimed to my crew. Luckily, Major Stuthridge is a man of almost unbound ingenuity. Looking to the sky for inspiration, he spotted two ISAF helicopters providing over watch for another operation. He looked down at the children, smiled in triumph and, taking the dangling end of his headset where he had detached it from his radio to dismount, spoke into it. Churlaka, churlaka (Helicopter, helicopter) he said, indicating that it should keep an eye on his light fingered friends. The children were now within 1 metre of him. At this point, expecting the children to scatter in terror, he smiled malevolently at them. These children were not your ordinary children though; they were Afghan streetwise. They fell about the place laughing hysterically, and the ringleader, a terrifying boy of at least 11 years, pointed at the limp, useless headset cable and mimed plugging it into something. This child was obviously nobodys fool. The OC, defeated, could only standby and receive their mocking laughter until LCpl Gowan had finished the task. And not a moment too soon, the CLP, having managed to work around the hydraulic problem and put another vehicle into a ditch on a straight tarmac road and eventually recover it, arrived snapping at our heels. We rolled tentatively forward, it was now dark and the children had been watching us for some time. Sgt Smith did a terrific job of guiding the convoy up a dark, bumpy and unforgiving wadi towards Highway One, the wide sweet tarmac which makes up the arterial route linking all of Afghanistan. Once on Highway One, we headed west, chasing the now long dead sun into the darkness before eventually seeing the bright orange glow of Camp Bastion appear out of the desert like a phoenix from the flames. As we entered the north gate I felt a weight lift off of my shoulders, we were home. I ripped off my headset with a feeling of pure, unadulterated, euphoric joy and headed to the Convoy Marshalling Area to enjoy a cigarette and a cup of tea. As I walked past the guys from the CLP I heard one of the Royal Logistics Corps soldiers shout to one of my men Youre an angel! A God send!, to which the proud Royal Engineer humbly replied No, Im just Talisman. by Lt Tim Gargan

The Never Ending Story

We are currently 5 months into our tour and the final tour countdown has begun. Op HERRICK 14 has flown by very quickly and we are now well over half way which does not leave LCpl Jay Sexfang much time to try his luck with the various nurses he has been meeting up with. He insists that every time he visits the Med Centre its for vital checkups, for what? Well thats another question; he certainly looks like a very healthy boy, not my type though! After a while spent in camp you start to miss the small things from back home. Obviously there are the usual family and friends, but also the little things like cold water, rather than the sun baked stuff here. Swimming in the local pool and I suppose even a little rain would be nice, not a complete down pour but it would be good if there was just enough to make a puddle. This puddle should be big enough to push LCpl Betts into while she is on her way for her daily skive at the Bastion 2 internet suite, oops did I let that slip. One sound that no one will miss from our beloved camp comes from the American Ospreys (helicopters). During the day, when everyone is up and working the Ospreys take a wide birth around our small camp. But when darkness falls the pilots must think we are an easy target as they choose to fly at a low altitude straight over our accommodation. All I can say is a big thank you, we love getting woken up in the middle of the night (hopefully you will notice a slight hint of sarcasm!!). It would be nice if there were more than a few metres between the tents and the bottom of their airframe. On another note, it is general knowledge that women generally take more care of their bodies than men. This isnt true with our Squadron; there are quite a few men out here that are considerably more tanned than when they arrived. Spr Richards has found more time than most to work on his tan, but however, there is one person that has gone that extra mile to get the all over one colour tan. Unfortunately for me I have the daily chore of finding Jay Seyfang outside our tent, lounging in the sun with just a sock to cover himself. Hopefully after the tour I wont need to share the same accommodation with him again. He will be upset about that I am sure!!!!!

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LCpl Jay Seyfang (Dogs Body)

The SQMS department have been kept busy whilst in Afghanistan, but it really began before we even arrived. It stated right back in September with the build up to our exercise in Jordan and has continued ever since. The team of 4 have worked well together and we have been involved in someway with every operation the Squadron have been involved in. It can get busy and confusing from time to time as we prepare for the outgoing troops, incoming troops and any others that are in the pipeline. They say there is no rest for the wicked (which means LCpl Seyfang is very very tired). One good thing to come out this is that the time really does fly by, apart from at 0600hrs when I get out of bed for PT. I am not a morning person!!!!! We look forward to the next month and a half and hope that it passes as quickly as the last few. By LCpl B Mahoney & The Sexfang (LCpl J Seyfang)

LCpl Seyfang, fortunately dressed in more than a sock however still somehow managing to scar the Sqn SSgt Dave Welsh (SQMS)

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39 Armoured Engineer Squadron OCs Final Foreword

Salaamu alaikum. Once again the Squadron has had another successful week; the lads on the ground continue to rattle through tasks, the Battle Group Engineers and Recce Sergeants are generating work that will see us through to the end of our tour and the Echelon is fighting the constant battle to meet the demands of everyone, who always want everything yesterday. Its not all hard work though, all but a handful of the Squadron have been through much needed and deserved R&R, whilst elements of 8 Troop have managed to enjoy a short period of down time between tasks and all elements of the Squadron continue to enjoy receiving messages from friends and family.

Spr Doz Cross and Spr Mark Im a little tea pot Brewer showing of their handy work.

7 Troop
This week has seen 7 Troop yet again separated from their beloved home, the KOTA, in order to carry out a variety of tasks across Combined Force Lashkah Gahs Area of Operations. B Coy, 4 SCOTS have just received a new Operations room; like any new build it didnt come with furniture. With no Ikea around the corner, it fell to Spr Dorian if it doesnt look straight its because the floor isnt level Cross, and Spr Mark Chippys mate Brewer to come up with a solution. The first hurdle to overcome was turning the fag-packet scribbling of the infantry company 2IC into a bespoke, luxury, fitted ops room; featuring map boards, desks and computer monitor stands. All of which had to be done in a short space of time, before the company moved in. Working around the clock the lads managed to get the job done on time and even received hard won praise from the Jocks. Unfortunately the task has been a victim of its own success; every Company is now vying to have their Ops room pimped. At least itll keep the carpenters out of mischief for a while. Elsewhere Sprs Charlie Big Bird Invine and Leonid Boris Remizov, aka Pinkie and The Brain oversaw a short notice, high priority task to build a tip-top secret compound. This compound is similar to the one 8 Troop built a couple of weeks ago in Nahr-e-Saraj (South) (NES(S)). After having gone to the effort of building a secure compound within a compound, it was good to see the lads hard work was put to good use by the Royal Signals who now have a very expensive, very secure, private sun bathing area. Oly O Toogood, 7 Troop Commander

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8 Troop

Sgt McGee supervisors his chefs.

This week has seen 8 Troop involved in their usual myriad of tasks across NES(S), as usual the majority have been conducted at section level; however for 2 days the Troop unusually found itself together to conduct some refresher training, vehicle maintenance and minor improvement work in one of the major Patrol Bases (PBs) in NES(S). This period proved the perfect opportunity for the guys to let their hair down with a much deserved BBQ and Quiz night, which the acting Sergeant Major and myself were lucky enough to find ourselves involved in. The BBQ was a slightly better affair than that produced by LCpl Nige Gray of 9 Troop; the lads from 8 Troop choosing to stick with convention and cooking over embers, as opposed to LCpl Nige Grays approach of stick it in the flames and take your chance at having it burnt or raw. The multi-purpose resource that is HESCO was utilised with some corrugated iron to fashion a 2 m BBQ, which was more than capable of cooking enough food for the whole Troop. The BBQ looked a little Heath Robinson, but due to the price of HESCO, probably cost more than your average Weber from B&Q. Sgt Chuggy Marco Pierre-White McGee, Spr Sponz Walding and Cpl Stevie Shaw were the duty Chefs for the night and cooked up a mean feast, which was followed up by an extreme rarity in forward locations ice cream. The finale of the night was quiz written by SSgt Taff Jones. The team made up of Section Commanders were at an automatic advantage due to the inclusion of Cpl Danny Old Man Walton, who having fought in the Boer war, had more pub quiz experience than the remainder of the Sprs put together. Although the greatest advantage went to SSgt Aidy Lamonds team, as hed seen half the questions before, but still didnt convert this into a win. After a close run quiz that featured a lot of football questions, the team that knew the least about football, and composed of Spr Dan Ball, Spr Dan Paddy Stewart, Spr Neil Scouse Simon, Capt Chris random geography knowledge Smart and Capt Rich Garthwaite managed to win. By Spr Unknown

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9 Troop Turned Down for a slot on University Challenge

Elements of the winning quiz who have turned a slot on University Challenge, preferring to enter a crap tattoo competition.

The intrepid 9 Troop have been back on task and once again are involved in their favourite task, route upgrades! This route upgrade was not quite as epic as the mission that was Route CANTERBURY, only requiring the spot repair of a culvert. The route in question was in Combined Force NES(S) and needed to be fixed to allow the callsign on the ground improved access to a Check Point (CP). On arrival at the CP it was immediately obvious that the culvert was in a very sorry state and in desperate need of an upgrade. Unfortunately we were unable to start the culvert repair immediately as there was a Combined Force NES(S) Operation going on in the area. Instead it was decided that the short time we had on the ground would be utilised to improve the CPs helicopter landing site and move as many of the culvert stores forward as we could. At early doors the next day, LCpl Nige Gray led his section back to task site, once on site LCpl Gray split the manpower, allowing half of the section to continue work on the helicopter landing site whilst the plant and remainder of the lads started to dig out the existing culvert. In no time at all Spr Joseph Schmiegel Brelsford used his skills with the light wheeled tractor to dig out the culvert, widen the channel and then place the new concrete pipes back in the ground. Repositioning the culvert pipes is never an easy job and once again the only way to do it was to get waste deep in water; however given the relentless heat, the cool water was a welcome relief for the team of Spr Graham Ward, Spr Glen Hossel and Spr Andrew Jackson who had to do the dirty work. From there it was just a case of putting on the finishing touches and the completed culvert is now strong enough to take the heaviest of ISAF vehicles and should stand the test of time. Another job has been ticked off for 9 Troop and the lads are already preparing for the next one, which could well involve some more route building...winner! Schmiegel, J Brelsford, 9 Troop Plant God

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ECHELON ARMOURER - THE MAN WITH ALL THE HARDWARE

Spr H Harris

Life in the Echelon is an extremely busy lot; my main role during Op HERRICK 14 has been as Squadron Armourer. I oversee the inspection, maintenance and distribution of all the weapons within Engineer Field Squadron 2. When not running the Armoury I have assisted in out loading more stores and resources than B&Q. We often have to meet extremely tight deadlines, meaning working long into the night. Within the Echelon no two days are the same, one minute I will be issuing the weapons of choice to the Field Troops, the next running to and from the flight line. I have even managed to escape Camp Bastion on the odd occasion. REME has become my second home, away from the constant loading of Engineer Resources, it seems that every time the lads come in they have broken something or their kit needs a service. The paper work is constant and it never seems to end. Life is not all work, work, work, hold that thought, in fact it is, except the time I do manage to escape to the camp gym deploying on Op MASSIVE. Overall I have really enjoyed my job in the Echelon during Op HERRICK 14 and I feel I have hopefully made a difference keeping the Squadrons weapons and sights in full working order, maybe next tour they will let me sleep more though! By H , M Harris, Armourer

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59 Commando Squadron RE OCs Foreword

July has come and gone (almost) in the blink of an eye. The main effort at SHQ very much remains with those on the ground and ensuring that they are set up for success; however, some of the planning at SHQ level is inevitably starting to turn towards events in 2012. The result is that much work is ongoing across all levels of the Sqn, particularly so when visits by senior officers and the necessity for a highly successful handover to 11 Fd Sqn is factored in. Our men continue to excel across all areas, as the SSM and I evidenced during our recent visit to 1 Tp. Congratulating Cpl Robinson on his recent selection for promotion to Sgt was the main reason; however, the SSM and I also gained the opportunity of constructing our first operational bridge of the tour under the watchful eye of Cpl Tilak. In reality we only humped and dumped a few things and as ever, the section did the real work; no change there, some may say! It certainly provided an opportunity to spend some valuable time with the Tp and to see that as ever, morale is high, standards are excellent and that they continue to achieve success. The next couple of weeks should bring more of the same; however, my ability to get out and about will be limited by the departure of the Sqn 2IC on a well-deserved RnR. Finding myself chained to a desk will not be my idea of fun, as I am sure that the BGEs, Capt Rich Pearce and Lt Ollie Clark, on the other ends of the phone will discover. I am fully confident that the SSM will still be able to get out and keep everyone on their toes! As always thank-you all for your continued support! Maj Rich Williams.

Light at the end of the tunnel (or an oncoming train) - 59 Commando Ops Room
Hello to you all and believe it or not the weather here is bright and hot with no breeze, will this stop the boys sunbathing hell no it wont, the fashion of the day is 1 x pussers sock covering genitalia of all sizes. Special haircuts all around and waving goodbye to white bits as the boys come eagerly towards the final hurdle of what will be for most part 7 months away from all you special people back home. A sigh of relief blew across the ops room this week as Sgt FA CUP Needham left for his R n R, two weeks free of his incessant wind ups, twisting and manipulation of words. All can stand at ease. I think it safe to say Mrs Needham you deserve a medal yourself for enduring this man and his sarcastic nature. Our thoughts are with you. With Big Ears gone we welcomed back the cuddly fury Cpl Taff The Hat Harrison fresh from his whirl wind romance with the infamous Judi whom we have heard all about to the point I think we know her almost as well as he does, seriously he only met her once before coming to Theatre. The bets where on - would he propose or not on R n R. He says he hasnt however, some are still ominous as to there being a lucky northern lady sporting a new rock. This month we also say goodbye to Spr Chubbs Leak going on R n R. He has spent the last few weeks looking up luxury holidays to parts of the world most will only see on the Discovery channel or wish you were here. Apparently its simple things, like the view from his room and the surrounding architecture, which will sway his judgement, but we all know its really the selection of cuisine and the size of the Buffet queue which is really on his mind. Mmmmmmmmmm dougnuts!!! Capt Burty Bear Burton has done himself no favours being caught out blowing kisses and sweet nothings whilst on the phone home. It does raise the question however as to whether he was speaking to his Girlfriend Izzy or his Tour sweetheart Capt Mick Lovatt QM 59. As if the PDAs werent enough, suspicion was further raised when it was made apparent Burty Bears EOT calendar only started its count down from the day the QM left on his R n R, is this mere coincidence or the act of a lonely heart? We welcomed a new member into the Bastion REMF Central room with the departure of Cpl Worm Body Henderson.

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LCpl Fat Rodney Trotter Boone, aptly named by LCpl Tommo Hawk Thompson. I must say a special THANK YOU! to Fat Rodders Mum for sending him out a Harmonica, he lifts our spirits every single day with his Angelic Melodies No ..wait.. I meant he lifts our blood pressure with his terrible screeching on the infernal thing! Seriously Mrs Fair-Brother youve raised him for 26 years, you must have had some inkling as to how annoying he is without the amplification of musical instruments. Please.. please. just dont send him a Drum Kit. Now a little about me LCpl Vainpants Stainthorpe, a name to which I am not particularly impressed with, however it is no crime to try ones best to look as good as possible for all you lovely ladies out there. It does fall by the way side however, as at the moment Im probably in worse shape than Rick Waller trapped in Thorntons with a chocolate craving. More spare chins than a Chinese phone book and more Spare Tyres than Pirelli. Still Im sure upon our return the hills of Chivenor will soon help me shed the unwanted lbs. With the R n R taking two of our members away this month I am unfortunately Bastion bound until their return.. so hurry back Dumbo and Chubbs Im cracking up. Basically acting as a Commando trained Secretary, somehow the words this is not what I signed on for doesnt quite cut it. At that I bid you all farewell and hope that if this section of the news letter has not at least provided you with a little amusement it will provide you with something to send you off to sleep should you be finding it difficult. As ever a massive thank you for all for your letters, parcels and well wishes, we really could not do it without all you wonderful people supporting and encouraging us. Goodbye and we will see u all soon. By LCpl Chris Stainthorpe.

C TpTroop Commanders Diary entry:

Date: 25 JUL 2011 Location: PB BOLAN T Mission: Construct a new Police check point (CP) at spot UD10 in Southern Zaborabad, Nad Ali South in order to support the development of the Afghan Local Police (ALP) and strengthen the HOLD within the region. Scheme of Maneuver: Once again the men of Condor Troop saddled up in their fine armored steed The Beast, and made our way down to the far south east of the AO to the camp that we had finished building only a few weeks ago. Sweet nostalgia and dewy eyed pride (mainly from me, the blokes were typical no emotion) soon evaporated as we sat down to receive orders from the Officer Commanding X-Ray Coy(45 Cdo Royal Marines). The new police CP at UD10 was to be built in the center of the Taleban stronghold of southern Zaborabad. This is a lawless area where the enemy roam freely, intimate and tax the locals and mount offensive operations against us in the rest of Nad Ali. Only a few days ago the first CP we had built for the ALP was almost over ran by a section of enemy fighters who shot two of the occupying policemen. This therefore was a highly important mission without a new CP capable of supporting the first one, the ALP may fail in Zaborabad which could have catastrophic implications for the rest of Nad Ali South. Condor Troop were to move down to the build site on foot as our own independent fighting patrol, tasked with eliminating any enemy threats on route before securing the build site, linking up with our diggers and building the CP over a period 72 hours and then extracting back to CP BOLAN T. the best laid plans of mice and men This will be a 3 phase operation: Phase 1: The patrol out After my patrol orders and battle prep Condor Troop assembled at the front gate of BOLAN T for the yomp down to UD10 and what a sight we were. With flowing locks of long, unkempt hair and side burns down to their jaw lines the men oozed aliness and looked every inch the warrior sappers that 59 Cdo have bred for generations. A wise man once said that, to avoid conflict you must project strength (Patrick Swazee as Bodi in Point Break). Therefore we patrolled down to UD10 that day with enough fire power to take on the 7 th Shock Army My point man was Gray, savagely fit and a veteran of OP HERRICK 9, he has the tracking capability of a Navajo Indian and was packing a Grenade Launcher. Next came Batesy, with a torso carved from marble and baby face to match he is always popular with the Afghan lads (especially on a Thursday night) he was Grays cover man he had the Light Machine Gun. Im up next and on top of my radio I carry a half bar mine and detonators ready to blast our way into a compound if were called on for assault breaching, Wardy is the next man in the patrol my signaler no man on this earth has a better chance at getting comms than this lad and with a heavily tanned frame, festooned with tribal tattoos he strikes fear into the heart of the enemy (and any women he comes into contact with) Next comes Williams, as strong as an Ox and with a body carved by Michelangelo his obvious weapon of choice was the General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) the General as it is known proved its worth at Goose Green but instead of

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scything down Argy conscripts, it is now being used as the ideal bit of kit for keeping the Taleban at bay. Yogi comes next in the line up, a bear of a man, hes the brains of the operation and with a cutting wit and sharp tongue he keeps the others on their toes. Rhys Danger Dare follows him up dont be misled by his soft complexion, when this man wields his chainsaw you better watch out. H is next, with a square jaw and a barrel chest his role is to carry the weighty
Collapsed culvert sorted by Sapper ingenuity and skilled bucket operators. Condor Troops Fighting Patrol - tooled up and ready to begin the operation.

Electronic Counter Measures (ECM) to prevent attacks from IEDs. . . H loves the ECM. The penultimate man is the Patrol 2IC, John Boy wiry and wizened hes the most experienced man out on the ground that day, the daddy of the patrol and if trouble comes a calling hes got a LASM (aka Rocket Launcher) to wipe the toothless grin off any would be insurgent foe. Ricky is the last man, Tail End Charlie, a tough Sunderland lad with a handlebar tash he perfectly suits the other GPMG and looks like hes been plucked off the foot hills of Mount Kent or the road leading into Port Stanley circa April 1982. We set off deep into the heart of darkness fully expecting a ruck with the so far highly elusive insurgent forces. Quickly the ICOM

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Condor TroopA day in the life of a 'Newey'!

Spinning dits and chilling out after the task.

chatter is up and we can hear the insurgent over his radio hes watching us. The ICOM bursts into life with, We can see the Infidel slaves patrolling through the fields, quickly, bring up the PKM (a Russian made light machine gun). We fully expect the undergrowth of the green zone to erupt into a violent crescendo of gun fire, but the insurgent is put off by our fire power and superior numbers and we reach the task site without incident. Phase 2: The build. We arrive on task site and meet up with OC X-Ray who has moved forward ahead of us. We secure the task site and I go forward with Johnboy to recce the build site - it is restricted, difficult, highly exposed and dangerous just how we Sqn boys like it! No surprises there then. Our two diggers turn up with their operators having braved 3km of high threat routes to get to us. Troy is in the Bob Cat (armoured mini digger), he looks like a character from Mad Max with his face mask and goggles a demon from a post-apocalyptic world perfectly suited to Southern Zaborabad then! Dip rides up in our armoured JCB, the epitome of a warrior Gurkha, an Austrian Pistol shoved down his body armour and one hand wrapped in bandages from the last argument he had with a steel I beam. The check point begins to take shape and the lads work through the heat of the day to get the main sangar up in order to give the General decent arcs of fire come nightfall. All is looking rosy until the culvert at the end of the main supply route into the build site collapses under the weight of our JCB. Luckily, through a phenomenal display of skill and courage Dip manages to self-recover and avoid the 8ft drop into the muddy abyss below. We now have a problem. With no culvert we cant get the rest of the stores into the task site to complete the build and the JCB is now stuck on the other side of the gap. This is our only casualty evacuation route too and if we cant solve this problem it will be certain mission failure. OC X-Ray is panicked and taking a load of Condor lads for protection we both yomp down to the culvert to check out the situation. Its not good. The culvert walls have almost completely collapsed and we now need to build a bridge to get it sorted. Gray and myself get our heads together and we come up with a plan worthy of an episode of the A-TeamI love it when a plan comes together! 4 hours later we have ourselves a new bridge built out of 4x 5metre lengths of strong timber, some 6ft steel pickets and some 14 gauge steel wire all proffed from a neighboring CP. The JCB proves the new crossing and were back in business! Whilst we have been sticking the bridge in, old man John boy and Wardy have been building the CP on their own proving once again that commando soldiers are a force multiplier and by the time weve got back theyve smashed out

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3 Tp Check Point Chiron, the build concludes

the work of ten regular men. The build continues right through until midnight and then we all catch some sleep for a few feverish hours whilst being savaged by sand flies and mosquitoes on the baked earth of a nearby compound. Dawn brings us back into the land of HESCO and carpentry and the arrival of the ALP. Any thoughts of the ALP helping us out quickly evaporate as they settle down to get high on Afghans second favorite export pure Helmand bud Marijuana. The sickly smell drifts over the rapidly warming dawn air as we slavishly continue to graft for our intoxicated clients. By 1500hrs on the second day the CP is finished (1 day ahead of schedule and with a bridging task thrown into the mix) and the ALP are really pleased with what we have produced Troy looking like an extra from Mad Max in the BOBCAT for them. Despite their penchant for a cheeky tote, the ALP are a seriously brave and determined bunch of characters, their hatred for the Taleban and their desire to stabilise their region and bring peace and prosperity back to their homeland is hugely admirable and is the key to giving Afghanistan a stable future I wish them luck and exchange a heartfelt embrace with the new police commander before we leave. Phase 3: Getting back, spinning dits and chilling out. After loading up our kit and some Quick Battle Orders (QBOs) from myself we begin the route back to PB BOLAN T. Gray sets a storming pace up the front and soon enough were patrolling through the gates, knackered, sweat soaked and caked in dust but happy to have smashed out another task. We sit, stripped off, half naked on the floor of the PB outside our tent looking at each others pictures, smashing water down our faces and laughing and joking about what weve just achieved. I cant help but think there can be no greater feeling on earth than having the enormous privilege of commanding such a sterling bunch of men, each a character, each a commando, each a Sapper. Once again United We Conquer. By Lt. J. M. M. Robinson, Condor Troop Commander, CF Nad Ali South

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3 Troop Fire Fighting and Gardening

Lt Clark and Cpl Wiff Smith dowse the flames.

Hello Everybody! Welcome to my media article which for the next few minutes will provide you with a scrumptious arrangement of words to feast on detailing the rise and rise of the tribesmen because we at 3 Troop never fall! So whats occurring? A phrase that if youre in 3 Troop you will hear a lot because it seems the sheriff (SSGT Dave Brown) likes using it more than Royal like to wash or insult SQN personnel about the state of their hair/sideburns! This for those who dont know, its a lot! Well the Troop have been continuing the downgrade of Shazad with relative ease, its an easy and not very demanding task that includes the jobs of erecting HESCO, building roads, more HESCO, shelters for generators, a little bit more HESCO and on top of that more HESCO! Because the tribe has grown out of these tasks and can do them with such ease we seem to be branching out into different fields of expertise. Expertise that you wouldnt think is required in Afghanistan! I will digress, dont worry readers! What fields of expertise I hear you say, well let me tell you, the Troop now has a small bunch of incredibly daring men whose bravery knows no bounds! These men are the 3 Troop firemen, let me paint a picture as we sat in the chill out area of our tent drinking warm water and eating tracker bars by the pairs (Tom Vye, K hop) the tribe heard an unnerving sound of commotion and panic... as any normal human would we went and inspected the noise, to our amazement we were greeted by a small fire that grew by the second into a slightly unmanageable blaze. Did this affect the men of 3 Troop? Did it flip! Straight away the Troop pounced into action jumping over the surrounding crowds that had by this time gathered to wrestle the blaze. The tribe got to work until the blaze could no longer muster even a spit of an ember. Tribesmen 1 Random Afghan fire 0. This is not a single case of our Troop branching out into different fields of expertise and demonstrating our talents. We have taken to horticulture in a big way! We have a couple of expert gardeners in our midst, by gardeners Im not talking your average, Charlie Dimmock, Joe of spuds and other gay plants like that, but real gardeners.Helmand gardeners! Comprising of a 2 man team (Tom Vye and Daz Lambert) these gardeners have been all over the A O (Area of Operations, in civvi terms a big place!). Our methods are somewhat less subtle than what you see on TV! Armed with a chainsaw, some demolitions and sheer determination, we tackled tree after tree after tree so that the Royal Marines could have prettier views of the surrounding area. It doesnt sound like hard work but add the heat (45-50C) and the extra kit including body armour and of course the PPE (lol) it can becoming very tiring! Not for the men of 3 Troop though whoop! Last but no means least we have the Tribesmen fitness models, this obviously comprises of everyone in the Troop sculpting

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and perfecting the human physique to a point where it looks almost GOD like. We arent big headed, but big muscles.. hell yeah! We have a few that are leading from the front with the likes of Scotty (Spr Scott) and Stealth (LCpl Sowerby) going for the Mens Fitness style. Then we have the resident power houses Papa Bee (Spr Bee) and the body Reynolds (Cpl Reynolds) with K Hop (Spr Hopkins) who simply goes to the gym and picks up the largest weights and chucks them around until he sees fit! Then we have the rest of the Troop who just like to put in enough effort so that when we get home people go OMG! Look at you! Look how amazing you look, can I have your number or maybe buy you a drink or kiss your muscles? because lets be honest this does happen or at least
Prep of explosives by Spr Spencer and Spr Bond.

Spr Stealth Sowerby and Spr Perrin on another arc clearance patrol.

it will! We hope. Thats your scrumptious dialect for the time being I hope you have enjoyed my words of wisdom, hopefully giving you an insight into the men of 3 Troop, The men who count down the days until we can get home drink Lee Bowyers ( nasty cocktail) and get our tops off to show those tans and muscles! Just a quick congratulations to Dave Kendrick and Joanne for having Gracie. We hope you are all well and in good health. Peace out! As crafted by Spr Daz Lambert.
Spr Perrin secures PE4 to a tree in a delicate bit of tree pruning.

SUPPORTING COMMANDO SAPPERS IN AFGHANISTAN WRISTBANDS

WHERE IS YOUR MONEY GOING? The income generated from the COMMANDO SAPPER wristbands will be split between 3 distinct areas. They are as follows: Regimental Welfare. This will allow us to support needy causes within the Regiment that cover a myriad of outlets; from injured soldiers, family activities and any venture which improves the welfare of our soldiers. 50% of all charitable income generated will go to regimental welfare. Army Benevolent Fund (ABF):The Soldiers Charity. ABF, The Soldiers Charity is designed to support soldiers, former soldiers and their families in times of need. Over the past 2 years ABF has seen a 30% rise in people seeking there help and expect this to increase with the continuing operations in Afghanistan. 25% of all charitable income generated will go to the ABF. Childrens Hospice South West. The Childrens Hospice South West is located in Fremington, literally on the Regiments doorstep. The Hospice provides care for the children with an illness, which means they will not meet adulthood. The Hospice provides expert care, not only for the children but also for their parents and siblings, allowing them to cope with these extremely difficult circumstances. 25% of all charitable income generated will go to the Childrens Hospice South West. To order Supporting Commando Sapper wrist bands. Please contact WO2 Ray Glass either by phone on 01271 85 7824 or by post with a SAE to WO2 Glass, ROpsP RSM, RMB Chivenor, Barnstaple, Devon, EX31 4AZ, or just send a donation by cheque or postal order payable to Central Bank 24 Commando Engineer Regiment.

Something from the Editor. Back copies of the TFH Engr Gp Newsletters are available at
TASK FORCE HELMAND ENGINEER GROUP
Editor: 546151 Capt Brad Hardwick 54 Cdo HQ & Sp Sqn TFH Engr Gp BFPO 792 E-maill bch5951@gmail.com

http://www.scribd.com/collections/2973981/Task-Force-HelmandEngineer-Group-Newsletter Charity wrist bands. We have received repeated requests for our popular Commando Sapper wrist bands. Please refer to page 30 for details on how to get hold of this seasons must have item! Your support for the Regiment is greatly appreciated, so please give generously. Facebook Page. We now have an open Facebook presence at http:// www.facebook.com/TFHEngrGp

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