Road Warriors return from largest logistic patrol ever conducted in Afghanistan

British troops have returned from the largest coalition logistic patrol ever conducted in Afghanistan

Soldiers from the newly arrived 6 Squadron, 12 Close Support Logistic Regiment, returned to Camp Bastion on Tuesday (6 April) after conducting a gruelling week long patrol to Forward Operating Base Edinburgh, near Musa Qala, in north Helmand province

Final checks are undertaken

The Squadron was joined by soldiers and vehicles of 6 Close Logistic Battalion from the United States Marine Corps and 68 Close Service Support Battalion from the United States Army.

The mission was to assist in the delivery of US specialist equipment, stores and personnel to FOB Edinburgh, and the return of UK soldiers and equipment to Camp Bastion. The convoy comprised 609 soldiers and 217 vehicles of which 130 soldiers and 46 vehicles were British

The total distance travelled was 206km.

Soldiers wait for the order to move

The Musa Qala district recently transferred from the British to the United States area of operations. The logistics patrol was tasked with supplying the incoming United States Marine Corps and drawing down the equipment and supplies of the outgoing Household Cavalry Battlegroup.

A marshall holds vehicles for their place in the convoy

The convoy left Camp Bastion during the hours of darkness at the end of March after receiving a detailed series of orders, rehearsals, final intelligence briefings and a service of blessing conducted by the Padre.

The patrol leaves Camp Bastion

Over 200 vehicles take part in the patrol

The patrol was accompanied by soldiers of the Force Protection Team and the Route Clearing Team who dealt with Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and protected the patrol from attack.

Lieutenant Jim Sutton (26) from Pontefract, West Yorkshire, Officer Commanding the UK Force Protection Team said: “Civilians would come out of their compounds and wave as we drove by. The move out wasn’t intimidating at all. We enjoyed the interaction, but never lost focus on the possible threats around us”.

After 61 hours of continuous driving and one attack by insurgent fire, the patrol arrived at FOB Edinburgh.

The unloading of equipment and stores started immediately. Lt Karl Beck (24) from the Wirral, Cheshire, was responsible for the loading of all UK stores and equipment: ‘’It was a testing morning”, he said. “Everyone was exhausted, but everyone just got on with the job. No-one complained. Everybody knew that the main effort was to deliver the US equipment before picking up the UK stores to return home. The sooner it was done, the sooner we could go home”.

The patrol was turned around within a 48 hour period, to complete the return leg of the journey. On the return journey, the patrol was contacted by insurgent fire on another two occasions, from a variety of weapons including mortars, Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs) and small arms.

After 1 week and over 200km, the patrol returns to Camp Bastion

The patrol arrived safely back at Camp Bastion in the late hours of 6 April. No casualties were sustained during the course of the patrol.

Private Carla Lewis (19) from Lianelli, Wales, who was on her first combat logistics patrol, said: “The hardest thing was staying awake, but I did really enjoy it, especially the cross country driving.

“Where we were passing through the Green Zone, the roads were really narrow and the trees obscured the view, so you had to keep a pretty close eye on the vehicle in front of you.

“It’s extremely exhausting driving non-stop for so long, but you just get on and live with it”.

The patrol returns through the gates of 12 CSLR compound

Private James Berridge (20) from Newbury, Berkshire, said: “The driving conditions were bad. The dust in the desert stages just reduced visibility down to a matter of a few metres, so you really had to stay alert to vehicles in front and behind you and also to watch out for signs of IEDs”.

Private Stuart Gaylor (23) from Dunfermline, Fife said: “I was on top cover when three bullets went whizzing past my head. I heard the noise, but it was my first operation, so I didn’t really know what it was until the driver told me”.

Soldiers clean and maintain their vehicles, ready for the next patrol

Corporal Craig Williams (26), from Hartlepool, Cleveland, said: “I was the vehicle commander on the way up to FOB Edinburgh. As the vehicle went static, we started to receive Indirect Fire (IDF). The first round landed about five metres from the vehicle and the next one hit the back of the truck, displacing some of the load.

“The legs of the guy on top cover started to shake, but it was his first tour so he was a bit afraid. This is my second tour now and I’ve done lots of patrols before, so I knew what to expect. Because I was a commander I didn’t have time to think about it. It’s my job was to make sure everyone else was OK”.

The desert is removed from dust filters

The patrol was led by Major Jo Chestnutt, Officer Commanding 6 Squadron, 12 CSLR. “I’m extremely proud of my troops”, he said. “They never gave up. They were determined, resolute and immensely professional. Every member of the patrol – both UK and US – remained fully focussed in fighting this logistic patrol through”.

Soldiers clean their personal weapons and kit

Picture credit: Corporal Lynny Cash RAF

'I always wanted to save lives'

By Caroline Wyatt
Defence correspondent, BBC News

Members of the Army's bomb disposal unit describe the task they face.

Little more than 5ft, Capt Judith Gallagher probably weighs about the same as the backpack and equipment she carried on the long, hot marches through Helmand province that can last most of the day.

The marching in the heat and the dust is only a prelude to her real job - defusing the Taliban's roadside bombs.

On her first night in Helmand last July, working with Estonian forces in the dark by a canal, she defused nine.

"I always wanted to do a job where I could save lives," she says, in a matter-of-fact way.

"I don't find it scary. I don't think you could do this job if you were too scared - you are conscious of the risk to yourself, but you put it to the back of your mind and do what you have to do in front of you."

Elite unit

Capt Gallagher wanted to be a bomb disposal expert from an early age, joining the Army at 18.

The mathematics graduate is one of an elite who have passed the improvised explosive device disposal (IEDD) No1 (High Threat) course. Only four women have, and she is one of just two deployed to Afghanistan.

She admits her husband is not keen on her returning to serve in Helmand.

"Our families are only too aware of the risks."

The high-threat operators of 11 EOD Regiment, part of the Royal Logistic Corps, the British army's specialist unit responsible for counter-terrorist bomb disposal and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD), must pass more than 200 exams during their training before they can wear the coveted badge of the ammunition technical officer (ATO) or ammunition technician (AT).

It is a process that can take anything from three to eight years.

It also requires the right temperament - an ability to face risk, work logically and methodically under pressure, and master any fear you might start off with about walking towards rather than away from a bomb.

So how did Capt Gallagher feel after defusing those first devices in Afghanistan, where British troops face some of the greatest threats they have ever encountered from what many describe as low-density minefields?

"Relief in a way," she says.

"When you do the job for real there for the first time, you've got one under your belt. The last thing you want to do is die on your first device."

For the full story online here for BBC online

British Army bomb disposal squad is The Times’s Team of the Year

No one can doubt the individual courage required to walk down a road towards a bomb, but it is the collective courage of British bomb disposal teams in Afghanistan that The Times wishes to recognise this year in making 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Regiment our “Team of The Year”.

Through the summer months of 2009, ammunition technicians from 11 EOD, working with the specialist search teams of 33 Royal Engineers, disarmed and removed hundreds of Taleban roadside bombs across Helmand province. They took on a level of personal risk unimaginable in almost any other profession, and formed perhaps the Army’s most “mission critical” asset in Helmand. Each bomb disposal expert dealt with between 85 and 100 bombs during their six-month tour. Their job is exceptionally rare in frontline service. They risk their lives to save others.

In July I met the self-styled “Team Rainbow”, a bomb disposal unit that included Staff Sergeant Olaf Schmid and Captain Dan Shepherd — both hugely respected technicians who would later be killed before the end of their tours. A slightly scruffy, modest demeanour and self-deprecating wit appeared to be the communal traits of the team. Their nom de guerre was an ironic homage to the hapless puppets Bungle, Zippy and George in the 1980s children’s television series Rainbow.

It was the height of Operation Panther’s Claw, the British summer offensive to secure Nad Ali District. The thermometer was close to 50C in the shadeless, foul-smelling compound that made up “Yellow 14”, one of a string of British outposts being attacked every day. A week later Team Rainbow would clear 120 devices along a two-mile stretch of road to allow the Light Dragoons and Mercian Regiment to move forward amid fierce close-quarter fighting.

For the rest of the article click here for the Times Online

Bomb disposal specialists honoured for Afghanistan service

Just days after returning home from the dust and heat of Afghanistan, members of the Joint Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group were honoured in front of proud families and friends on Thursday, 15th October.

More than 90 soldiers predominantly from 58 Field Squadron (EOD) part of 33 Engineer Regiment (EOD) and 11 EOD Regiment RLC who together formed the Joint Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group proudly marched onto the parade square at Carver Barracks, Wimbish, to be awarded their Operation HERRICK campaign medals.

The Royal Engineer and Royal Logistic Corps Bomb Disposal and Search Specialists worked in teams to provide three different capabilities: Improvised Explosive Device Disposal (IEDD) team, Conventional Munitions Disposal (CMD) and High Risk Search teams, all of whom were responsible for finding and disposing of all explosive ordnance and improvised explosive devices within Helmand Province. In their six month deployment the Group dealt with over 1400 reported incidents, ranging from the disposal of Taliban weapon caches to Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). With involvement in Op PANCHAI PALANG (Op PANTHER’S CLAW) the Group were heavily committed throughout their deployment.

In addition to their operational commitments the Group trained ISAF troops and the local population in Explosive Hazard Awareness. It is without doubt that the actions of the Joint Force EOD Group have saved the lives of many soldiers and the civilian population over the past six months.