Light Dragoons' CO on Afghanistan - the price is worth it

Lieutenant Colonel Gus Fair, Commanding Officer of The Light Dragoons Battle Group

This has been the second time that The Light Dragoons have deployed as a Battle Group Headquarters on operations in Afghanistan.

On the previous occasion in 2007, we were fighting for control of the southern town of Garmsir at the very edge of the Afghan Government's sphere of influence.

The district centre [DC] was derelict, destroyed by months of fighting as we battled to exert control of the ground only a few hundred metres outside our front gate.

We returned to the same ground earlier this year in April, once again with the outstanding soldiers of the 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment with justifiable trepidation.

A Mercian Captain under my command had won a Conspicuous Gallantry Cross trying to recover the bodies of two soldiers less than a kilometre south of our main base.

The progress that had been made in little over 18 months was beyond all of our expectations. The area was transformed; the formally shattered and deserted DC was rebuilt and the market thriving.

The school and hospitals were rebuilt and functioning well, staffed and resourced by the Afghan state. Where poppies had been commonplace there were now fields of wheat.

The end result was that some 15,000 Afghans lived in relative safety, free to go about their daily business, within an area protected by a joint coalition and Afghan team and most importantly led by an Afghan District Governor who exercised control in a fair, representative and transparent fashion.

Having handed the area over to the United States Marine Corps in June, the Battle Group was at the centre of the clearance of the wider Babaji area as part of Operation PANTHER'S CLAW.

We defeated the enemy wherever we found him, and pushed him outside of the centres of population in Malgir and Spin Masjid.

Despite the heavy fighting, there were only three reports of civilian casualties in the clearance of Babaji and, as a result, within days of the fighting finishing, we saw the people beginning to engage with us; locals pointed out dug-in IEDs [improvised explosive devices] for us to clear and safe routes for our vehicles to use.

I am clear that true achievement in a campaign such as Afghanistan cannot be measured in weeks or months but must instead be gauged over years.

The soldiers in the Battle Group are fortunate in that they have seen what progress in Afghanistan looks like, as they have witnessed it in Garmsir.

It is mine and their firm belief that we will see similar if not more rapid progress in Babaji by the time the regiment next returns to Helmand.

As we left, the seasonal decline in fighting had begun, the maize that provided cover for insurgent ambushes was coming down and, as a result, the insurgents' ability to intimidate and attack the locals was reduced significantly.

We were winning the all important battle of perception for dominance over the area.

Probably the most significant demonstration of progress was the distribution of wheat seed to the local farmers. In the face of Taliban intimidation and brutal violence against local recipients and their attempts to disrupt the distribution through a combination of attacks onto the distribution sites and queuing locals, over 1,000 farmers received wheat with more to follow.

"In the week that we left, a local farmer said to me 'You can see by the amount of people queuing for wheat that the people are stronger than the insurgents'.

"The population are beginning to witness considerable community-level engagement and investment and meaningful direct assistance from both ISAF [International Security Assistance Force] and the Government, and at the same time see that the Taliban are not fighting for their interests.

"Though the Taliban fight on they do so within a population that is increasingly of the opinion that the Taliban is fighting them; their support is waning fast and their freedom of manoeuvre is increasingly sustained through threat and violence.

"With improving perceptions of security, communities are gaining confidence sufficient to begin to passively resist Taliban infiltration and, for the first time in thirty years of fighting, exercise some control over their own destiny.

Elite force shows true grit on Operation Panther's Valour

For some the thought of being ambushed, rocketed, shot at and trapped for hours in the fierce Afghan heat would be the stuff of nightmares.

But for soldiers of 19 Brigade's elite Reconnaissance Force (BRF) who recently experienced just such a scenario, being in the thick of it is what it's all about.

Under cover of darkness and using night vision, the patrol of more than one hundred men including Afghan National Forces and a Counter Improvised Explosive Device team (CIED) left Camp Bastion in 26 Jackals and two Mastiffs - one of their biggest deployments to date.

"The lads are always up for it, always ready to do their job in the most difficult of circumstances," said Captain Euan Grant the unit's Operations Officer.

"We've had a tough tour this year but despite that the lads know they've done a sterling job so far, really taking the fight to the insurgents. I'm sure this operation will be no different," he added.

Codenamed Operation Panther's Valour (or Operation SHEJAH PALANG in Pashtu), its aim was to engage with locals in the Luy Mandah Wadi area of Nad Ali as well as to support the Light Dragoons BG in the nearby town of Babaji.

With the highly successful conclusion of Operation Panther's Claw in late July, commanders also wanted to keep up the pressure on nearby insurgents and disrupt their activities.

Formidable reputation

The heavily armed and highly mobile BRF were ideal candidates for the job. Within minutes of reaching the objective area the BRF were soon engaged in heavy fighting with insurgents as they protected the CIED team's attempts to disarm a number of IEDs in the local bazaar.

With the help of Apache Helicopter gunships and US F16 fighters the BRF were able to call in fire support on to insurgent positions, sometimes less than 100 metres away from themselves. But it was while extracting the CIED teams from the area that the BRF showed why they've earned their formidable reputation.

On the convoy out the lead CIED Mastiff vehicle was struck by a massive IED. The huge explosion showered dust and wreckage across the convoy. For a moment everyone is in shock and there was an eerie silence as the dust billowed out and the grim realisation of what has happened sunk in.

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Trooper Phillip Lawrence killed in Afghanistan

It is with deep regret that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Trooper Phillip Lawrence was killed in Afghanistan on Monday 27 July 2009.

Trooper Lawrence from The Light Dragoons died in an explosion whilst travelling in a SCIMITAR, or CVR(T), vehicle, as part of a patrol in Lashkar Gah district, Helmand province, while helping ensure the security of an area earlier cleared as part of Operation PANCHAI PALANG. He had volunteered to step in to drive for another Troop to fill a temporary manning gap when his vehicle was hit by an explosion, mortally wounding him.

Trooper Phillip Lawrence

Tpr Lawrence from Birkenhead, was born 31 March 1987, and enlisted into the Army in July 2005. After completing recruit training in Jan 2006 he conducted his Royal Armoured Corps training in Bovington before joining The Light Dragoons.

Joining C Squadron from the outset, he deployed almost immediately on his first tour of Afghanistan in late 2006, where he quickly learnt his trade in the most demanding conditions. He was a talented, reliable and dedicated soldier.

Tpr Lawrence deployed to Afghanistan this year as part of Emsdorf Troop, a Fire Support Group attached to A Company 2 MERCIAN. For the first three months of the tour he had operated on foot and in Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) in Garmsir, before the Battle Group deployed to the Lashkar Gah district.

Always the first to volunteer for anything, Tpr Lawrence made a name for himself across the Regiment for not only being a surprisingly good dancer, but simply being the most cheerful, helpful and friendly person you could hope to meet. You could not help but like him, and he was universally popular as a result. He was a devoted husband to his wife Amy, and doting father to their baby daughter Jessica.

Tpr Lawrence's family paid the following tribute:

"No words can ever explain the loss, he was our Knight in Shining Armour. Husband, Dad, Son, Brother, Grandson, Son-in-law, Brother-in-law, Friend and in the early years The Man of The House a pleasure to be around.

"The Light has been turned off in our world but his memories will always live on in his precious daughter who he thought the world of.

"He lived for the Army and died for his country. A Hero in everybody's world he will be missed by everyone always in our hearts you will never be forgotten. Rest in Peace."

Lance Corporal David Dennis killed in Afghanistan

It is with deep regret that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Lance Corporal David Dennis from The Light Dragoons and Private Robert Laws from 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment were killed in Afghanistan on 4 July 2009.

Both soldiers died in separate incidents, while taking part in Operation PANCHAI PALANG, an operation involving around 3,000 soldiers, to improve security in the area north of Lashkar Gah, clear the Babaji and Malgir areas of insurgents and restore government control before the National elections.

Lance Corporal Dennis was killed by a contact explosion from an Improvised Explosive Device whilst on foot. Private Laws was killed when the vehicle he was travelling in was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade attack.

Lance Corporal David Dennis, The Light Dragoons

Lance Corporal David 'Duke' Dennis was serving with The Light Dragoons Battle Group, which had begun a clearance operation the day previously, at the time of his death. He had deployed as part of The Light Dragoons' Command Troop and was responsible for ensuring radio communications for the Commanding Officer's tactical headquarters, both on foot and on vehicles.

Having just helped to secure a Helicopter Landing Site for the extraction of casualties from an earlier incident Lance Corporal Dennis was amongst a group hit by an Improvised Explosive Device, and sustained fatal injuries.

Lance Corporal Dennis was born on 16 May 1980. He joined the Army on the 14 Feb 2003 as a gunner in the Royal Artillery before joining King's Troop. Having served with the Gunners for just over two years, he was attached to the Light Dragoons for a six month tour in Iraq in 2005. Having struck up strong friendships over the six months he applied to transfer and joined the Regiment in February 2006. Lance Corporal Dennis was on his second tour of Afghanistan. He leaves behind his mother Adele, of Llanelli, as well as his twin brother Gareth and his fiancée Lisa.

Lance Corporal Dennis was a quietly spoken and popular soldier; fiercely loyal to his friends. He was known throughout the Regiment simply as 'Duke' - a nickname of which he was hugely. He believed wholehearted in what he was doing and would always back himself to the hilt.

Lance Corporal Dennis loved the banter that typifies Army life, and he could give as good as he got, though he had the character to laugh at himself as well. He loved the gym, and would jokingly show off his muscles at any opportunity. He took great pride in mentoring and looking after the junior members of his Troop, and he would be one of the first they would turn to for advice and guidance.

Ambitious and determined, Lance Corporal Dennis wanted to pursue the dismounted side of Formation Reconnaissance, and had volunteered to attend Junior Brecon on his return and wanted to serve in the Brigade Reconnaissance Force in the future.

Lieutenant Colonel Gus Fair DSO, Commanding Officer The Light Dragoons Battle Group, said:

"Lance Corporal Dennis was one of a hugely talented generation of Light Dragoons. With tours of Afghanistan and Iraq behind him, he was experienced beyond his relatively junior years. Duke loved being in the Regiment, and the Regiment celebrated this popular, genuine and heartfelt soldier.

"If there is any consolation it is that he is re-united with his close friend Lance Corporal Nigel Moffett, whose death earlier in the tour had affected Lance Corporal Dennis greatly. My sincerest condolences go out to his mother Adele, his brother Gareth and his fiancée Lisa. We will remember Lance Corporal Dennis; we will be worthy of his memory; we will continue to take the fight to the enemy that has taken him from us."