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3 Company Sit Rep as at 25th Oct 07
(Archive)
FIRST REPORT FROM HELMAND AS AT 25
OCTOBER 2007
MESSAGE FROM THE COMPANY COMMANDER
Finally, 11 months after being warned off for deployment to
Afghanistan, 3 Company has now arrived in Helmand. The Company
is in good spirits and all men are very much looking forward to
the various challenges that lie ahead.
On 20th October we took over from A Company, 2nd Battalion The
Mercian Regiment, in an area to the north east of Gereshk in
central Helmand. The Company is occupying a large compound which
dominates the local surrounding area just on the edge of the
desert. The accommodation, as you can see from the photographs
below, is pretty basic and the washing facilities even more so.
There is a well which the men use for washing, (this includes
clothes washing – mothers, your sons will be so much more useful
when they get home!) however drinking water is supplied in
bottles. In fact such is the shortage of water and likelihood of
infection the men are not required to shave meaning several of
the boys are well on the way to growing full ZZ Top style
beards. Others, including Sgt Hutt, are perhaps struggling just
a bit….
So more about the area and what it is like operating here. The
area was previously heavily occupied by the Taleban until it was
recently cleared during a large battlegroup operation. Since
this operation the past 3 weeks has seen a quiet period with the
focus being on stabilising the area and facilitating a return to
normality for the local nationals. Many of the locals fled the
area in the clearance operation and we are now doing our best to
persuade locals to return to the area. How are we doing this?
Local patrols are going out to dominate the area and prove to
the locals that this area is safe. Furthermore we are
identifying quick impact projects to improve the standard of
living for the locals and mobile medical clinics where we give
what assistance we can.
However, it has not all been quiet. As luck would have it on our
first night in role after the previous company had left the
Taleban decided to greet us with a combined attack of mortars,
small arms fire and rocket propelled grenades! Thankfully such
are their poor operating skills they failed to hit the target.
We however were more precise. But this did not put off the
Taleban as they came again the very next night only this time an
hour later. This time with more weapons at our disposal we
managed to give them even more of a bloody nose, so much so that
since this failed attack they have not bothered us again.
Some more information about the local area. It is an austere
environment which requires the best field administration skills.
As you can see from the picture below the countryside is harsh,
dry and extremely dusty. Dust gets absolutely everywhere; your
food, your hair and even your sleeping bag can’t escape the
Afghan dust which is perhaps best compared to flour. When the
rains come towards the end of November I suspect a good pair of
wellington boots might be the ideal form of footwear. Regarding
the temperature it is still very warm during the day, in the
high 70s at least. Thankfully during the night it cools off to a
pleasant 60 degrees, which with the clear nights makes operating
with all our kit on far easier. We are told that come January we
should expect it to be very cold, probably down to well below
freezing during the night. Families please prepare for requests
for warm socks a plenty!
As said in my last report, we will endeavour to send weekly
updates written by a variety of men from the Company and
hopefully as many photographs as possible (see below for more
photographs). Finally, please keep the letters coming, they have
an excellent effect on morale.
T F CHARLES
Major
3 Company Commander
1st Battalion Coldstream Guards
3 Company So
Far: A Guardsman's Perspective
After first being told that we would be deploying to Afghanistan
the boys were really up for it. It was finally their chance to
have a crack at Terry Taliban and after a good six months of
hard training we were sat at the departure lounge at the
airport, ready to fly out and get stuck into it all. But when we
was sat at the departure lounge I think the realism of were we
was going and what we were going to be doing had finally started
to kick in. Finally what I had been training for my whole life
was about to happen. The chance to show the world what 3
Company, 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards were made off.
When we finally got to Camp Bastion, after which felt like the
longest day of my life we had a couple of relaxed days going
through our RSOI package. Then on the late Thursday morning we
were put into two chalks and flown into what would be home for
us. When I arrived at the patrol base there was nothing there,
it is just four walls with limited hard cover, sleeping under
ponchos, living off rations and bottles of water, with a well
for washing. I no longer had my mum to look after me and it was
time to fend for myself. A challenge I was definitely up for.
Then it was our first night on our own after the Mercian’s moved
out. I was on guard in the front sangar when all of a sudden
there were two mortar rounds fired, the first of which landed
30m to my front and the second 10m to my right. We saw the enemy
and opened up with the GPMG. Then on the second night I was in
the same sangar again when we came under small arms and mortar
fire again to which this time we engaged again but this time
with a lot more fire power, pretty much everything we had I
think the contact lasted about 20 to 30 minutes, and let’s just
say they haven’t been back since.
Guardsman Thorncroft
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