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It might still be another week and a half until I have to report back for duty, but when I woke up this morning I thought it would be a really good idea to start packing my kit.
After forcing open the door to my spare room, my first thought was to call the police and report a burglary, because the great big pile of desert camouflage-coloured stuff lying all over the place looked exactly like the title of this post, a massive, unfolded, mish-mash of trousers, shirts, combat jackets, boots, string, water bottles and all the other assorted paraphernalia which the British soldier gets thrown at them in the QM's store, rather like those scenes in the films.
After forcing the door shut again, going away, drinking several cups of coffee, reading the paper from cover to cover, going out for a run, having lunch, reading the paper again and generally using all the tactics one employs to avoid having to tackle a big job, I reluctantly returned to the spare room, in the vain hope that in my absence, the magic tidying up elves had done their job.
Alas, they had completely failed to help me, so I am writing this while the European Army Surplus Mountain sits there, staring at me in a challenging sort of way.
Suggestions on a postcard please, as to how I can fit this lot into a rucksack and holdall.
Wednesday, 20 August 2008
Monday, 11 August 2008
We're all going on a summer holiday
I don't think I've ever had three weeks' holiday from work before! The only problem is that after the intensity of everything that's happened since I mobilised in June, I'm a bit worried that I might get a bit bored... So I'm planning to fill my time with catching up on all those things that I just haven't had the time to do for the last two months (seeing my family being the most important one of them!).
It's also giving me time to reflect on what we've done, what we've achieved and the size of the job ahead of us. The thing is, while I always expected to be involved in operations either in Afghanistan or possibly Iraq when I joined the Territorial Army, I never expected to be involved in the role I've now been given, that of training the Afghan National Army. In some ways, it's one of the most important roles the British Army is performing there, because we can fight the Taliban and charities and aid organisations can hand out food, tools and equipment all day long, but if there is nothing there to take over the security of the country when our work is eventually done, then things could return very quickly to square one.
That sounds like a lot of self-praise! The best bit of news Corunna Company has had is that the powers that be have been very impressed with our efforts over the past few weeks, so it looks like we might get used for some more interesting tasks away from Camp Bastion.
In any case, we're all looking forward to our leave, time to recharge our batteries ahead of a long flight out to Afghanistan and the real beginning of our adventures.
It's also giving me time to reflect on what we've done, what we've achieved and the size of the job ahead of us. The thing is, while I always expected to be involved in operations either in Afghanistan or possibly Iraq when I joined the Territorial Army, I never expected to be involved in the role I've now been given, that of training the Afghan National Army. In some ways, it's one of the most important roles the British Army is performing there, because we can fight the Taliban and charities and aid organisations can hand out food, tools and equipment all day long, but if there is nothing there to take over the security of the country when our work is eventually done, then things could return very quickly to square one.
That sounds like a lot of self-praise! The best bit of news Corunna Company has had is that the powers that be have been very impressed with our efforts over the past few weeks, so it looks like we might get used for some more interesting tasks away from Camp Bastion.
In any case, we're all looking forward to our leave, time to recharge our batteries ahead of a long flight out to Afghanistan and the real beginning of our adventures.
Saturday, 2 August 2008
Post-exercise admin
I reckon the vast majority of people would shudder at the thought of wearing the same underwear for days on end, washing out of a bowl of cold water and eating beans with every meal. Well, that's what going on a training exercise is usually like, but this one was different. Right across the Army's massive Salisbury Plain training area, the Royal Engineers had been busy recreating a series of Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) for us to use for our mission rehearsal training.
Now that meant food cooked by Army chefs, solar showers (a bag you hang up in the sun to heat the water) and cot beds, so we had a pretty comfortable time of things. We even had some simulated Afghan National Army soldiers to work with to practice how we're going to mentor them.
But what I wasn't quite prepared for was the sweaty, horrible experience of wearing Osprey body armour. It's bloody good stuff (in that it will hopefully keep me alive when I'm in Afghanistan), but it is basically two large, heavy plates strapped fore and aft. It's bulky, it weighs a lot and it makes you perspire freely. Or sweat like a dog, depending on how you look at it. That's why I'm about half the size I was when I began the exercise.
It's been an interesting two weeks, settling in to my new unit, the 1st Battalion the Rifles, meeting new people and getting used to how they do business. Of course, I've seen assorted members of Corunna Company cutting about the area, and at one point I even caught a fleeting glimpse of one of my North Devon Journal colleagues, Rupert Sims, interviewing a Royal Engineers captain.
Next week should be far less frenetic, as I'm going to be learning Pashtu, the language most commonly spoken in Helmand. Despite only having a week to pick up the basics, it's going to be useful to at least say hello to the locals and inquire after their health, their opinions on the weather and stuff about the pen of my grandfather's aunt (unless language training has come a long way since I left school). "Has anyone seen any Taliban?" may also be a useful phrase. It's pretty difficult really, because the usual foreign lingo picked up by us Brits is something along the lines of "beer and chips please", neither of which we are likely to be using in and around the towns and villages of Southern Afghanistan.
But after that, I've got three weeks' leave, so I'll be travelling around the country visiting relatives and friends, packing my kit and preparing for the off, sometime in mid-September. But complaining about flying RAF is something I'll save for another time.
Now that meant food cooked by Army chefs, solar showers (a bag you hang up in the sun to heat the water) and cot beds, so we had a pretty comfortable time of things. We even had some simulated Afghan National Army soldiers to work with to practice how we're going to mentor them.
But what I wasn't quite prepared for was the sweaty, horrible experience of wearing Osprey body armour. It's bloody good stuff (in that it will hopefully keep me alive when I'm in Afghanistan), but it is basically two large, heavy plates strapped fore and aft. It's bulky, it weighs a lot and it makes you perspire freely. Or sweat like a dog, depending on how you look at it. That's why I'm about half the size I was when I began the exercise.
It's been an interesting two weeks, settling in to my new unit, the 1st Battalion the Rifles, meeting new people and getting used to how they do business. Of course, I've seen assorted members of Corunna Company cutting about the area, and at one point I even caught a fleeting glimpse of one of my North Devon Journal colleagues, Rupert Sims, interviewing a Royal Engineers captain.
Next week should be far less frenetic, as I'm going to be learning Pashtu, the language most commonly spoken in Helmand. Despite only having a week to pick up the basics, it's going to be useful to at least say hello to the locals and inquire after their health, their opinions on the weather and stuff about the pen of my grandfather's aunt (unless language training has come a long way since I left school). "Has anyone seen any Taliban?" may also be a useful phrase. It's pretty difficult really, because the usual foreign lingo picked up by us Brits is something along the lines of "beer and chips please", neither of which we are likely to be using in and around the towns and villages of Southern Afghanistan.
But after that, I've got three weeks' leave, so I'll be travelling around the country visiting relatives and friends, packing my kit and preparing for the off, sometime in mid-September. But complaining about flying RAF is something I'll save for another time.
Sunday, 20 July 2008
Poised for action
I've only just realised how long it's been since my last post - more than two weeks! But what an exciting two weeks it's been. First of all, we carried out a four-day exercise in Norfolk, which was designed to put us in situations we might encounter "in theatre" (that is, in Helmand). The most difficult aspect of it was that in Afghanistan, we may well have to switch from fighting the war to dealing with civilians in a peacekeeping-type role and back again at the drop of a hat, which means we've all got to be very switched on to what's happening around us. But the exercise, in which we worked with lots of other branches of the Army, from the cavalry to the engineers and the artillery, was brilliant and we were all buzzing by the end, which was a company-level operation to clear an area of woodland of "Taliban" fighters. I've never seen such a wet, boggy, muddy and desnse bit of countryside in my life, and trying to walk along normally was difficult enough, let alone fighting our way through it carrying weapons, webbing, radios and all the other bits and pieces we need! Suffice it to say that no-one, from the most senior officer to the most junior rifleman, got away clean and dry.
Last week, we descended on the spiritual home of the infantry, the army training area in the Brecon Beacons. Wet, muddy, usually windy and often with sideways rain, it's the sort of place where you go expecting to get soaked and it's a bonus if you don't. It sorts the men from the boys.
We had five days of live field firing, where we practise fighting with live ammunition and grenades. This is the pinnacle of infantry training: it's realistic, tough and it begins the process of inocluating us to the volume, chaos and stomach-jolting power of explosions, bullets flying around and the exhaustion of battle. And it's awesome fun! The exercise culminated on Friday with live platoon attacks up a steep-sided valley, with targets popping up to simulate enemy positions. Crawling through a river with a weapon, webbing and a rather large radio is no joke, but you come out of the other end really buzzing.
So this weekend, we've been relaxing over a barbecue and a few beers and preparing for the next exercise, which is two weeks on Salisbury Plain, with thousands of troops rehearsing our mission in Helmand Province. It's going to be yet another busy time, but it will mean that we are good to go.
Sadly though, this is my last weekend with Corunna Company. I and three other soldiers from the company have been selected to join 1st Battalion The Rifles, one of our regiment's regular battalions, to work in a team which helps train the Afghan National Army. While it's a wrench to leave the guys behind (we've all become very close in the past five weeks), this task is an exciting new challenge which we're really looking forward to. So tonight I'm off to Chepstow to meet my new colleagues and start preparing to help the Afghans develop their learning of how to protect their country.
Last week, we descended on the spiritual home of the infantry, the army training area in the Brecon Beacons. Wet, muddy, usually windy and often with sideways rain, it's the sort of place where you go expecting to get soaked and it's a bonus if you don't. It sorts the men from the boys.
We had five days of live field firing, where we practise fighting with live ammunition and grenades. This is the pinnacle of infantry training: it's realistic, tough and it begins the process of inocluating us to the volume, chaos and stomach-jolting power of explosions, bullets flying around and the exhaustion of battle. And it's awesome fun! The exercise culminated on Friday with live platoon attacks up a steep-sided valley, with targets popping up to simulate enemy positions. Crawling through a river with a weapon, webbing and a rather large radio is no joke, but you come out of the other end really buzzing.
So this weekend, we've been relaxing over a barbecue and a few beers and preparing for the next exercise, which is two weeks on Salisbury Plain, with thousands of troops rehearsing our mission in Helmand Province. It's going to be yet another busy time, but it will mean that we are good to go.
Sadly though, this is my last weekend with Corunna Company. I and three other soldiers from the company have been selected to join 1st Battalion The Rifles, one of our regiment's regular battalions, to work in a team which helps train the Afghan National Army. While it's a wrench to leave the guys behind (we've all become very close in the past five weeks), this task is an exciting new challenge which we're really looking forward to. So tonight I'm off to Chepstow to meet my new colleagues and start preparing to help the Afghans develop their learning of how to protect their country.
Friday, 4 July 2008
Home on the ranges
ONE of the most important skills for a soldier is shooting, so we’ve been getting lots of time on the ranges over the past week and a half, starting with our personal weapon, the SA80 rifle, and moving up to the big guns: light, medium and heavy machine guns and grenade launchers. Because we fire our rifles so much in the course of our training, it’s always exciting for us to get to grips with the bigger weapons and the lads and lasses of Corunna Company have been enjoying this longer period of skill at arms training. It began with a week on the ranges at Salisbury Plain before we moved to Kent for more specialised training, which included our first real exercise.
The scenario is simple: my platoon of three sections of riflemen was tasked to occupy a building which replicated a Forward Operating Base of the type we may occupy in Afghanistan. We had to perform a reconnaissance, occupy the building and then fight off a series of Taliban “attacks”.
Although the Taliban fighters are only metal pop-up targets, and the incoming enemy fire is just sound effects and smoke, the realism of the exercise was a brilliant test of not just my command skills but also the shooting skills of my riflemen, the skills of my three section commanders (Corporals who are in charge of seven other soldiers) and the organisational skills of my Platoon Serjeant.
It’s very intense, very noisy, very hot and great fun! When the smoke and dust finally cleared and the range safety staff called a halt to the exercise, we had knocked down 551 targets (miles ahead of the other platoons, I was pleased to find out!) and we were “threadders” – absolutely knackered. I looked at my watch and we’d only been in the building for an hour and 20 minutes – it felt like hours and hours. It just goes to show how fierce and fast our operations in Afghanistan can be. It was a wake-up call to all of us that what we’re going halfway round the world to do is pretty serious stuff!
This week, we’re going to Norfolk for a four-day exercise which will rehearse us in more operational scenarios, both defending buildings and on mobile operations on foot and in vehicles, preparing us to face the task in hand. Although it’s hard, intense work, everyone is having the time of their lives – even if we are only getting a few hours’ sleep each night!
The scenario is simple: my platoon of three sections of riflemen was tasked to occupy a building which replicated a Forward Operating Base of the type we may occupy in Afghanistan. We had to perform a reconnaissance, occupy the building and then fight off a series of Taliban “attacks”.
Although the Taliban fighters are only metal pop-up targets, and the incoming enemy fire is just sound effects and smoke, the realism of the exercise was a brilliant test of not just my command skills but also the shooting skills of my riflemen, the skills of my three section commanders (Corporals who are in charge of seven other soldiers) and the organisational skills of my Platoon Serjeant.
It’s very intense, very noisy, very hot and great fun! When the smoke and dust finally cleared and the range safety staff called a halt to the exercise, we had knocked down 551 targets (miles ahead of the other platoons, I was pleased to find out!) and we were “threadders” – absolutely knackered. I looked at my watch and we’d only been in the building for an hour and 20 minutes – it felt like hours and hours. It just goes to show how fierce and fast our operations in Afghanistan can be. It was a wake-up call to all of us that what we’re going halfway round the world to do is pretty serious stuff!
This week, we’re going to Norfolk for a four-day exercise which will rehearse us in more operational scenarios, both defending buildings and on mobile operations on foot and in vehicles, preparing us to face the task in hand. Although it’s hard, intense work, everyone is having the time of their lives – even if we are only getting a few hours’ sleep each night!
Friday, 27 June 2008
A weekend off!
I'm writing this post from the comfort of my living room after a very, very long lie in. Our Officer Commanding sent us home last night for a well-earned rest after a week on the shooting ranges on Salisbury Plain.
It's been hard work and long days, but every member of Corunna Company has now been well practised in using most of the weapons we will have at our disposal in Afghanistan, from our personal weapon, the SA80 rifle, to the beast that is the .50-calibre heavy machine gun, which fires a slug of lead the size of a man's thumb further than two kilometres. It's quite an impressive weapon, but it's jolly heavy - almost 70kg when you include all the bits and pieces attached to it.
But for the time being, we're all at home relaxing, catching up with all the domestic things which we've been removed from since we mobilised - bills and laundry, mostly!
We form up again on Sunday for a long drive east for more range work, with the tempo and intensity of our training increasing all the time.
On a more serious note, we're now into territory where the emotion of becoming a full-time soldier comes into play. Most of the lads who haven't been on operations before have never spent more than two weeks continuously in uniform, and for some of them it's tough. Luckily, the comradeship and general matey larking about that squaddies love is coming into play. One or two of my troops have already privately admitted to me that they are missing home and their wives, partners and children, but the support they all give each other is phenomenal. The Army is one of those odd places: filled with very macho types, but the freedom with which they share their emotions with each other when the going gets tough is quite touching.
The feeling in Corunna Company is one of excitement and anticipation: everyone is buzzing about the training we've done. There are plenty more challenges to come, and some experienced members of the battalion have been giving lectures on what we can expect to come across in theatre. It's a bit like looking at someone's holiday snaps, but with the knowledge that we're going on the package tour soon and we're being told about all the problems with the hotel in advance!
So with all this new knowledge sloshing around in my tired brain, I'm going to have another cup of coffee and finish washing my socks. Back to the coalface on Sunday!
It's been hard work and long days, but every member of Corunna Company has now been well practised in using most of the weapons we will have at our disposal in Afghanistan, from our personal weapon, the SA80 rifle, to the beast that is the .50-calibre heavy machine gun, which fires a slug of lead the size of a man's thumb further than two kilometres. It's quite an impressive weapon, but it's jolly heavy - almost 70kg when you include all the bits and pieces attached to it.
But for the time being, we're all at home relaxing, catching up with all the domestic things which we've been removed from since we mobilised - bills and laundry, mostly!
We form up again on Sunday for a long drive east for more range work, with the tempo and intensity of our training increasing all the time.
On a more serious note, we're now into territory where the emotion of becoming a full-time soldier comes into play. Most of the lads who haven't been on operations before have never spent more than two weeks continuously in uniform, and for some of them it's tough. Luckily, the comradeship and general matey larking about that squaddies love is coming into play. One or two of my troops have already privately admitted to me that they are missing home and their wives, partners and children, but the support they all give each other is phenomenal. The Army is one of those odd places: filled with very macho types, but the freedom with which they share their emotions with each other when the going gets tough is quite touching.
The feeling in Corunna Company is one of excitement and anticipation: everyone is buzzing about the training we've done. There are plenty more challenges to come, and some experienced members of the battalion have been giving lectures on what we can expect to come across in theatre. It's a bit like looking at someone's holiday snaps, but with the knowledge that we're going on the package tour soon and we're being told about all the problems with the hotel in advance!
So with all this new knowledge sloshing around in my tired brain, I'm going to have another cup of coffee and finish washing my socks. Back to the coalface on Sunday!
Saturday, 21 June 2008
The end of the beginning
THE mobilisation period is over. On Thursday morning we crossed our final hurdle before beginning our pre-deployment training, the Combat Fitness Test. Two hours, eight miles and 25 kilos of kit, including our body armour, helmets and weapons. It sounds gruelling, but it’s the basic standard every infantryman must pass to prove that they can go on to more arduous training and are fit to go on operations.
I always thought that the Midlands were a series of gently rolling slopes and pleasant valleys, but the Physical Training Instructors have sought out the steepest slopes they can find, and guess what? Up we went! It was good fun though, even if that sounds slightly masochistic!
With all our training tests out of the way and “all the boxes ticked”, we have now moved to Salisbury Plain for the start of training proper. Over the next week, we’ve got a pretty exciting live firing package lined up on the ranges around the Plain, which is the largest military training area in the country. We’re going to fire all sorts of weapons, from machine guns to grenade launchers, and first thing tomorrow a very large truck with lots and lots of ammunition on board will arrive for us to use. Admittedly, we’re going to have to unload it all, but everyone in Corunna Company is looking forward to the week’s activities.
Our Officer Commanding and Company Serjeant Major have just returned from a “recce” of Camp Bastion in Helmand Province, which will give us an even better picture of the task facing us.
The company has also had to deal with the sad news of the deaths of several Army personnel in the last week. It’s never easy hearing about the deaths of some of our colleagues, and naturally our thoughts go out to the families of every serviceman and woman who is injured or killed in the line of duty. It’s one of the tough realities of what we do, but it has made every man and woman in Corunna Company even more determined to do a thoroughly professional job and contribute in some small way to bringing peace and stability to a part of the world which desperately needs it.
Looking on the bright side, next weekend we get to home for a couple of days – and it’s the 6th Battalion Officers’ Mess summer ball, so it will be a great chance to catch up with some friends and let my hair down!
I think I’ve earned a pint (or two) after a couple of pretty intensive weeks, so I’m off to the bar for a couple of “scoops” – and I’ll write again soon!
I always thought that the Midlands were a series of gently rolling slopes and pleasant valleys, but the Physical Training Instructors have sought out the steepest slopes they can find, and guess what? Up we went! It was good fun though, even if that sounds slightly masochistic!
With all our training tests out of the way and “all the boxes ticked”, we have now moved to Salisbury Plain for the start of training proper. Over the next week, we’ve got a pretty exciting live firing package lined up on the ranges around the Plain, which is the largest military training area in the country. We’re going to fire all sorts of weapons, from machine guns to grenade launchers, and first thing tomorrow a very large truck with lots and lots of ammunition on board will arrive for us to use. Admittedly, we’re going to have to unload it all, but everyone in Corunna Company is looking forward to the week’s activities.
Our Officer Commanding and Company Serjeant Major have just returned from a “recce” of Camp Bastion in Helmand Province, which will give us an even better picture of the task facing us.
The company has also had to deal with the sad news of the deaths of several Army personnel in the last week. It’s never easy hearing about the deaths of some of our colleagues, and naturally our thoughts go out to the families of every serviceman and woman who is injured or killed in the line of duty. It’s one of the tough realities of what we do, but it has made every man and woman in Corunna Company even more determined to do a thoroughly professional job and contribute in some small way to bringing peace and stability to a part of the world which desperately needs it.
Looking on the bright side, next weekend we get to home for a couple of days – and it’s the 6th Battalion Officers’ Mess summer ball, so it will be a great chance to catch up with some friends and let my hair down!
I think I’ve earned a pint (or two) after a couple of pretty intensive weeks, so I’m off to the bar for a couple of “scoops” – and I’ll write again soon!
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