20110610 wrt-newsletterissue4 arrival in theatre-fb

Inside this issue:

29 AES - Stories from the Patrol Bases (Check out page 9 for the Hunks of the Fort-night)

3

37 AES - Special edi-tion including G4 - It just happens

10

44 HQ & SP SQN - Officially in the seat

20

77 Talisman Squad-

ron - Including the first

LAD article

31

11 Field Squadron -

including the new

SSM little eye

39

The BAG BOYS

NEW!

49

What did Baby Hector

find in the ground?

Find out on page…..

52

You can not miss the all new Toe-Jam Times NEW!

57

Caption competition,

can you come up with

the funniest caption?

56

Issue 5

06 October 2011

Commanding Officer‟s Foreword

It has been another hectic week for us all over here in Afghanistan. With the Squadrons continuing their good work across Helmand - many are op-erating with little supervision or com-munication to the wider Task Force, yet they remain committed and profes-sional in all that is asked of them. It is going extremely well.

I‟ve spent the last few days moving around and visiting guys on the ground. I recently went into the North-ern Dashte – a large expanse of de-sert that has few inhabitants; you drive for miles and yet despite the rugged terrain, blistering heat and dry environ-ment you can still come across small communities of families, each one seeking a safe and secure place to bring up their children, raise livestock and farm their crops. It appears almost medieval in how these farm-steads are laid out and existing, despite the technology of the 21

st cen-

tury that surrounds.

Once we left the Dashte, we entered the „Green Zone‟, a heavily irrigated area of farmland and vegetation in which the majority of the population live – it is also home to the enemy; a tactful and determined insurgent, who were clearly watching our every move. We eventually found the Pa-trol Base we were to visit, but in order to enter it we had to negotiate an old Russian minefield that had been laid by the Soviets during their occu-pation of Afghanistan in the early 80s. Rusty and decaying anti-tank mines could be seen half-covered in the sand as we passed by.

I visited 8 Troop 37 Sqn, led by Lt Will Abbot and ably supported by Cpl Simpson. Along with a couple of sections, the 37‟ lads were doing a cracking job trying to make the bases better to live in for the forthcoming winter. They are constructing elevated guard towers to look over the in-surgent routes from which they launch their attacks against our bases, as well as preparing defences against grenades that are fired through the air or directly at anyone who is associated with either the NATO forces or representatives of the Afghan government. It is clear their efforts are warmly received by the Danish troops in the area.

The enduring threat of insurgent activity is very real out here. Last week, whilst I was in the Bri-gade Headquarters, a large car bomb was detonated outside a bakery near the local police sta-tion in Lashkar Gah. It was only 200m from the Headquarters, which shook under the blast so much I thought it was a direct hit. We continued our coffee whilst huddled under our desks. Once we had finished our lattes, we were moved into a fortified shelter for an hour whilst waiting to see if another attack was imminent – thankfully it wasn‟t. It was like the Blitz, with Captain Jimmy Ryan keeping us all entertained with his weird sense of toilet humour. Despite such a vio-lent incident, the overall prevailing sense of security and safety is evident. The Afghan Army, some of which are being mentored by elements of the Regiment, alongside the expanding Police force, are delivering a credible and strong security apparatus in which economy and governance is growing daily. It is a far cry from when I was last in Helmand in 2008.

It is great to see everyone in such good form wherever I go. Despite the threat of the enemy, coupled with the austere and basic living conditions we often find ourselves in, the boys and girls are always up for the challenge and doing amazing things; it is called „persistent courage‟ and I see it every day from everyone. I hope that the tenacity, professionalism and sharp sense of hu-mour from across the Regimental Group comes out in this, our second edition of the Trojan Times. We also have a special section called the „Toe-jam Times‟, which are a series of light-hearted articles from anonymous authors. Together, the newsletter should give you an insight into what we have achieved over the last 2 weeks. Enjoy.

Lieutenant Colonel Kev Copsey - Commanding Officer

29 Armoured Engineer Squadron

Officer Commanding’s Foreword

Welcome to the second newsletter from 29 Armd Engr Sqn on Op HERRICK 15. The Sqn is well into the stride out here now and I, with the SSM, have been travelling around visiting 4 and 5 Troop in their PBs and CPs. Spirits are high, everyone is settled in and the work is starting to build up. I will be out to 6 Tp in the next couple of days.

The sections continue to provide support to the CFs in a wide variety of tasks including a route upgrade, SANGER step construction, base improvements for winter and the removal of obsolete structures to create extra space. The Sqn have already impressed the soldiers of 1 RIFLES and 4 SCOTS with their enthusiasm and ingenuity around the various PBs making the quality of life better. A couple of larger jobs are on the horizon too!

Sadly we had the terrible news about one of our members of the Squadron being wounded in ac-tion and seriously injured. He was deployed with the EOD & Search Task Force but is still firmly a part of 29. He lived and trained in Paderborn throughout his preparation for the search role and will return back to the Sqn. The Rear Ops Group will establish a link to him to ensure he is sup-ported throughout his recovery. Having been given immediate treatment here in Camp Bastion he is now in the best medical hands back in the UK. I am certain I speak for every soldier and family in 29 by extending our thoughts and support to his family at this difficult time.

I would also like to thank everyone for all of the support that we have received in theatre so far with hundreds of letters and parcels arriving over the last three weeks. SHQ are sending the mail forward as quickly as possible to the PBs but it takes a little longer to get to some locations de-pending on the availability of space on helicopters.

Si Carvel

Patrol Base 2 - My new home

Spr Chris Rosie. 5 Troop

On the 12th September 2011 we moved to the JOB Bastion Helicopter Landing Site (HLS) for the short journey to our Patrol Base (PB) in NES(S). After an airport style check-in and baggage check we waited for the helicopter to arrive. The Sea King landed and we piled on with all of our kit. The helicopter took off and we left the safe walls of Joint Operating Base Bastion. I sat next to the door of the Sea King and I re-member feeling an almost unbearable heat on my face as the aircraft climbed higher. As the flight went on I started noticing compounds and people getting on with their daily lives. This is when it started to hit home to me that this was the real thing.

The Sea King landed at PB 2 and we were met by some of our Troop who had arrived on the earlier flight. They helped us off load our equipment and showed us where we were going to be living for the next 6 months. We had been given an 18 x 24 tent which had individual mosquito tents inside. My first impres-sion was that there was not a lot of space but enough to get by.

That evening we met one of the Staff Sergeants from 39 Ar-moured Engineer Squadron. He gave us a map orientation of the Area of Operation (AO) we were going to be working in. We were told that we were going out the following morning to visit all of the other PBs in our AO and I was to be the top gun-ner in the Mastiff.

We set off early the next morning onto our first mission. The first thing I noticed was the smell; it was unpleasant to say the least. In majority of places we drove through, I couldn‟t really believe the way the people lived and how different life in Af-ghanistan is by comparison to the West.

After our orientation patrol, we were assigned with our first engineering task. One of the PBs had 3 mortar pits that required to be stripped out to generate more space for the infantry vehicle park. The plant had just stripped out the first mortar pit when we were assigned with a higher priority task from SHQ. We had to help 6 Troop with a route upgrade because they needed extra vehicles to help with re-sources and force protection. The other two mortar pits would have to wait. (Ed: See Spr Shaw‟s Article)

The first week has gone well. Although it has been very warm and nerve racking at times, the experience so far has been exhilarating. The Tp is looking forward to getting stuck into some bigger tasks and I‟m sure they are on the horizon.

5 Troop settling in around the TV

5 Troop, PB4 stripping out of a mortar pit

Patrol Base NAHIDULLAH

Spr Matthew Chadwick- 6 Tp

After months of training and hard work we have finally arrived at our forward location in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. After a smooth handover from 9 Troop, 39 Engi-neer Armoured Squadron we have begun our 6 month tour! The Troop has been slowly making their way to PB NAHIDUL-LAH (NDH) in NES(S). During our short time in the country the Troop has been out on two tasks. Firstly, the replacement of a broken culvert and secondly a road build to help movement for locals and ISAF. The rest of the time we have been planting our feet and settling in.

PB NDH is better than I had expected or led to believe. Inside our accommodation we have a welfare area with a TV and BFBS, so even when we are away we can keep up with current affairs and the footy! The carpenters have managed to create benches and tables from spare wood and blow up mats that make it a home away from home. We have two 12”x12” tents with a section sleeping in each. We have made them pretty comfortable with our flags and photographs the only let down is the smell of feet! There is also a small gym and the PB is large enough to run around. We have all been taking full advantage of the facilities and Op MASSIVE is in full force. We have a regular de-livery of mail and even at this early stage are very grateful of any news from home. We also get a good selection of newspapers and magazines (occasionally a month or two out of date, but can‟t complain).

6 Troop settle in for a good, old fashioned game of

monopoly

6 Troop settling in, mail is morale!

The Troop has also started a bit of celebrity spotting and so far we have spotted Ross Kemp and Cheryl Cole. Unfortunately, Cheryl did not make it as far down as PB NDH but a lucky few of the 6 Troop guys got a glimpse and a quick photograph when they were on courses in Bastion. All that is left to say is that we have all settled in well and we will keep you all updated on 6 Troop adventures.

Spot the celebrity

Spot the celebrity

Route TAVISTOCK Improvements

Spr Phillip Shaw- 6 Tp

After one day of travelling into Afghanistan, just over a week in Camp Bastion, a forty minute Chinook flight into our Patrol Base, it was finally time to put all the skills we had learnt as a troop, sections and indeed as individuals into practice out on the ground in Southern Afghanistan. Our first task was a route upgrade just off one of the main supply routes running parallel to our patrol base. As with anything out in Af-ghanistan nothing is ever as simple as it sounds.

Firstly in order to carry out the task, spe-cialist equipment had to be brought in from several different locations around our area of operations. This included a Self Loading Dump Truck, one Wolfhound, one Husky (big armoured trucks) and finally the manpower to operate and drive each of the vehicles. We would also be working with Afghan civilian plant operators therefore the language barrier and cultural differences would have to be taken into considera-tion. Improvised Explosive Devices are always a threat and before we could start work on the task site the rest of the route would have to be cleared and deemed safe enough for us to carry out the task. All these factors require detailed planning and organising in order for the whole task to be completed safely, to the required standard and on time.

Working hard on a route upgrade

6 Troop working on a route upgrade

The night before the task was to be carried out we met up with the members of 5 Troop in another Patrol Base close to the task site. Here we received orders so each person knew exactly what role they were to carry out the following day. Reveille was at 0530hrs, a quick wash then breakfast and a brew. We were all in the vehicles ready to make the short drive down to the task site. As daylight broke, we turned off the main supply route and onto the track leading us to the task site. It couldn‟t have been more than 200m down this track before we hit our first hurdle of the day, Lt Tomsett‟s Husky had broken down. With no power and the rest of the convoy at a standstill along the track, we had to act quickly in order to prevent ourselves becoming targeted.

We quickly cleared an area for the other Husky to move around to the front of the convoy, hook up to the broken down vehicle and recover it back to the Patrol Base we had just come from. After a quick rethink on logistics and manpower required, we were soon back on the road. With one Husky and several mem-bers of 5 Troop lighter. Standing in our way of the route to be upgraded were several VAs (vulnerable ar-eas, where Taleban bombs might be found). In this case it was 4 culverts which unfortunately other PBs around the area could not get eyes on. It took us several hours to check these VAs and with the help of the infantry clearing the last culvert it was time to start the task.

Through an interpreter we explained what needed to happen and set to work. We had top cover from each of our vehicles in the convoy and in addition the PBs close enough also gave us cover from any insurgent threat. Within 3 hours the route upgrade had been completed, aggregate had been laid and then rolled flat.

With only a few minor complications the task all ran smoothly. The route is now a far safer place for the locals to traffic their livestock and vehicles across. The whole task took just shy of 12 hours to complete, we even made it back to our PB to watch Manchester United beat Chelsea! A good day all round........

6 Troop looking like they are ready for anything

Hunks of the Fortnight!

Just look at these fine specimens of physical prowess!

Here they are just chilling after a session in the gym. „Phew, that last rep was hard!‟

You can see this man has been work-

ing out already!

He appears to be missing a piece of equip-ment to make him grimace so much...dumb

bells?!

37 Armoured Engineer

Squadron

Officer Commanding’s Foreword

We are now getting in to our stride and as you will see from the articles below there is a lot going on. Across our areas of responsibility we are building medical facilities, accommodation, eating areas, ammo stores, sangars, new camps and upgrading old ones. The work is entirely reward-ing and will serve to make the front line fighters safer and more comfortable. I am hugely im-pressed and indebted to everyone who is working hard in the Squadron, both here and back there (even the G4 platoon - although I'm sure someone said that stuff just happens).

I've been up to the new area of operations three times now and visited the outstations that are being developed; Corporals Vinante, Anderson and Cooper and their men are doing sterling work in some challenging circumstances; it is really good to see the professional, can-do attitude com-ing through in all we do.

The next few weeks will see us roll out the armoured support group with Corporals Dodson, Ste-vens and Roberts leading the way in support of the Danish contingent - more of which in the next newsletter I expect.

I hope you are all well back home and enjoying seeing the photos. As ever, please let us know if there is anything we can help you with on the home front - if you need an Armynet account set up; it is not too late - let Sergeant Sean Killen know and I will get your beloved to an internet ter-minal (by hook or by crook) to square it away (although you might have to give me a couple of days!). Take care of yourselves.

Guy Boxall

Squadron Overview

Captain Dominic Riley

So here we are 2 weeks in and it feels like we have been here forever! The guys are spread to the four winds in a total of six different locations and we've certainly been thrown in at the deep end. UK responsi-bility has recently extended to the North and this means we are taking over a new area of operations from the Americans.

This means as Engineers we have a huge role to play. The US Army by its very ethos is extremely expe-ditionary, in real terms this means that they are not fussed about infrastructure and if they told you they were leaving tomorrow you could well believe that they would be capable of doing just that. The British Army's ethos is quite different and thus much work needs to be done.

Originally just a 9 Tp task, 7 and 8 Tp are now supplying sections to the build in order to meet the dead-line of the in bound British battle group that is replacing the US Marine Corps. The construction tasks are manifold with a major upgrade of the main FOB ongoing. This includes the provision of water, power, ac-commodation and of course Force Protection, plenty of HESCO to fill, sangars to build and EPADs and EPATs for those of you familiar with the terms. (These are pre-design 'kits' easy to build but providing ex-tremely good protection to the guys that live and work inside them. They are used for accommodation, op-erations rooms and medical posts). Additionally in the main FOB we will have to build concrete pads for the REME to fix the vehicles on, an area for the logistic support vehicles, an ammo bunker to protect the ammunition from the weather, a fuel point and of course ensure that the base and the people in it are pro-tected from the elements, be it hot sunshine or the winter rains. A lot of work I'm sure you will agree.

That's not the whole story though. The main FOB has a few satellite patrol bases and check points that surround it to give us a bigger foot print on the ground. A patrol base tends to be bigger than a check point. Both these are not as well developed in terms of the infrastructure. For example the main FOB has a well but the CPs and PBs will be on bottled water. The emphasis on these satellite bases is on force protection rather than creature comforts. The lads tend to enjoy these smaller bases more as they are far from the interfering grip of SHQ!

Around the rest of the AO there is plenty for the rest of the lads to be getting on with but don't let me keep you, here are the troop updates...

Forward Operating Base KHAR NIKAH

Sapper 'Pistol' Pete Broxton - 7 Troop

On the 13th Sept 2011 our section deployed in the evening to Forward Operating Base, FOB, KHAR NI-KAH by CHINOOK helicopter. Our Section Commander „Master Two Stripes‟ Cpl Nick Amos and second in command „Riggers‟ big hair Lance Corporal Shabba Rigby, where already waiting for us. The section consisting of, Sappers‟ Pistol Pete Broxton, Billy Crump, Bobby Balfe, Terry Tez Pangop and Meatball Eminem G10 slave JJB Malcom!

Once we had arrived and had received a quick FOB brief we were baptised with two hour stags, although poor Pistol drew the unlucky straw and ended up doing 4 hours, cheers infan-try! We then started with our first task which was to finish a vehicle platform, another engineer Sqn had started... we had to strip out 99% of it out to make sure we hit the standard of 7 Troop 37 Armoured Engineer Squadron! Many thanks to our ginger POM Billy Crump who made our job easier.

Most days our section commander has been fully kitted up, with additional combat nappy, half barmine and morale for his recces for our up coming jobs.

On our second evening we were all given training on being 'number twos' in the mortar teams which was required as everyone has two jobs when stationed here in the FOB. Once we finished the training we all had to go through their initiation which we can not tell you anything about as it is a Engineering mortar team secret. So far we have a count of 335 rounds of various types, fired.

On the FOB we have sinks and showers and great chefs but the main fall down is the bags which substi-tute for toilets... don't ask! The most recent job we had, to my delight, was sorting out the stinking drain-age, all went well with many time saving ideas from master two stripes, Balfey and myself pistol Pete. I especially enjoyed wading through the bog to clear the last of the block-age.

Overall we have settled in well and morale is rather high, I‟m quite sure that will drain away in the not so distant future with some long hours and jobs!

Spr Broxton, Balfe Malcom and Cpl Amos coming

to the end of a long days work.

A view from Forward Operating

Base KHAR NIKAH

Patrol Base RAHIM 8,6,4 Sangar

LCpl Ross 'Atko' Atkinson - 8Troop

On the 9 Sep 11 the advance party from 8 troop 37 Armoured Engineer Squadron moved into Patrol Base, PB Rahim in the early hours of the morn-ing and were welcomed by the 26 Squad-ron lads from 32 Engineer Regiment, who were very happy to see us. We spent the day doing a handover takeover of our ac-commodation and some plant, HUSKEYs and an SLDT(P) which were all looking a bit forlorn from over work. On the 12th Sep 11 we were tasked to deconstruct an elevated sangar built only two days before our arrival as its supports were bending under the weight and it had been deemed unsafe. So our 'troop' consisting of four plant operators and a fitter, led by Cpl Simpson began the strip out of the EES. Naturally we had no one who was able to use the SLDT(P) so all the HESCO fill had to be removed by hand in full kit. The only break in the day was when we had to down tools and get down from the sangar as a Chinook flew in. Underestimating the downwash of the helicopter, because we wanted a good picture we lost 3 of our 4 cameras to the dust which was not great. By the end of a long and sweaty day the condemned sangar was down and we could start building our HESCO sangar to replace it.

Up early, our small section, now led by Cpl Cooper, began the tricky task of incorporating our sangar into the deteriorating and uneven existing corner wall. After some ground prep we finally managed to attach the new HESCO to the old and were on our way to completing the first layer in a day.

After quick showers and a bit of scoff we got down to some serious monopoly in the evening. It was during the evening that Troopy Abbott invented 'monopoly lottery' where the 'winner' got to write this media article, "So who's got Old Kent Road then? you can do it."

Thankfully the next day the rest of the Troop arrived and after a quick orientation were straight into kit and building HESCO. It was a mega first day, especially as the top layer had to be filled entirely by hand, a lot of sweat and a few hundred sandbags later the top layer was in. Our 'stand in' chippys; who were really traded signaller's and painters; did a good job on the roof and stairs, who needs carpenters? Sangar complete, the troop was thrown straight into a multitude of tasks from upgrading the gym to new desert roses round the PB.

A hard and fast start to the tour but at this rate the days will fly by.

Luxury...................PB Rahim in all its glory

The start of another hard days work

Camp Life (Patrol Base RAHIM)

Lieutenant Will 'Sqn OC' Abbott - 8 Troop

Greetings from 8 Troop, today is the 20th September 2011 meaning the troop have almost been in theatre for three weeks, not that anyone is counting just yet! No doubt you will have all heard about the hard work, blood, sweat and tears. So here is a little insider into how the Troop have been relaxing, unwinding and getting to grips with life in Afghanistan. I should point out at this point that no one has actually cried! However eve-ryone‟s money is on Sapper Pascoe to be the first to well up, the big softy that he is!

Over the past few weeks the Troop have been up at 0700hrs each day, working through until the day's tasks are complete, leaving them some time in the evenings to relax. There have been a few heated games of monop-oly which mainly end in LCpl Atkinson being bankrupt and getting 'pinged' to write media articles. Sapper Bond has turned his hand to chess and proven himself to be a grand master, beating all challengers, apart from the Troop commander for obvious reasons (editors note: liar). Operation 'Get massive' is in full flow thanks to the makeshift gym at PB RAHIM, the pro-tein powder is on tap and Sapper Jahatah is currently leading the way. However everyone‟s money is on Sapper „muscles‟ Atkinson to get the most improved prize after starting off with the body of a 5 year old boy! Fit-ness is key but imagine a goldfish in a bowl exercising - the current record stands at 50 plus laps of the helicopter landing site in the PB.

Sapper Yallop has fallen in love with two stray cats, however Staff Norman has quickly told him that if he goes anywhere near them he will get rabies, this resulted in Sapper Yallop's love affair coming quickly to an end.

The food here is good, we get 3 square meals a day which mainly consists of fried bacon, fried sausage, fried bacon, fried sausage and then to top it off a little more fried bacon. However Sapper Carter-Smith and Cpl Simpson have used their haggling skills to good use managing to secure the Troop some sau-sages one night, which they quickly cooked up on a makeshift BBQ. BBQ‟d sausage made a nice change from fried!

Troopy Abbott posing -

as usual

Hard at work in Patrol Base Rahim

The living area consists of three tents, an ISO container and a sitting area which is all cordoned off, mean-ing the Engineers get to have their own 'love in'. The door proudly bears the 'Noddy' emblem of 37 AES (please see attached pose with Sapper Nicholl and Sapper Pascoe). The toilets consist of a foil bag, to which I will add no more! The showers are rigged up in tents and plumbed into the water system in the PB. Sapper Robertson can be found in them most nights drenched in water, holding a spanner whilst trying to fix a million leaks. The internet here is ok and everyone is allocated roughly twenty minutes a day. Unfor-tunately lap tops were not designed to be lugged around the steaming hot dessert and seem to be on their last legs already. We have a couple of Sat phones which are literally a brick with an antenna attached. They are a bit intermittent and make the person on the other end of the phone sound like R2D2 or ET but they serve a purpose and if you are into robots it's a win, win situation.

Unfortunately 8 Troop will be splitting in two tomorrow to start separate tasks in different areas of opera-tions. Morale is high, and I have no doubt they will go on with the same professional attitude, working hard and playing chess, that‟s just how 8 Troop rolls.

Spr Pascoe and Nicholl showing the OC and 2IC what guns should

look like.

Combat Out Post OUELETTE

Lieutenant Alex 'O Group' Dow - 9 Troop

Gatorade milkshakes, chilli dog burgers, muffins, an endless supply of „sodas‟ and RIP energy drink … this was the beginning of tour for 9 Troop, who are currently based in a US Marine Corps base known as COP OUELETTE. At an important transition between US and UK units, we have been working hard to prepare OUELETTE and smaller patrol bases in the area for 2 MERCIANs to occupy. In the ten days the Troop have been here, we have already constructed a new medi-cal centre, built an ISAF accommodation area, upgraded the shower facilities and set up the power and lighting across the whole camp. Cpl Vinante‟s section has spent the last five days in a small ANA/US checkpoint, expanding and upgrading it for a partnered multiple to move into in a few days time.

Daily routine is based around the tasks; we‟ve been working into the evening in order to get tasks completed with a break in the heat of the day. Spr Hawthorne‟s guitar is a much appreciated as-set during this break; combine this with Cpl Anderson‟s HESCO armchair and a tropical flavour drinks powder and you have the recipe for a perfect lunch break.

With plenty of tasks on the horizon and a busy schedule, time is passing very quickly already. Unfortunately, the American caterers have already left, so we will have to get by somehow with-out the Gatorade milkshakes!

Lastly here is a small 'token' effort from the G4 team - they are an episode late but you'll have to forgive them as the OC and 2IC have got them working hard, without sleep, its all they deserve you see!

G4 - It Just Happens…Apparently

Anonymous member of the G4 Platoon

G4 for most people is a boring bind that is kind of understood, but nobody really wants to delve in to find out what truly goes on. In some cases those more challenged by G4 have been heard, when asked “how does that work?”, quoting such oddities as “yep, it just happens”. As explained by Field Marshall Rommel towards the end of WW2, he said “the battle is fought and won by the Quartermaster Department (obviously 37‟s) before the first round is even fired”. This is still the case today, but many still try to ignore the big fluffy tail that is still wagging that partially deaf and blind dog!

Over the coming weeks we, 37 Armoured Engr Squadron‟s G4 team, who it apparently just happens for, will keep you all abreast of the goings-on of our journeys in and out of the hub of Camp Bastion. Some tales may be of woe. Some may bring laughter. Some may not be exactly, completely 100% accurate or strictly true, but everyone knows that truth should never get in the way of a good story.

Anyway, onto the journey‟s start. True to form, the Quarter Mas-ter‟s Department of 37 Armoured Engineer Squadron once again drove off into the dawn-breaking skies over Europe days before the rest of the Sqn would even wake. This time though, it was not to Thetford, or even Salisbury Plain, but Hannover to catch a flight to UK, so we could fly back over Germany... perfectly rea-sonable of course! On arrival in UK we were given two Minis to move the 17 people and all their kit to live for 7 months over to Brize Norton…budgets you see; again, this is perfectly reason-able!

Brize Norton - There‟s a place that‟s moved with the times. Don‟t ask for a lift there; that plane at the front gate might look like a knackered 1970‟s show piece, but that‟s the duty driver‟s motor. Of course we love the RAF (well, on the way home from Cyprus anyway) but after trying to book in for a flight that they didn‟t know existed, we had a little sense of humour failure…perfectly reasonable of course!

Let‟s get this straight; we drove, flew and drove some more to get a flight that didn‟t exist... possibly not so reasonable! After Capt Joe Monaghan, the mild-mannered QM had explained that the flight did actually exist and that the check-in desk had their flight numbers mixed up on their board, we were in luck - they found our names under the right flight number... very reasonable indeed!

It was now very late in a long day, so we got some sleep in a very reasonable hotel just a stone‟s throw away from the terminal, only to be woken up 4 hrs before the flight... What the? We could have leopard crawled to the terminal in that time - WITH all our kit on. It was said that it was a ploy to make sure we were hanging out and slept all the way on the flight, which we did.

After getting the blood back in our limbs, we arrived at somewhere really hot but actually quite reasonable. There were chairs and tables, just like the ones we used to have at school, you know, about 6 inches off the floor and big enough to get one arse cheek on... quite reasonable though I must say, as they had free snacks and water which should not be sniffed at in today‟s financial climate!

The Quarter Master 37 Armoured

Enigineer Squadron

„Making G4 just happen‟

The next part of the journey was aboard a massive beastie aircraft which had been loaded up and was ready and waiting for us. The only row of seats left when we boarded were right at the front of the air-craft‟s slide-in bays of seats. Winner I thought, a bit of free leg room for us. What are the chances of that happening? We buckled up, took off then the seatbelt lights went off to allow for a bit of a stretch. It was at that moment that I found myself facing the entrance to the only two covertly placed slide-in portaloos! What are the chances? Let me tell you, it was about 1 to164 on that flight! For the next few hours I was trying to sleep off our early call at Brize‟, whilst people queued up for the bog and at the same time tram-pled all over my feet and body armour in the 12 square inches of space for my feet and kit, not that I like to complain.

We neared our destination in the dark and donned our helmets and body armour for the landing in Camp Bastion. That was a laugh a minute, as you can imagine there was plenty of space to put our body ar-mour on in the 12” square outside the busy and now buzzing portaloo! I didn‟t visit myself as I must have mentally counted the sheer number of customers out of one eye and thought better of it. It was slightly amusing (for the first five minutes) seeing grown men dash for the plastic palace like 4 year old kids who have just woken up and don‟t know where they are.

Our body clocks were all to pot after a lengthy travelling cycle of eat-sleep-move-eat-sleep-move as we flew a portion of the globe to our temporary new home.

Finally we arrived in Bastion, for those who have travelled into military zones such as this, you‟ll know the best way to cope is to jump on the conveyor belt of briefings, instructions, form-filling and cattle herding until you‟re told to sleep and eat again. When you wake you‟re briefed some more on the current situa-tion, what to do and what not to do by the guys and girls who have just done it, seen it and been there. It‟s good... very good, current and life saving stuff that keeps us switched on.

In the next episode of G4 – It Just Happens…Apparently, 37 Armoured Engineer Squadron‟s Quarter Master‟s Department will share the delights of the first few weeks in Bastion, then we‟ll get right into the meat of G4. I know you‟re excited, but calm down. We‟ll have a few photos next time too. Until then, farewell from the “24/7 G10 for Men” and women of course but it didn‟t rhyme, sorry.

Final Words

Captain Dominic Riley

There you have it another cracking two weeks in Afghanistan and we didn't even have to force the guys to

say they were enjoying it. Recently we have received some high praise indeed, from one of the infantry

CO's no less. Amusingly the locals have even asked if the ISAF troops keep slaves - when asked why

they pointed to the Engineers and replied 'because that lot do all the work'! I think I'm rather proud of that!

One thing is clear, we are busy, busy is good. It makes the time go quicker and the tour easier. We wish

you all the best back home, the boys are thinking of you and I hope you are all enjoying the updates. From

all in the Squadron management team, till next time, take care and best wishes.

A few extra photos

from 37 Armoured

Engineer Squadron

44 HQ & SP SQN NEWS

Officer Commanding Foreword

Welcome to the second 44 Headquarters & Support Squadron newsletter. Time already seems to be passing by quicker than expected. I hope the same can be said for all the families at home. The articles that follow my introduction will give you a more detailed and in some cases a more candid update on what the Squadron has been up to and will be straight from the „mouths of sol-diers‟. They will explain their story as they see it with only editorial censoring being administered if deemed necessary.

Since I was last in touch the squadron has certainly stepped up a few gears and are now fully in-volved with the myriad of tasks that a Headquarters & Support Squadron are required to fulfil in support to the wider regimental group. I feel the only way I can effectively show the diversity and complexity of the Headquarters Squadron role is to give you a quick synopsis of each department and the type of task they have been involved in up until now, so here goes;

Members of Support Troop have been involved in the movement and protection of the outgoing and our Commanding Officer. Their task was to assist in a road move around the main areas of interest in Task Force Helmand‟s Area of Operations. The Construction Supervision Cell person-nel are continually being tasked to carry out reconnaissance and detailed design reports for fu-ture tasks. The Engineer Resources Team is flat out, ensuring the Field Squadrons are supplied with their requirement of engineer material when and where they need it. The Deployable Engi-neer Workshop wrestles with technical drawings to produce bespoke equipment for the units de-ployed forward of Camp Bastion. The Light Aid Detachment is working long hours to ensure all the Engineer Group vehicles and equipment is as road worthy as feasibly possible. The G4 team are constantly busy accounting for and supplying our guys and girls with all the stores and equip-ment they require to carry out their tasks. Finally the SHQ element, including the Chief Clerk and the small but able Signals team, provide the resources required for the command and control of the squadron. They are all skilfully guided by Captain „Andy‟ Kerr and the Squadron Sergeant Major „Scott‟ Misun who ensure that the squadron functions at maximum output, giving direction and guidance to individuals and departments when needed. I nearly forgot, we also have a long term lodger in the shape of the RSM, WO1 „Gaz‟ Mutch, who conducts the majority of his busi-ness from Camp Bastion and supports all the Engineer Squadron Sergeant Majors by giving guidance and advice when needed.

I hope this has been a good insight into what we, 44 Headquarters and Support squadron, are up to and that it has illustrated the diverse roles and responsibilities we have as a Squadron whilst deployed on Op HERRICK 15.

I would like to thank you for your ongoing support and understanding; it makes a real difference to the team and is very much appreciated.

Major Chris Darke – Officer Commanding

Take Over of Authority (TOA) Saturday 17 September 2011

WO2 (SSM) Scott Misun

At 1200 on the 17 September the Sqn took over authority as the Task Force Helmand Engineer

Group Headquarter& Support Squadron. Within seconds the 54 Sqn flag was replaced with ours

and the numerous Commando dagger stickers removed from the Ops Room. Other various no-

tices mentioning strange things like Galley, Rig and Wets were also disposed of. The only other

thing to be endured were the remaining Commandos‟ who on a daily basis thought they were

auditioning for Mr Universe.

The Sqn are now settled into a routine. Daily works are ongoing, guards are being undertaken

and various small improvement projects are happening on camp. Everyone is in good spirits and

living the schoolboy dream. The blokes don‟t seem convinced when I insist that civilians would

pay thousands for the experience!

Look forward to the next edition where we will be meeting Iqbal our friendly laundry operator. Not

to be missed!

OFFICER COMMANDING MAJOR CHRIS DARKE ADDRESSING 44 HQ & SP SQN

First Patrol in Afghanistan

By Sapper Bakeberg

Having just finished our initial training package, SSgt Hudson approached me saying that we had

to reconnoitre one of the check points in Nad E-Ali South. The roof of the Operations room that

they were using had collapsed when a helicopter hovered above it. The check point was called

CP Perkha and we were to fly out of Camp Bastion at 06:40 on Wednesday the 14th of Septem-

ber 2011.

After waking up at 04:30 and getting everything ready we booked out at the Operations Room

and got a lift to the airfield. As we arrived we found out that our flight was only at 10:00. So we

came back to base and had a decent breakfast before we returned back to the airfield.

It was another wait as we only ended up flying out at 11:00. We flew in a Sea King Helicopter

which was not so nice because it is really hot inside. As we lifted off and started gaining altitude

we constantly had really hot air blown in our faces. As soon as we reached altitude it was not that

bad anymore as we had some decent airflow through the gunners hatch. Our first stop was at

Lashkar Gah and then off to Patrol Base 2, which was where we got off. The flight was ok at first

but as we neared the Helmand river, the pilot dropped altitude and snaked the helicopter through

the air, making it a more difficult target for the insurgents to hit.

We arrived at FOB 2 and were directed to the transit tent where we each had our own bed space.

It was a long hot day. We had a bit of time to read our books and sort out any last bits of kit. I

packed my day sack ready for the patrol the next day. We were meant to patrol out at 12:00 hrs

on Thursday.

The next morning we had breakfast and got all our kit together and waited for 12:00 hrs to report

to the Rifle Company‟s Operations Room. When we arrived there we were told that our patrol out

had been delayed as the section who were meant to take us out were involved in an operation

and that it was taking longer than originally planned. So we waited in the waiting area where we

were able to make copious amounts of tea and sort out any last little bits with our kit. It was a

long wait but eventually the infantry patrol came in at round about 17:00 hrs.

Sapper Bakeburg and his temporary new home

We were then told to be ready to go out in an hour or so. We got the settings on their radios so

that we could put ours on the same channel. As we waited the hour we had loads of time to drink

some water before we left. I don‟t know if it was because I had drunk too much water or whether

it was just my nerves but I constantly had to urinate.

We set out when it was still light but the sun was going down pretty quickly. The first bit of the pa-

trol was through a built up area and was round about the same time that all the locals were on

their way to mosque. As we reached the outskirts of the town we saw less and less people. We

soon came to a check point which was about half the way out to CP Perkha. I think the relief on

our faces were visible to be in a secure location. It did not last long because 10 minutes later we

set off again. At this stage it was getting darker and darker by the minute. We left the track

straight away and started off through fields and drainage ditches, most which was filled with wa-

ter. It was hard going, and we could not really see that far around us as the maize was fully

grown. I was surprised when we stumbled on to CP Perkha. It was dark at this stage, and just be-

fore the main gate there was a massive puddle where myself and about another 3 people in the

patrol fell on our backsides.

It was a great relief to finally take our body armour off and take a bit of time to relax. Having done

this we got working on taking all the measurements and photo‟s we needed of the Operations

Room and the rest of CP Perkha. We were meant to patrol back the next morning at 05:00 hrs to

catch our helicopter flight back to Camp Bastion, but that got cancelled when the wind picked up

during the night. It was a long night as it was almost impossible to get any decent sleep. The

wind was blowing sand all over the place. In the morning when we got up we were covered in

dust.

The patrol back the next day was not as bad as there were a lot of people and children all along

the route back. The little kids were running after us and even offering us what looked like sweets

or berries, but we thankfully declined their offers. We made it back to FOB 2 safe and sound but

had a long wait for a flight back to Camp Bastion. We waited almost a whole day and ended up

getting a lift in a Jackal vehicle back to Bastion. It was a really interesting trip back because we

were able to see a lot more of the countryside.

It was a good start to the tour getting out on the ground so early. It was a good feeling coming

back and we were grateful that we came back safe and sound.

Our first move across Helmand

LCpl Sevutia - Support Troop

At 0645, the Escort Multiple, consisting of two Huskys and two Ridgebacks, were lined up, fully prepared for the task of moving the Commanding Officer of 35 and the Commanding Officer of 24 Commando Engineer Regiment around the different camps to see their soldiers.

The first right turn after leaving Bastion led us onto Highway 1, the M1 of Afghanistan. 45 minutes later, we were safely turning into our first destination MOB Price, the Danish HQ, for the CO to be briefed by 37 Sqn, whilst the rest of us enjoyed real pastries and the best coffee in Helmand.

Leaving MOB Price we preceded through the busy town of Gereshk, unfortunately losing 1 Heli-copter Landing Site marking kit to a local child armed with wire cutters, before turning off High-way 1.

We headed due North on Route Badger for an hour to FOB Oulette where 9 Troop, 37 Squadron are based. Once we were parked up the two Commanding Officers went to do what Command-ing Officers do whilst the lads tried to get their heads down in the shade knowing that there was a good distance ahead of them still to travel. The next leg of the journey saw us heading south to our third destination. It was a long dusty road, after not driving a Ridgeback for four months it was hard work trying to follow the tyre tracks of the lead vehicle. Eventually we arrived at Patrol Base Attal. After a quick turn around we were on the road again this time on Route Elephant heading west to the Afghan National Army base, Patrol Base Jahan Zeb.

After finishing at Patrol Base Jahan Zeb we were heading further west on our way to the final destination of the day, MOB Lashkah Gar. We spent the night in Lashkah Gar before we headed off early the next morning to see elements of 29 Squadron based in Patrol Base 2.

On route back to Lashkah Gar, a few people, who are not members of 35 Engineer Regiment, were not feeling that great and had to utilise the sick bags in the back of a Ridgback. It took al-most 3 hours and involved everyone dismounting in Gereshk to try and stop the local children pinching what ever they would get there hands attached to the outside of the vehicle. Once clear of Gereshk we were soon back in Camp Bastion safely and looking forward to the next 6 months.

Support Troop - ready for anything

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Running For Charity

SSgt Rob Finn - 44 Headquarter and Support Squadron

Here is what we are doing;

10 people from 44 Headquarter and Support Squadron have started to run the equivalent dis-tance from Wembley via all the Premiere League Football Clubs in the UK, in alphabetical order, eventually finishing back at Wembley. The total distance is 3020 miles. This will be split be-tween the 10 people with a dead line of 1 March 2012. Can I at this point reiterate there is no cy-

cling or rowing involved just running?

Initially this does not seem like a huge task however when you factor 2 weeks R&R into the time line and not forgetting the volunteers taking part in this challenge are also going to have to con-tinue putting one hundred percent into there own jobs it does not leave a great deal of time to complete the 3020 miles.

The brave volunteers for the challenge ahead are;

Warrant Officer Class 2 (MPF) Fitzy Fitzsimmons

Staff Sergeant Rob Finn

Staff Sergeant Ted Hudson

Staff Sergeant SF Hammy Hammett

Sergeant Foxy Fox

Sergeant Sammy Chandler

Sergeant Caz Carrington

Lance Corporal Ronny Fong

Sapper Anton Bakeberg

Sapper Tim Jervis

As you can already see from the list of elite athletes this has got challenge written all over it, es-pecially when just getting up in the morning is a struggle for some. On the up side at least if any of these blokes belong to you, you should hopefully notice a good change when they return.

The chosen charity is a children‟s charity called “Dreams Come True”. The charity helps children that are terminally ill get away and be able to smile and enjoy what may well be there last months or even days.

We have a just giving page where any of you can visit and donate as much or as little as you would like to. The page is www.justgiving.com/helmand-premiere-league-run.

So there it is, the challenge has been set and the volunteers have stepped forward.

Look out for photographs and updates in later editions of The Trojan Times.

http://www.justgiving.com/helmand-premiere-league-run

The ‘Special’ exploits of SF Hammy

It was a warm evening with the sun going down far away in the distance. SF Hammy has THAT look in his eye. Ever gobby and ever deadly, he knows something is going to happen, but due to signing a disclaimer vowing to secrecy he carries on with his daily work. This trained tea drinker says nothing.

Whilst sat in the dining facility (DFAC) with his beards he sits down to his meagre portion of what he can only class as peasant food. He sits and just looks at his food, not even bothering to pick up his diggers to tuck in with.

All of a sudden there is a strange rumbling from outside the DFAC. The noise and vibrations get louder and more intense, he starts to smile. All of a sudden the lights go out and a number of thunder flashes go off within the DFAC. Pandemonium ensues, the infantry are screaming like little girls, the RAF Regt are hiding under the tables, the Engineers are robbing all the chocolate éclairs from the desert counter.

All of the sudden the lights go back on. There is now a chair on its back where Hammy was sat, and a note saying „Be back whenever, I‟m off to eat Lobster, steak and beluga caviar.

On the way back to the Sqn HQ lines the following was seen on the inside of a porta-loo amongst the rest of the tour graffiti.

„When Chuck Norris grows up he wants to be like SF Hammy‟

Robbie Flynn's

puzzle page

Across:

1. Grown up boy

Down:

1. Opposite to woman

1

1

Robbies ‘Art

Use your imagination to colour in the civilian version of what excites me daily

Interesting fact:

At night time, the Mr Sun goes to bed

and Mr Moon comes up to say hello.

Joke corner:

Knock Knock

Who’s there?

Doctor

Doctor Who

Ellies blog from Afghanistan

Hey kids

Me again, my tan is coming along but I am starting to peel. I‟m back and I have grabbed a couple of your

dads whilst I was out and about. They were not sun-bathing like me, but working very hard.

For the second blog of this trip I have found two of your dads who want to say hello LCpl “Sav” Sevutia and Major Steve White.

“Sav” Sevutia is part of the Combat Support Tp and is one of many guys that provide the vehicles and Bridge for the Regiment to use. Bill is also part of the Force Protection Multiple and will provide protection for anyone driving out of Camp Bastion.

Sav has a special message for you at home.

Drau bula vinaka tiko Vilimaina Sevutia, Kei, Semesa Sevutia keimami bula-bula vinaka talega e Afghanistan, au sa loloma yani veikemudrau. Qai ia tikoga na veinanumi ena masu!!

My second interview was with Major Steve White. Normally he is the Officer Commanding 44 Sqn but he has another job to do out here. He is part of the training team from the Brigade that are carrying out the important role of teaching the Afghan National Security Forces. In Steve‟s case he will be in-volved in teaching the Afghan National Army to carryout the role which we currently do. The reason it is so important is that it will help us leave Afghani-stan in safe hands. He will live with the Afghan Army for most of the time so no Pizza Hut for Steve, never mind more for me.

Steve wants to send his love to his wife Ruth and their boys Cameron, Struan and Cúchulainn and of course the dogs.

As a special treat I managed to gate crash the Commando‟s party and get a picture with Cheryl Cole.

Remember every day they are away is a day closer to coming home.

Ellie OUT x

77 TALISMAN SQUADRON NEWS

Officer Commanding Foreword

Friends and Family of TALISMAN Squadron,

Since I last wrote to you, 31 Armoured Engineer Squadron have returned to Hohne and we have taken over. Our flag is up, the Ops room has been „adjusted‟ to account for our slighty OCD ten-dencies and we generally own the volleyball court! We have got off to a busy start and already each of the Troops has completed an operation in support of the Combat Support Logistic Regi-ment. Their task: to lead the way, proving and clearing the routes, for a Combat Logistic Patrol as it resupplies the bases around Helmand Province. As I write this, 10 Troop are out on their second operation; this time a Deliberate Route Clearance. They have made excellent progress so far and are due to wrap it up by the end of the day. This will have been a hot and hard day‟s work, requiring courage, sustained concentration and also patience from all involved. A cracking start!

When not on task, life in Camp Bastion for most includes continuous and mission specific train-ing, early morning Troop physical training (PT), a bit of volleyball and a bit of personal down time. The articles below will give you an insight into some of this and also the operations. I am pleased to say we have now also managed to pull together more photos from across the Squadron on Facebook, so there may be a chance of spotting that someone special........If you are unable to spot them this time, then let us know with a Facebook comment and the SSM will endeavour to capture him or her for the next albums – he loves a challenge!

Best wishes,

Major Sam Hughes

OC TALISMAN

10 Troop’s First Op

Spr Lack

Our first TALISMAN Op was to lead a Combat logistic Patrol (CLP) convoy of 60 vehicles to re-

supply all the patrol bases (PBs) around Helmand province. I was excited at first because this

was the first time I had been on tour and I wanted to get out on the ground to see what it was like,

however I was a bit apprehensive about what to expect. An early start meant that people were

tired but morale was surprisingly high. Before we had even left Bastion, our TSA (Talisman

Search Advisor) got lost trying to meet up with the CLP. The journey should have taken about 5

minutes but ended up being 35 minutes. Once on the road, the driving standards were some-

thing to see. The local nationals were MAD!

Trucks over taking cars at speeds over 50mph, drivers on their phones and waving all over the

road, while their loads where hanging off. I'm surprised I didn't see a major crash. The worst

truck I saw had a car on its flatbed with huge bales of crop on top of it, with another car on top of

that. I have no idea how the load hadn't fallen off or how they managed to stack everything so

high. At one point a tractor got that close, it took off a wing mirror from the support vehicle.

The busy roads of Afghanistan

A beautiful sunset falls over the convoy

Civilian activity on the route was quite high. I was quite surprised how the kids reacted to us; one

minute they're giving us the thumbs up and the next minute the same kids are throwing rocks at

our windows and cameras. Some kids were trying to steal things from our storage bins.

When we reached the area of the Nahr-e-Bughra canal it got quite tight. As we were heading

down by the canal, there were cars and goats trying to get around us when there was barely

enough room for the Mastiff. As we reached the PB it was so surprising to see the normal pat-

tern of life in the compounds around us. Some of them used British made cages for roofs, an in-

dicator that we are trying to help. There was even a mobile phone shop! Returning back to Bas-

tion at the end of the patrol, we all felt relief at completing our first operation „outside the wire‟.

The terrain is very varied throughout the move

You learn to sleep anywhere!

The first 2 weeks

Spr Van-Vollenstee - 11 Tp

We‟ve been here in Afghanistan for two weeks

now and over that period we have been learning

and rehearsing old and new skills to carry out the

Talisman role. Today was the first time that 11

Troop carried out the skills and drills of a Talis-

man troop. I can talk for everyone when I say; we

were looking forward to it, “keen to get out on the

ground”.

So it started off incredibly early as we were pre-

paring all the equipment and vehicles needed for

the Op. We got out on the ground not long after

and it looked bleak until a couple of kilometres

into the desert where there were dozens of Af-

ghan compounds surrounded by farmers fields. I

thought for one minute that I was in the desert

then it seemed that I was in someone‟s back gar-

den. As we were clearing the route looking for

the best option to take, we came across a line of

stones which indicated a type of marker that

could have possibly been an IED so we avoided

it. Route selection was vital for the lead mastiff to

guide the CLP through a safe route.

As we were clearing routes the Afghan people were just watching us as we passed by in our 25

ton vehicles; they did not seem bothered. We soon passed with no problems and were on our

way to the 1st check point so the CLP could drop their stores off (i.e. water, rations).

What a Tasche!

The roads are pretty tight

As the day went on it was interesting and exciting but in the back of my head I knew there could

be a potential threat anywhere. As we were moving through the green zone we encountered a

very tight left turn which was notorious for vehicles to get stuck and even roll, so everyone took

their time and all the Talisman Troop made it round with ease. Then we received a message on

the radio that the CLP had a vehicle roll on the corner so we had to wait for them to be recov-

ered. As time passed by we finally received another message that it was all good to go and carry

on with the Op. The final drop off had been a success but time was getting on and nightfall was

approaching. We made our way back in pitch black conditions but we stayed strong, leading the

rest of the convoy.

Oops!

A normal week - If it exists

Spr Tom Egan

A normal week is quite busy – it really all depends on the Operations and tasks that have been

planned. Each day will consist of various training but the day nearly always starts with PT. This

will involve a run or some gym work, lovely for all those body beautiful blokes! The training will

also always include the main elements of our „normal job‟ such as medical training, search train-

ing, vehicle training and weapons training.

The medical training has been really good – we have even started videoing the training to allow

us to look back over the day and learn from each others‟ mistakes. It also allowed LCpl Kara

Fowles, our Troop medic, the chance to watch us all, picking out any mistakes and helping us to

remedy any faults. She is quite a tough cookie, picking us up for any little thing!

Each day would normally finish off with a game of volleyball, just for a bit of extra PT, you know

how it is! Life is beginning to settle into a good routine, although it is still fast and furious when

preparing for or on an Operation or task. Either way, the time is flying by and before you know it,

R&R will be just around the corner!

Another day at the office

77 Talisman Light Aid Detachment

Craftsman Sloan

After settling nicely into the Light Aid Detachment work started to come and we found ourselves preparing for our first Operations out on the ground. Morale has been high what with Craftsman „My Little Poppet‟ Wainwrights‟ and Craftsman „Colossal Head Simmo‟ Simpson‟s (as he‟s named on his letters and care packages from home) letters coming through. Myself and LCpl Walker were two of the first to head out into the green zone. The day of the Operation started fairly early with a 0330 reveille. We did some last minute preparation loading rifles and the GPMG on our vehicle (a 15t SV) then headed out onto the ground. The route was fairly simple to start with but we didn‟t let that distract us from the potential IED threat which is always in the back of our minds.

Several competitions are already underway, Cpl Chris Costigan and LCpl Craig Walker are hav-ing a closely contested crap „tash‟ challenge, Craftsman „Poppet‟ Wainwright and „Doughnut‟ Simpson are the next Arnies with their gym queen antics and everyone should be about ready to challenge Phil Taylor for his darts crown come March!

Finally to close, it has been a hectic start to the tour with Operations starting from day one and no let-up in sight. It will be a difficult but rewarding tour. We would all like to thank you all for the let-ters and parcels you have been sending, they provide more morale than any crap moustache could ever hope to achieve!

THE BAG BOYS!

Firstly, allow me to introduce myself, I am Major Steve White and you may know me by some of my earlier work as OC 44 Sqn. However, on HERRICK 15 I am OC of the Kandak Advisory Training Team (KATT) that your other halves are in and we are attached to the BAG! Now before I go any further I will give you an easy reference terminol-ogy aide memoire for when we talk to you about our jobs out here.

ANA – Afghan National Army

3/215 – 3rd

Brigade of the 215 Corps of the ANA

Kandak – ANA Regiment / Battalion

KATT – Kandak Advisory Training Team

Tolay – ANA Squadron / Company

TATT – Tolay Advisory Training Team

Baluch – ANA Troop / Platoon

4th

(CS) Kandak – The 4th Kandak (out of 6) which is the Combat Support (CS) one – more later

BAG – Brigade Advisory Group – 2 RIFLES Battlegroup are the BAG for H15

PB – Patrol Base

CP – Checkpoint

JAHAN ZEB – The name of the PB that most of us live in – locally known as Jay-Zee!

TOMBSTONE – The camp where the BAG is based out of. It is a small camp inside . . . .

SHORABAK – The camp that the ANA are all based out of, beside Bastion

I think that will give you all enough of a fix on the terminology that will no doubt be coming over the next few months from us.

How are we different from the other squadrons? Well for a start we are not operating as part of the 35 Regimental network, we are effectively attached to the ANA under the control of HQ 2 RI-FLES. The clue as to what we do is in our title; we advise the ANA!

At the KATT level I command TATTs for the ANA Engineer Tolay (clearly the group you will be most interested in), the Artillery Tolay. The Brigade Reconnaissance Tolay, The Counter IED / EOD Tolay and the Route Clearance Company (the ANA version of our TALISMAN that 77 Squadron are providing) As you can see I have a big Kandak to advise the Kandak Commander on, and I meet up with Lt Col Attullah every single day where we share Chai (their green tea) and chat about the Kandak and what it is doing, what he is planning to do with it and other normal everyday stuff. I also have a US Marine Corps section here called an Anglico team that assists with helicopter and fast air support.

Page 48

I am sure you have heard the stories, but we are living in a small PB compound with ANA com-pounds either side of us, and it is named PB JAHAN ZEB. It is approximately 70m by 70m and at full manning I will have over 60 personnel under my command here, all geared to assist the ANA in fulfilling their mission and keeping us safe. And to let you know how important this is, our Kan-dak has been given the first fully independent area of operation (AO) in the Brigade. I have no other Battlegroup living here with us as a „partner‟ so it is just us and our ANA! Which has made for some interesting times already, I can tell you.

Daily routine here revolves around firstly, meeting up with our ANA counterparts, getting out and about on the ground with them providing assistance, mentoring and advice as it is needed or asked for. The other major aspect of our lives here in Jay-Zee is to ensure we stay as safe as possible as a dislocated and un-partnered location and between these two efforts the majority of our time is taken up. We have no chef here so meals are from the ration packs or every now and then a wee bit of „fresh‟ donated by our American brethren or that comes through „the system‟. There is no running water here so all of it is brought in for washing ourselves and our clothes, cooking and drinking. Thankfully we have moved away from the horrendous deep trench latrine toilet blocks and now operate with „wag bags‟. For those not conversant with the delights of these items, I will allow your other half to explain them to you!

Mail will only arrive here and be taken out every few days so please do not worry if your mail ar-rives in fits and starts, but please do keep sending it as it is a huge morale boost. If I can put an early request in, Christmas on tour is a surreal affair but could I ask you to all send one decora-tion out in order to make ours as festive as possible, thank you. Do not send anything that re-quires plugging in because we are short of power but battery operated things are more than wel-come.

Your other halves are part of a small team operating as part of a bigger one and I want to reas-sure you that I am looking after them all and we, in turn, are all being well looked after by 2 RI-FLES. I hope that I have given you enough of an insight into the world of the „BAG‟ that your other halves will be filling in the details from now on.

I thank you for your continued support, our jobs would be infinitely harder without it, and please take care of yourselves for us.

Steve White

Page 49

PADRE'S PROGRESS

I left Germany just over 2 weeks ago and learning curves continue to be vertical on my first tour. A 9 hour flight with a stopover in Cyprus plus Cheryl Cole (who?!) handing out in-flight meals! A three and a half hour time difference plus altitude of 2000ft plus temperatures of 30+C, all added to the sense of dislocation in the first days. An intense 5 days of training on arrival which included 15 power point presentations on the first day was a shock to the system as well. The rest of the days included a variety of practical training sessions covering such delights as environmental health (how to poo into a silver bag and dispose of it), how to extract a casualty (me as the casu-alty being bumped down metal steps), and how to do emergency drill in the event of a vehicle rolling over (how to unbuckle yourself whilst hanging upside down and get out without breaking your neck or anyone else's). A life in the day of a padre...

I have a pod'tent called a GodPod which is divided in two...the rear space for sleeping and work-ing and the front with armchairs, brew kit, bookcase, a table as a worship focus, cuddly toy (!), etc, as a quiet space for whoever needs it. It is air-recycled with electricity but its overall location leaves a little to be desired. It is opposite the diarrhoea and vomiting isolation tent and within 5 meters is a slurry pit where they empty the contents of the Porta-loos! About 200m away is the landing area of a particularly noisy helicopter that operates throughout the night. Wherever you are there is noise...generators, air conditioning units, helicopters etc. However I do realise that all this is 5 star luxury compared with some of the other locations so it is about being thankful for what I have and realising there is always someone worse off than yourself.

My 'flock' here is scattered to the far ends of Camp Bastion 1, 2 and 3 so a lot of walking and lo-cal bus catching to be done. Good for keeping fit I guess...though I have just been offered a pushbike until mid November so watch this space! Maybe I need one of those little flags fluttering from it with departmental colours on it! I feel I have touched base with as many as possible so far. There is a strong sense that people are here to do their job and keen to get on with it. Morale generally appears to be good but it is also clear that support from home from family and friends is SO important and of great comfort to all concerned.

My reflections the other day with someone as they prepared to go out on an operation included the lines from Psalm 91, one of the songs of the Bible written by the soldier king David (the one that killed the giant Goliath).

He wrote

'I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, My God in whom I trust"

If you make the most high your dwelling -Then no harm will befall you.'

Sounds like a good plan to me!

God bless.

Padre Clare Callanan

Page 50

One for the kids..............or big kids

Page 51

35 ENGINEER REGIMENT

And the adventures of

‘BABY HECTOR’

Baby Hector Tales Part 2

‘Something in the Sand’

by Victoria Copsey age 10

He bent down and carefully pulled the object out of the ground and saw that it was...............

A shield with the XXXV written on it.

“WOW - a shield!” exclaimed Baby Hector with a big smile. “I wonder what the XXXV means?”

When he got home he asked his mother but she only knew that it stood for 35 and told him to ask

his fighting class instructor.

Later, at fighting class, by chance they were learning about swords and shields.

“There are many famous lost shields” said their Instructor, “but the most famous of all is the 35

Engineer Regiment one. This shield was used in a great battle and it will give it‟s owner great

courage and bravery.”

“WOW!” said Baby Hector again, “but that‟s the shield I found....look!”

His Instructor carefully took the shield from him and looked at it in amazement.

“Yes, this is the famous shield and legend has it that the one who finds will be it‟s true owner.

Congratulations Baby Hector!”

THE END

Have you thought about post tour Adventurous Training yet?

Page 52

Exercise contact Captain Cameron

29 Armoured

Engineer Squadron

Where - Thailand

Doing what - Scuba Diving

How long for - 12 Days

How much - Initial costs of 900 Euro

with up to a 250 Euro refund ex-

pected

Spaces available - Limited

Exercise contact Captain Loots 29

Armoured

Engineer Squadron

Where - Croatia

Doing what - Sailing

How long for - 10 days



pected

Spaces available - 5

Exercise Diamond Bubble Piper

Exercise contact Lt Dow 37

Armoured Engineer Squadron

Where - California National Parks

Doing what - Hiking

How long for - 2 weeks



pected

Spaces available - Few

Exercise Diamond Mare

Superum

Exercise Diamond Canyon

Exercise contact Captain Green Light

Aid Detachment

Where - Croatia

Doing what - Multi activity including

Mountain biking, Hiking and Sea Kay-

aking


How much - 400


Exercise contact Lt Ball 44 Hq & Sp

Squadron

Where - Slovenia

Doing what - Mountain Biking

How long for - 2 trips each 1 week

long

How much - 400


Exercise Diamond Tiffy

Exercise Diamond Slovenia

Pyramid

Exercise contact Captain Green

Light Aid Detachment

Where - Alps

Doing what - Mountain Biking


How much - 350


Exercise contact Captain Cox

29 Armoured

Engineer Squadron

Where - Lake Elsinore, California

Doing what - Skydiving

How long for - 2 weeks

How much - Complete novice 1200

Euro, Beginners 900 Euro


Exercise Diamond Jumper

Exercise Diamond Crafty

Any missing information will be published in the next edition

of The Trojan Times. If you would like to take part in any of

the exercises advertised please let your chain of command

know which trip you are interested in and who is the exercise

contact.

Photo Competition

Each photo has a number in the top right hand corner. Select you favourite photo and put it on a

bluey to Capt Peake, TFH Engr Gp, BFPO 792. Please add the words PHOTO COMPETITION

to the senders address.

1

3

2

4

6

5

Caption Competition

As promised welcome to The Trojan Times caption competition. As you can see, there are two

photographs for you to come up with what you think is the best caption. Caption suggestions can

be put on a bluey to Capt Peake, THF Engr Gp, BFPO 792 clearly labelled with the senders

name and Caption Competition. The best caption will be announced in the following edition. The

funnier the better, but keep them clean(ish)

Page 57

What could he be pointing to? It is definitely not the

beach!

Umm dubious...........

Welcome to the first issue of Toe-jam Times; the subversive underbelly of the Trojan Times, and the only news worth reading. Here at Toe-jam we aren‟t afraid to poke our be-sandaled athlete‟s foot amongst the entrails of truth to expose the lies and the secrets about the Task Force Hel-mand Engineer Group. We examine the real Hectors on Herrick and discover the truth about these so called Champions of Troy.

Our exclusive scoops this week:

RSM – coming clean with his laundry addiction…

QM (T) - „stores really are for storing‟…

and

Adjutant bares all on „stains on the spreadsheet‟ scandal

Interviews by Achilles Heel

To start with:

MPF WO2 (QMSI) Fitzsimmons gives us 10 great things to do with spoil.

“After a good days plant operating, there will inevitably be spoil left over. Don’t let this spoil your

day though, follow my handy tips and you’ll be able to dig your way out of anything”

1. Fill some HESCO.

2. Fill some sand bags (although finding someone willing to hold the sandbags open for you as you fill them from the cab of your armoured plant MWT may be a challenge).

3. Fill some more HESCO.

4. Backfill your holes.

5. Attempt to win the Turner prize by dumping the lot on the floor of an art gallery and give it a ridiculous title such as „Despair’.

6. Build a berm. Berms are always useful and will be appreciated by all.

7. If the spoil is of high humus content then place into shoeboxes, weighing no more than 2 kg each and send to your mates in Afghanistan: perhaps they would like to make a garden in their downtime on Ops and are frustrated with the poor quality soil in FOBs.

8. Make an ant farm (you will need other materials. As well as ants).

9 Backfill someone else‟s holes – then, from a concealed position watch and laugh as they angrily shout “WHO FILLED MY HOLE?”

10. Fill more HESCO (you can never fill enough in my book).

WO1 Mutch; RSM of 35 Engineer Regiment is a fine figure of a man; all that you would expect from the modern day Regimental Sergeant Major and more. With 2 decades of distinguished service and more medals than the Imperial War museum he is the paragon of all soldierly virtue.

Except he has a secret….

For years RSM Mutch has been covering up a physically debilitating and mentally draining addic-tion; IRONING. Lesser men would have fallen into the gutter of society yet the RSM has been able to endure this most evil of inflictions.

“For too long I’ve tried to keep it a secret but I just can’t do it any more – it’s so liberating to have thrown off the yolk of secrecy surrounding my condition….”

Toe-jam has obtained confidential medical documents which explain how the RSM has been ad-dicted to IRONING for almost 10 years.

“To be honest, the first time I switched on my Morphy Richards Steam-Pro 1000 in basic training, I knew that I was hooked.”

In the early years Mutch was able to keep a healthy balance between soldiering and ironing.

However as his dependence grew he could no longer hide his affliction. As a Troop Sergeant he was ironing his uniform hourly. By the time he became a Squadron Sergeant Major, his creases were so sharp he was drawing blood. On one occasion, whilst instructing the Squadron on the merits of the AEH set, he delivered a particularly swift command chop towards a young Sapper who caught the edge of the then SSM‟s sleeve, severing his carotid artery and requiring immedi-ate CASEVAC.

The RSM knew he had to get help when he read his own words in Sapper Magazine after an in-terview about dress standards in the Corps

“There’s something beautiful about the metamorphosis of turning a crumpled heap of laundry into smooth, razor sharp perfection.”

“When I read those words I realised the game was up and went to the Med Centre for help”.

The RSM remains perfectly ironed and his shirts still need handling with chain mail gloves but he is recovering.

Page 59

Quarter Master (Technical) Major Chris Darke sheds light on the shady world of the QM’s

stores….

“It’s just not right, youngsters these days think they can have it all, but they can’t, certainly not from my stores”.

Back at SQMS school the Quarter Master (Technical), Major Chris Darke, learnt the basic rules of storing, known as the 3 Laws of the Stores. First amongst these is the mantra by which those in the storing profession must learn to live their lives by:

Law 1. Stores are for storing. If they were for issuing, they‟d be called Issues.

“Why everyone has an issue, he “chokes back a laugh”, with this I don’t know – it’s pretty obvi-ous, I mean the clue is in the title isn’t it?”

Law 2. Get the CO and the RSM exactly what they want.

Law 3. Chin everyone else off.

“Stick with these and you’ll make it all the way to the top in the G4 chain”

Maj Darke recalls how it wasn‟t easy to get to where he is today…

“When the Leatherman mutli-tool became an NSN item, life got pretty difficult for us QMs. Hon-estly, can you imagine the mental strain the whole G4 world was put under when people started coming and asking us for a Gucci item like a Leatherman?! What type of fools thought that just because it was an issue item they would actually be allowed one? Just because everyone that worked in the stores was wearing one meant that every man jack in the regiment thought he was entitled to one. It got so awful that I had to take several mornings off to play golf in order to re-cover from the stress. Hard times indeed”.

Maj Darke was keen to impress on us that it is indeed “G4 that wins the War” however as we asked him to explain this mysterious slogan the Clothing Cpl slammed down the counter shutter shouting “Naafi break” at us and the interview was over. It was, after all, 0930 hours.

Page 60

Stains on Adjutant‟s Spreadsheets not „so EXCELent‟

Adjutant 35 Engineer Regiment; Capt Gus Rule, is one man who knows his spreadsheets. In the J1 world of Personnel Administration and making the CO‟s coffee at the right temperature, Micro-soft Excel is his life line turning simple data in ludicrously complicated spreadsheets that few read and fewer understand.

In fact Capt Rule has become so protective over his spread sheets he has started locking them with passwords to stop others from sharing in his excel fantasy world.

In recent days however this journalist has discovered that the Adjutant‟s spreadsheet fixation has taken a turn towards the obscene as he was found harbouring old paper hard copies of spread sheets covered in dark brown stains.

When we cornered him on this issue he at first denied all knowledge of anything not on the J1(Secure) folder on the MS Shared Area, but when he realised that the Toe-jam Times has access to all areas on MS he gave in like a rich tea biscuit in a cup of Yorkshire Tea tea.

“It was a fairly quiet morning in Bde HQ. As usual I was busy fixing the CO his cup of Colombian Blend, strength 10 coffee and as usual the CO was busy on the phone chasing up his order of the life size statue of him in Trojan Armour for the main gate at Barker Bks:

“What do you mean horses? Don’t argue with me, how do you know Trojans didn’t ride into battle on dogs? Re-show with Barney as my steed…”

He didn’t notice that I hadn’t yet poured the milk. The CO doesn’t drink black coffee before 1100.

Before I could stop him he had taken a sip…it was horrible…”

Capt Rule, clearly still in shock and visibly holding back the grief, went on to describe the ensuing carnage.

“Well that was it, he spat out the coffee across the desk and hurled his mug in rage – the Intelli-gence Officer; in a rare display of actual Intelligence, ducked the steaming missile, as it went on to hit SO3 Infra Ops ricocheting into SO3 Infra Plans and knocking them both out cold. I rushed over to do what I could and there on the desk, between the bodies of Infra Ops and Infra Plans sprawled across the desk (situation normal then) lay my latest version hard copy of JSP 757; fresh from the iHub printer. It was covered in coffee. I applied immediate first aid, a tourniquet and 2 FFDs weren’t enough to stop the staining so I improvised and grabbed a stack of papers to mop up the spillage.”

Page 61

But to Capt Rule‟s horror these weren‟t ordinary papers, these were old copies of his Officers Education Tracker – no longer saved on the hard drive. As the ink blurred with the coffee before his eyes the full horror of what was happening to his spread sheets unravelled in his mind.

“Would anyone know if Lt Cole had done his MK1 (would anyone care?) and would anyone know if Capt Riley really had passed the RESA course? These were questions that I knew would need answers so after the panic died down I rescued the spread sheets and dried them out. They were badly stained. Not sure if they would ever recover, I hid them in my in-tray. I thought no one would look there but my dirty secret was exposed when the CO, looking for the invoice for his statue, pulled them out in disgust. My stained spreadsheets were layed bare for all to see. Oh the horror.........”

Capt Rule is currently in BSN Role 3 hospital recovering from his trauma. Infra Ops and Infra Plans are still prone at their desks. Snoring loudly.

Page 62

The R and R plan is coming together nicely. All efforts will be made to meet peoples requests however

we advise that you do not book holidays or pay a deposit for any arrangements being made over your R

and R period as flight schedules can change at very short notice due to Operational Requirements. As

soon as the initial plan is in place dates will be passed out to individuals to allow families to be informed.

R and R is a 14 day window inclusive of travel time. If there are any delays to the flight home the return

flight remains the same on the same date it was originally planned for. In order to compensate for any lost

time you will be given one day extra Post Operational Tour Leave for each day of R and R lost. This will

be monitored by the SSM 44 Headquarter and Support Squadron.

R&R

20Brigade are commissioning a Bde Art Book for H15

It will contain a wide and hopefully eclectic variety of submissions, from the most professional to the most amateur including:

Prints from Official War Artists

Photos, both formal and informal

Professional sketches in the tradition of snaffles.

Amateur sketches

Cartoons

Accompanying text to provide context

Any budding artists who are interested in submitting any of the above please contact Capt Peake on

[email protected].

Page 63

Message from the editor

Thank you all for your efforts with the Trojan Times, and to the anonymous author of the Toe-Jam

Times, well done! I hope you have all enjoyed this edition. The photos that did not fit in the

Newsletter will be published on Facebook so keep an eye out for them. All of the support is very

much appreciated by all, please keep it coming. Remember messages into theatre are wel-

comed and appreciated as much as messages out of theatre. If you have an idea or would like to

suggest something for the The Trojan Times please get in touch with either myself or SSgt Allum,

contact details can be found below.

Thanks again for your support.

Bernie

Deployed contact Capt Bernie Peake - [email protected]

Rear Ops Groups Contact SSgt Allum - 05251 101279

Glossary

Afghanistan specific terms

Op - Operation, mission, task (not surgery)

PB - Patrol Base

CP - Check Point

SANGAR - A watch tower which is manned 24 hours a day to provide protection to a base

Stag - standing in the sangar keeping watch and providing protection

JOB - Joint Operating Base

FOB - Forward Operating Base

NES (S) - Nahr-e Saraj South

NES (N) - Nahr-e Saraj North

NDA - Nad-e Ali

TFH - Task Force Helmand

ISAF - International Security Assistance Force

ANSF - Afghanistan National Security Force

ANA - Afghan National Army

ANP - Afghan National Police

IED - Improvised Explosive Device

SAF - Small Arms Fire

SOP - Standard Operating procedure

Sub Units

Tp - Troop

Armd Engr Sqn - Armoured Engineer Squadron

Fd Engr Sqn - Field Engineer Squadron

Hq & Sp Sqn - Headquarters and Support

Squadron

Ranks

Spr - Sapper

LCpl - Lance Corporal

Cpl - Corporal

Sgt - Sergeant

SSgt - Staff Sergeant

WO2 - Warrant Officer Second Class

WO1 - Warrant Officer First Class

Capt - Captain

Maj - Major

Lt Col - Lieutenant Colonel

HESCO - Large flat packed containers made of thick strong wire containing a large sandbag.

The sandbag is filled with sand to produce a large protective brick. The individual HESCO blocks

are then used like giant bricks to produce a protective wall for our bases.

HLS - Helicopter Landing Site

Barma - Our drill used to find Improvised Explosive Devices with a hand held metal detector.

Equipment

MASTIFF - Large armoured truck with a with a heavy machine gun for protection.

TALISMAN - A series of vehicles used to clear a route of improvised explosive devices.

HUSKY - Another type of large armoured vehicle.

MWT - Medium wheeled tractor (dump truck).

SLDT(P) - Small Light Dump Truck (Protected) - A small dump truck.

Apache - Ugly looking attack helicopter.

Chinook - Large helicopter featured in the film Big Friendly Giant.

Sea-king - Royal Navy helicopter used as search and rescue in the UK.

Merlin - Medium to large Royal Air Force and Navy helicopter used to move Troops around from

base to base.

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