20120407-scarab telegraph facebook edition 2-u

Inside this issue:

CO’s welcome 1

38 Hq & Sp Sqn

3

8 AES

14

30 AES

19

33 AES

26

Beetle Juice 32

Issue 2

Commanding Officer’s Foreword (Lt Col J H Ridge)

It is now over a month since we took over as the Task Force Helmand Engi-neer Group. The five weeks have flown by. Every Squadron has been fully tested. We have built, blown up, cleared and repaired pretty much every-thing that we trained to during our 6 months mission specific training. All of us can look back with pride on an excellent start to the tour. There have been a number of milestones. 33 Squadron built their first Logistic Support Bridge northeast of Gereshk. 38 Squadron have laid and recovered the Gen-eral Support Bridge. 30 Squadron provided close engineer support to an Afghan brigade level operation, which was also supported by the TALIS-MAN crews from 25 Squadron. And 8 Squadron, meanwhile, have been ex-tremely busy building and repairing bases throughout their area of opera-

tions. None of this would have been possible with-out the tireless support of the Light Aid Detachment, QM departments, re-sources yard, construction supervision cell and all the other unsung heroes working in Camp Bastion. For me it has been tre-mendously satisfying to be thanked by other Com-manding Officers for the sheer hard-work and pro-fessionalism of the Engi-neer Group as our sappers have set out to make life a little more pleasant for the infantry soldiers in the Forward Operating Bases. We have even had special requests for 8 Troop, who clearly made an impres-sion as they swept through some of the more tired bases frantically mending and building.

SCARAB TELEGRAPH EDITION 1

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I would also like to highlight the work of the Afghan Army Advisors from 25 and 38 Squadrons. De-veloping the Afghan security forces is our main effort, and the Advisors have truly delivered. It is a tough job, requiring tremendous patience and the ability to sit cross-legged for hours on end drink-ing tea. The results speak for themselves though. The Afghan Engineers and their Route Clearance Company are amongst the most professional Afghan soldiers in Helmand, and much of the credit for this goes to their sapper mentors. Those same Afghans have just returned to their bases following a week long operation to clear insur-gents out of an area west of Nad-E-Ali. I was taken aback by how different the Afghan Army and Po-lice forces are from those I remember seeing in 2007. The Afghans planned and conducted the oper-ation with minimal support from ISAF and cleared IEDs and resupplied themselves without our help. Most impressive was the way that the Army and Police worked together. It is a shame that more of this good news does not make into the papers in the UK. Finally, everyone out here thanks everyone back there for their incredible support. I regularly read through the comments on Facebook and it is really heartening to see the messages of encourage-ment, whether from wives, husbands, girlfriends, boyfriends, mums, dads, brothers or sisters. It seems as if we are an even closer family now than we were when we all boarded the planes at Brize Norton. Thank you.


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38 HQ & SP SQN

A Word from the OC (Maj A Pritchard)

Is it time for another edition already? Out here time is flying—It’s May next week and the Squadron

starts its R&R plot. Back home before you know it!

The pace of life has definitely picked up; the ASOs are all free running, the CSC are out on a daily ba-

sis, Sp Tp have just got back in from an eight day operation and the log node is frantically making its

way through the mountain of kit we have out here.

I like to make sure everyone gets a mention! The divers have been getting ready for potential task-

ing's, testing their new dive facility and making sure no one uses it as a ‘swimming pool’ - it’s a train-

ing facility! As always the DEW, aka Sgt Jackson, carries on in the background– another Non equip-

ment Bridge ticked off—without which the Field Squadrons wouldn’t be able to do their job. After the

recent rain, the SQMS Dept (already popular) suddenly had a new found authority - spare water-

proofs! I’m not finishing with SHQ, they are all fine, my last word on the Squadron goes to the USA

store. Taking over a fifth of all USA work in Camp Bastion; the small team is working miracles! Anoth-

er edition of the Scarab Telegraph, another month done and all looking forward to R&R and most

importantly all in one piece.

Page 3


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Support Troop—OQOB Bridge task (By LCpl Rymer)

Sunday 25 March

Today was the day of our troops

first Op, to recover a GSB

(General Support Bridge) with

the A.B.L.E crew, which had been

laid on OP HERRICK 15 by 35

Engr Regt in OQOB, Khar nikah

This was going to be a 2 day Op.

Our tasks while we are out here

are to provide an A.B.L.E team,

Brigade Comds force protection

multiple and CO’s TAC.

A.B.L.E (Automotive Bridge

Launching Equipment) consists

of a minimum of 3 BR90 vehicles,

2 BV’s which carry the bridge panels and cranes, and the 3rd vehicle is an A.B.L.E vehicle that you

place the bridge panels on and connect them together and launch the bridge over the gap.

The first day started really well, after being promised a well-earned lay in and not to start work until

1000hrs, in the good old traditional ways of the military we were rudely awoken and told the Op had

been bought forward and we needed to don kit straight away and get out on the ground. After rush-

ing about getting breakfast and signing our weapons out of the armoury we found out that it had

been pushed back again and wasn’t deploying until 1330hrs.

1330 arrived and we were good to go, after leaving our compound at 1335 we managed to leave

camp at 1430…due to something to do with a BV, a gate and someone’s admin.

So finally we were out on the road heading towards MOB PRICE the first part of the Op, to meet up

with TALISMAN and have a few final briefs and then get some rest before getting up early and start

heading towards OQOB.

Monday 26 March

0530 start, out to the vehicles for a first parade and then ready for 0545 for a comms check. Once we

had done the comms check we were rolling out of the gate at about 0615 heading towards OQOB. To

get to OQOB we had to drive through Gereshk on the 601 up towards Badgers road where we broke

track and went cross country for the final 2kms, this is where TALISMAN came into their own, clear-

ing a route all the way to OQOB, however as soon as the first vehicle went off track he got bogged in

due


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to deep sand and adverse

ground conditions, after

about 30 mins of trying to

recover the vehicle, the re-

covering vehicle also got

bogged in. After an hour be-

ing static just outside

Gereshk both vehicles finally

got recovered and we were

back on the move. When we

got to the bridge site we were

relieved to see that 2 of our

boys (Cpl Wayne Tudor and

LCpl Rob White who went up

the week before to be Crane

ops to help build the LSB) had already started stripping the bridge by taking all the curbs and deck-

ing pieces off and setting them aside ready for us to palletise them. Due to the ground conditions the

side we initially wanted to recover from was unworkable so we had to do a reverse strip from the

other side, and because of this we had to do a semi-restricted strip. Once we were set up and the

bridge commander (LCpl Chris Jackson) was happy we cracked on straight away, after about 5 mins

of being there it seemed every man and dog from Khar nikah turned up to watch often blocking the

vehicles and being generally curious of what was going on. The crew was well trained and the recov-

ery ran smoothly. All in all the strip took about fifty mins from rocking up doing a quick last minute

Recce to leaving OQOB with all the vehicles strapped up and ready to go, Once we had finished we

followed TALIISMAN back to MOB PRICE but this time taking a different route. When we arrived at

MOB PRICE, TALISMAN stayed for

other tasks, we had a quick brew,

toilet break and a leg stretch then

we headed back to camp BASTION

back in time for dinner.

SP Tp’s first task had been a suc-

cess and all Troops are looking

forward to the next jobs.


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Padre’s Paragraph—"From a Dusty Desk" (By Padre Neil E Allison)

Well, here we are in the middle of the Afghan desert and it's raining - again!

Tents have been flooded including mine. I woke up yesterday to a small river in my pod and had

a nice paddle before breakfast. Still the welfare resources and facilities are better than the last

time I was out here, including in forward locations, and I have little to complain about - though I

confess this doesn’t stop me from being a little grumpy from time to time. Anyhow, all of you back

home need to know that though life here can be difficult, and for many serving here sometimes

gruelling, the resources are very good. However, we don't live in luxury and your parcels are

deeply appreciated not least because it comes from home with your love. So a big thank you to

you all for your practical support.

Maybe water wings should be in your next parcel? Certainly, if the rain continues we will consider

building a biblical Ark. I've started already! (Building instructions for an Ark found in Genesis 6:14

-16).


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A few good men and two women (By Pte Gareth Walters)

March came along and the deployment on Op HER-

RICK 16 was underway, with Sgt Carl Sharples tak-

ing the lead, then quickly followed by myself, and

slowly following a week behind was Capt Gemma

Smith, SSgt Wayne Hunt and Sgt Cheryl (Borris)

Roberts. As Sgt Sharples and myself got here earlier

than the rest, we had the task to get to know how

things worked and what was required of us as SPS

to do while out in theatre, but that was only after

we had completed the RSOI package which was

probably the most tedious thing to do since deploy-

ment and it lasted 6 days! It consisted of lessons,

lessons, more lessons, more and more lessons and yeah you get the picture. After the RSOI package

the handover takeover from 35 Engr Regt was well underway, the preparation that they had made

for us was really good and it made the whole handover / takeover go very smoothly with no issues.

After the handover, we were then in the seat as 26 Engr Regt which gave a sense of achievement in

itself. Our daily tasks would consist of move & track to ensure all personnel are in the correct loca-

tions and are getting the proper allowances for their location. The mail run which takes around 2

hours a day due to the vast amount of mail we get through, and to be honest I don’t even think the

Royal Mail would be able to work as fast and efficient as the 26 Postal Gang AKA SPS Detachment.

We will also conduct Statement of Earnings checks to ensure all personnel are getting paid correctly,

we put the months Unpleasant Working Allowance (UWA) on to JPA and some of us will also be up-

dating the Squadrons PERSREP’s. Behind the scenes though there has been some non HR activities

such as Sgt Sharples and myself conducting a Quad Bike Operator course. We are now known as the

QRF (Quick Reaction Force) for mail on our speedy bikes, unlike Sgt ‘Borris’ Roberts who rides

around on a ‘Borris’ bicycle, so I think that makes her the LRF (Last Resort Force). We have Capt

Smith the Unit Press Officer who is working hot under the collar mainly due to the lack of air con in

her office but also her workload. SSgt Hunt seems to be enjoying his holiday in Lashkar Gah away

from the hard working Detachment of Bastion. Last but not least Rest & Recuperation is headed up

for the Brigade by WO2 Neil Fidler who has been placed in a small portable cabin at the back of the

JFsp HQ building, but as he said he has a TV and aircon so he is happy.

To conclude the SPS Detachment of 26 Engr Regt are conducting numerous tasks to ensure that all of

the personnel on the ground are getting the correct allowances and pay and also the most important

part the morale of receiving mail from home, this keeps a smile on everyone’s face.

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LIGHT AID ATTACHMENT

The Light Aid Detachment has had yet another busy period in theatre, grafting tirelessly to ensure

Engineer Equipment is fit and ready for use. The challenge is enjoyed by all, especially those placed

forward with the Squadrons.

SSgt Phillips writes; With the majority of our manpower deployed to repair equipment forwward ,

REME doing what it does best, the remainder of the LAD continues to work late into the night turn-

ing around equipment ready for the next days tasking. Due to the occasional lack of vehicle spares

we have also taken up several other tasks or hobbies, as we wrote last time the LAD infrastructure

continues to improve and as a by product of this our Royal Engineer contingent has begun to pro-

duce charcoal by the bucket load ready for the BBQ season.


XXVI


During the last few weeks all members of the LAD have been tested either technically of physical-

ly. Most of the vehicles we support are new and we have limited knowledge of the technical sys-

tems. We are however, all enjoying the challenge of learning new skills and expanding our collec-

tive vehicle knowledge. On the physical side most of the platforms that we support are quite large

and require a lot of physical effort to maintain. This has come as quite a shock to some of the guys

but they are all feeling the benefit. The physical tests do not stop there as the LAD has entered a

small team into the DANCON 16 mile charity march, look out for some good photos next time.

Cpl Davies writes; It has been said that a Class 1 vehicle mechanics job is never done, never have

truer words been spoken, the other Bastion bound Class ones and I spend our days mentoring the

junior tradesmen and inspecting vehicles as well as trying to breathe life into a huge variety of non

-task-worthy equipment, ranging from small generators that don’t like dusty conditions to great

big cargo handlers that break on a daily basis. Not to mention deploying forward at the drop of a

hat as an ES trouble shooter. This week saw Cpl McArthur deploy to FOB SHAWQAT to assist with

several suspension related tasks including a full rebuild of the front springs on a WOLFHOUND.

Unfortunately no sooner than we had completed the job than the troop drove it ten meters out of

camp and straight into a wadi. As I said our job is never done.

In other news Sgt Dan ‘Vader’ Quayle has been successfully selected for promotion on posting to

SSgt, at long last. WELL DONE DAN

LAD EXCUSE OF THE WEEK

It was ok when we left but now a boat anchor is stuck in it (33 Sqn)

Giant Jenga with ISO containers (By the Log Node)

The Engineer Logistics Node has been as busy as ever, we have been supplying all the field Squad-

rons with the equipment that they require to complete their tasks. Stores will soon be coming in

thick and fast as the border is now open in Karachi. The only problem is that we may need to do a

land grab in order to store it all. LCpl Price-Jones has been busy counting equipment and repacking it

into ISO containers at the RSG (Regimental Support Group). Cpl Crooks (21 Engr Regt) has been very

busy blowing up life jackets and then struggling to zip them back up again. After 51 Zips his fingers

look like “Brattys”. After three days of rain the Log yard now looks like a pig pen; all we are missing

is the pigs!! The bund liner for the generator at the RSG has now been laid and turned into a paddling

pool in which LCpl Pryce-Jones wants to try out his little rubber ducky. SSgt Graton has found out

what is outside the office, ‘The sun’, which didn’t agree with his forehead, so now he is staying in his

air conditioned office. (When it’s working). We have been issued another RTCH which makes moving

ISO containers infinitely easier and much quicker. Boris Jonson may be interested in the eco benefits

of the RTCH as this new one seems to run on Coca Cola judging by the amount the operator, Spr

Onyegbula, keeps buying.

WO2 (SSM) Paul carried out a fleeting visit to the Log Node last week although rumours may confirm

he just needed a toilet break on the way back from the Blue PX!!

Troopy is as busy as ever, he has his daily meeting with Jim (or is that Gym) at 1600hrs, we still don’t

know who this Jim is; we are yet to meet him.

Sgt Leyland has taken his role as LEC line manager to the extreme; he is now starting to look like one,

but from the waist up, such is the extent of OP Bronze.

I think when we were told to camouflage our helmets we misunderstood, as our orange hard hats did

not look so good with cam net on it.

Now with R&R dates finalised, we are all looking forward to seeing our loved ones.

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XXVI


A Note from an ASO (By LCpl Arnot)

After serving as a regular soldier when I left school I took the opportunity to re-join the Army as a TA soldier when the age limit was raised. I re-joined a national REME battalion where I needed to re-trade as the TA do not have Aircraft Technicians. Re-training in the nationals did not fit my time-scale and the level of commitment I was prepared to invest to ultimately serve a purposeful tour in Afghanistan.

I transferred to a local Royal Engineer regiment, the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (Militia), and trained to reach my B3 Combat Engineer, then after careful consideration and consultation with my wife and my work, I accepted the challenge of joining Herrick 16.

During 2011 I trained specifically for H16 and the cohort was informed that we would be attached to 26 Engineer Regiment based in Tidworth. During this period I received an e-mail asking if I was in-terested in a particular role as an Assistant Superintending Officer (ASO) and given a brief outline of my duties. Although it was my intention originally to do something different from my civilian job, I felt this role would get the best value out me and use my project management and contractor man-agement skills for the important development programmes here in Afghanistan.

I arrived at Swinton Barracks, Tidworth, very early on a Monday after a drive down from the ARB in Chilwell, this seemed to set a pattern which has continued since, I was a TA soldier with a special role that didn’t really fit in the existing structure. I was attached to 38 HQ & Sp Sqn, and the first week involved ASO training and familiarisation. Subsequently, the ASO specific training was restrict-ed typically to 1.5 days per week, at other times I kept myself busy helping the squadron prepare for deployment. As the only TA soldier in the Squadron, a Sapper, and 45 years old, I think I was a bit of an oddity to the rest of the Squadron, and I hope it’s not just my thick skin that I didn’t encounter any negativity.

Living in South Wales meant I was able to get home most weekends to wean the family off me. Christmas and New Year came and went, as did the various leave packages, each time was another farewell drink, neighbours, workmates, family friends and family themselves. Monday to Friday in-volved runs, PT, sports, and swimming most nights; the weekends spent drinking and eating to ex-cess. This period also gave me time to get my household affairs in order (including a new £4700 heating system after the British Gas man cut my supply to my old boiler, thank goodness for Op bo-nus!)

Eventually the date for deployment arrived and I flew out with 30 Sqn and met back up 38 Sqn in Bastion. I was grateful for Day 0 (admin day) prior to the 6 day RSOI package, this gave me the op-portunity to introduce myself to the UK Works Group RE with whom I would be working for the tour. After RSOI I flew out to TFH HQ at Lashkar Gah to meet my line manager and unit I would ulti-mately work for, the Provincial Reconstruction Team, Specialist Team Royal Engineers (PRT STRE), and get a detailed brief of my duties and their expectations.

XXVI


My main effort is to provide a point of contact for the various contractors working on PRT STRE road project in the Gereshk and Sangin areas. The MPF gave me a crash course on road design and drain-age, and several nights reading through the specifications and contracts. Armed with this new knowledge I flew to FOB Price where I have begun a rota of arranging transport (with FP), visiting sites, and reporting back to my SO, the MPF.

Living conditions are good, the tented accommodation is air-conditioned, the showers are hot, run-ning water is always available, and the laundry is efficient. The cookhouse provides three excellent meals a day, with good choice and excellent quality. The gym is good, telephones are usually availa-ble, however internet access is limited. The shops are mixture of Danish and British and provide a relaxing atmosphere to wind down in.

Travelling outside the FOB is done through several agencies including British ISAF, Danish Police, and private security. Once out and on site there is usually only limited time to inspect progress and talk to the site engineer before it’s time to move on due to the security risk. The local children still find us a curiosity and approach us for any free gifts, mostly bottled water and boiled sweets.

Between planning, doing, and reporting on road projects, I have also offered my help on other engineering issues, such as drainage/flooding in the Gereshk Hospital for the Mayor, risk assessments facilitation for the FOB medical unit, and improvements to our welfare facilities.

I had few preconceptions before coming on tour and had a single goal of provid-ing a valued contribution to the Army effort. The ASO role has allowed me to do this beyond my expectations. With the excellent support of the MPF I am trying to reinvigorate a desire amongst local engineering firms to provide good engineering solutions, strong manage-ment; and to implement good practice they already know through studying in national and foreign universities. My hope is that they will accept the respon-sibility of doing a good job for the mon-ey they receive and provide the infra-structure to benefit the local and region-al economies. I feel very fortunate to have this role and if the remainder of my tour continues as it is, I think I would have done the valued job I originally set out to do, and potentially left a positive legacy for the region.


XXVI

Brigade Advisory Group The Engineer elements of the Brigade Advisory team spend a large part of their time working inde-

pendently of the Regiment under the Brigade Advisory Group (BAG). They live and work away from

all the other squadrons in a small PB called SPARTA. The small team advise their Afghan counter-

parts to ensure that they can be fully self sufficient once ISAF withdraws in the future. Maj Jon ‘Foxy’

Fox is in charge of this small band of men and he is very complimentary of the skills that the Engi-

neer Tolay have shown. This has never been truer than on their latest operation.

The Engineer elements of the BAG deployed as part of an

ANA 4th Kandak operation to support Government Led

Eradication of the poppy crop. The guys are fully embed-

ded into the Engineer Tolay and deployed, under the cov-

er of darkness, onto the ground to maintain the element

of surprise. The area that they deployed into has had little

ANA or ISAF influence over the preceding months and the

deployment there carried some inherent risk. The time

that Foxy and his men have spent with the ANA have en-

sured that they fully understand the ANA mentality and

how they conduct their operations. (Top left, Maj Fox dis-

cussed plans with the Kandak Commander). The Poppy

eradication operation saw the Engineer Tolay support

their infantry counterparts and the Afghan Uniformed

Police East of Lashkar Gah . The whole operation was a

truly co-operative exercise that involved the ANA, AUP

and the Aghan National Civil Order Police with each ele-

ment providing a different part of the security for the op-

eration. The operation was a success and, in good spirits,

the Kandak Commander addressed his men on return.

During their time with the Engineer Tolay the 26 Engi-

neer Regiment soldiers have quickly developed the all

important relationships with their Afghan counter parts

that is critical to ensuring mission success. The team have

spent time training them in essential skills such as map

reading, counter IED drills, medical skills as well as the

engineering essentials of bridging. The small team is es-

sential to ensuring the transition of security forces. A se-

curity force is not as effective without it’s engineers after

all.


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8 Armoured Engineer Squadron

A word from the OC (Maj J Stuart)

The Squadron have again been extremely busy, with most of the activity over the last couple of weeks concentrated on Nahr-e-Saraj (South) district. The troops have been demonstrating just how flexible they are by operating in completely different areas from those they would normally. At one point we had all of the Squadron less a section and a troop headquarters in Nahr-e-Saraj (South). That's not to say that we haven't been busy elsewhere. 1 Troop completed their route upgrade task at BOST air-field well ahead of schedule and have since been conducting work in Lashkar Gah Durai and in Attal. They have also started the upgrade of a series of helicopter landing sites to improve the resupply of some of our smaller locations. One of the biggest tasks so far has been the construction of a new part-nered Check Point in Nahr-e-Saraj (South). 2 Troop did extremely well on what was an exceptionally arduous but very successful task. Before they could even start the real work of constructing the Check Point they first had to upgrade the route to it. This was only possible by the use of small civil-ian trucks and shovels, as none of our engineer tractors or construction plant could get in. Once the route was upgraded they proceeded apace and completed the task a day ahead of schedule. 3 Troop have not been resting on their laurels either, they have conducted a number of woodline clearance tasks to improve fields of view, as well as conducting a number of recces to improve the routes to one of the more isolated check points in Nad-e Ali district. They have also constructed and upgraded 2 ranges and improved the drain-age of one of the patrol bases. The Squadron remains in good spirits and with the pace of work remaining high the time is flying by. Family and home remain at the forefront of everyone's thoughts and it is great to hear of all the activities and get to-gether that are going on back in the UK. We will be sending the first groups from the Squadron back on rest and recuperation in the next few weeks and we're all looking forward to hearing their news when they get back.


XXVI

CP JEKER CULVERT UPGRADE AND DRAINAGE

On the 1 Apr, a task force comprising of Cpl Mackenzie, LCpl Mitchell, Spr Rising, Spr Staff, Spr Stafford and Spr Holgate conducted a road move to CP JEKER (Check Point) with Spr Stewart and Spr Pike provid-ing top cover. Spr Holgate drove the LWT (Light Weight Tractor) during this road move as it was needed for both the culvert upgrade and drainage tasks.

After arriving at CP JEKER work commenced promptly, the first task was the culvert upgrade. The original culvert had slowly been damaged and was continuously degrading due to the high level of vehicles pass-ing through it. The local nationals had rebuilt it to a reasonably high standard and therefore the task was given to reinforce and upgrade it. This was mainly a plant orientated task and was reasonably straight forward. Buckets of aggregate were placed on top of the culvert, compressed and graded. Shovels were then used to tidy up and neaten all the aggregate this was completed in around one hour. The task would have been completed a little quicker if Spr Holgate had not forgotten to fire the pins on the LWT. He then proceeded to try and drive away without his bucket however he realised soon enough.

The second task was to create and enhance adequate drainage outside of CP JEKER in and around the toi-lets. To do this the existing pipe was extended and the multiple dug it in across the road so that it would allow drainage into the adjoining wadi. Again this was mainly a plant task, with Spr Holgate digging a trench across the road with the back actor. This was completed fairly quickly despite a large group of lo-cal national children congregating on the works site. The pipe extension was connected to the existing pipe and was also levelled out so that the fluid would run down hill and not pool in one area. This was done by digging out the ground on the high parts and propping the pipe on sandbags in areas that were low. The pipe was then anchored by plac-ing sand bags on top of it and then the trench was backfilled. The road which had been flattened and graded looked very neat and smart.

Both tasks were successfully completed by approximately 1600 and returned back to PB2 via road move by 1700. A simple but enjoyable task where initiative and high standards of work were demonstrat-ed once again by Cpl Mackenzie and his men.


XXVI

BOSTIS AT Route Build, 1Tp 8 AES

(By Spr Squires)

On the 31st March 2012, 1 Troop 8 AES where tasked to upgrade a route to an American Check Point (CP) built for the Afghan National Police (ANP). We moved out of Patrol Base (PB) Attal with a Husky, a Medium Wheeled Tractor (MWT), Self Loading Dump Truck (SLDT) and a Mastiff. The move was a slow 20km/h to MOB Lashkar Gah where we were to pick up Spr Stanley who had been away on vehicle operator’s course in Camp Bastion, he was ecstatic on seeing the packet; it was an

emotional reunion for us all. The original plan was to leave as soon as we had picked up our man but due to unforeseen (not un-welcome) circumstances we had to spend the night in Lash Vegas enduring the 5 star food and the NAAFI, it was a gris.

The next day we left early to crack on with the task at hand and arrived at CP BOST in about 40 minutes. When we arrived the Americans were more that happy to share their supplies with us and we were happy to help them with their crates of coke and pop tarts. When our close support arrived we left the gates with their 2 Jackals and our

Husky providing support for the bods on the ground. Our first task was to deny a culvert and up-grade a Y-Junction to attach the route to the main road. The moment one of the lads jumped out to start placing razor wire in the culvert he was swarmed by the local kids. While that was happening the civilian grader was preparing the junction and the roller was flattening the earth. Our MWT was also filling the SLDT with desert fill for the grader to get the ground to the right level.

The next day we went back to the junction to find that the razor wire had been stripped out by the locals, God only knows what they wanted with the stuff. The junction was al-most completed; it just needed the water bowser to saturate the ground and then the roller to flatten it again. The next day Troopy came down to the site to see the pro-gress and opened the flood gates by giving one Afghan kids a pen, to the outrage of eve-ry other kid that was there. The irony of that was that Troopy was pick-pocketed for his last pen towards the end of the day. The Geo-Grid was then rolled out and both MWTs spread the aggregate across the


XXVI

track. While this was happening the grader was preparing the rest of the route. When they had fin-ished the roller went over again flattening the ground and that was the junction completed. The troop then returned back to our base via Lash Vegas leaving a grateful American compound behind.

The next day was spent concentrating on the section of road next to the CP itself which was mostly ‘moon dust’, this required another layer of road called Neo-web which is a honeycomb matting that gets filled with soil creating a solid foundation for the road. After laying 90 meters of Neo-web and filling it with soil the grader and roller did their job of flattening the base layer then the geo-grid went on top both MWT’s placed ‘agg’ on top and the grader and roller again did they are best at and flattened the road surface.

The last day we finished the rest of the Neo-web and had a well deserved break while waiting for the MWT’s to finish the task. Just when we thought the end was in sight Troopy gave us the great news that Spr Frankham had reversed the MWT through a section of the surrounding barbed wire fence which although was not a big task (and only took 30 minutes), it was a crate-able offence. Af-ter that we stripped out and left for the comforts of Lash.


XXVI

Tree “Fellas” CP Shaparak (By LCpl Colaco and Spr Smith)

On the 4th of April LCpl Colaco and Spr Smith were tasked to clear 100m of tree line in order to ena-

ble Check Point (CP) SHAPARAK greater fields of fire for its Expeditionary Elevated Sangar (EES).

The task began with the standard “hurry up and wait” procedure with the departure time from PB2

slipping from 0700 a few times until it was eventually

1700 until the patrol went out of the door. A multiple

escorted the foot patrol from PB2 to CP PERKHA and

then on to CP SHAPARAK. This took about an hour in to-

tal and went fairly smoothly without any SIGACTS

(significant acts).

Upon arriving at CP SHAPARAK after a quick camp ac-

quaintance, we had a solar shower, some hot scoff laid on

by the Rifles and an early night in ready for an early start

the next morning.

Thursday morning started off with a nice ‘boil in the bag breakfast’. The Operation led by BRIM-STONE left the safety of CP SHAPARAK on a short but steady patrol to the site where an ICP (or sun-trap) was set up. The lead searchers began searching the tree line for IEDs where local intelligence suggested five IEDs were laid. After three and a half days of searching, five IEDs were found to the local’s credit. LCpl Colaco really was the real life CP SHAPARAK ‘Chainsaw massacre’ man with Spr Smith his Kevin Costner ‘Bodyguard’ or even ‘Guardian Angel’. At the end of the fourth day roughly 50-60 trees were felled and the fields of fire and view from the EES were clear, and the insurgents were denied cover to place IEDs. Job done and task complete.


XXVI


A word from the OC (Maj C Ankers)

Since we last spoke, Dirty Thirty have been very busy. We have completed numerous tasks includ-

ing; repairing both military and civilian bridges, preparing bases to handover to the Afghan Nation-

al Security Forces (ANSF) and improving the security and living conditions in a joint UK and Afghan

police station and have started to assess the quality of Afghan police checkpoints across the whole

of Task Force Helmand’s area.

The troops are now living and working in Nad e Ali, in varying levels of comfort. In 4 Tp, LCpl Burge

and Spr Ansell have built a bread oven because their chef can only cook noodles! This is more than

made up for by having their own coiffeur (the highly L’Oreal qualified Spr Reid) and that they share

a camp with the Estonian Company who have their own sauna! 5 Tp are creating their own crea-

ture comforts with Ikea-style furniture appearing from scraps of wood and of course they provided

the ‘toilets of love’ (see the photo’s on FaceBook) courtesy of Sprs Illsley and Wood. 6 Tp are disap-

pointed that Spr McCormack’s (the Brigadier’s favourite Sapper!) creation of a Zulu warrior from

scrap metal has disappeared. I should elaborate that the Brigade Commander enjoyed a healthy de-

bate with Spr McCormack


XXVI

when we were on the range package in Lydd & Hythe. A rematch between the two is planned for the

middle of the tour!

Most notably though, we have provided the engineer support to the first Brigade level operation of

Op HERRICK 16. We were heavily involved in enabling the 1 Royal Anglian Combined Force to se-

cure the flanks of a joint Afghan National Army and Afghan Uniformed Police operation. Through

denying bridges and crossing points over the Nahr-e-Bughra (NeB) canal we assisted in preventing

insurgents escaping from an epicentre of poppy growth right at the time when they are trying to

harvest their crop. The NeB is the key water feature running through the Nad e Ali area, it is over 30

metres wide and provides the irrigation for agriculture, the main form of income in Helmand.

Nad e Ali has a certain serene beauty at the moment with the fields of poppies resembling the tulip

fields of Holland. Unfortunately this is bitter sweet as they are grown to produce opium and there-

fore the sight of the ANSF ploughing through the fields to destroy the poppy is heartening. If only

we could send some back in bouquets to our wives, girlfriends and mothers back home.

Dirty Thirty are in great spirits and now the dates are confirmed for R&R, everyone is looking for-

ward to seeing you all back at home. Thank you for all the letters and parcels that have been sent

out to us, I can assure you that they have been extremely well received.


XXVI

A week in the shoes of a 4 Troop Sapper (By Cpl ‘Sov (or Fonz apparently)’ Sovanivalu)

Week 6 of Op HERRICK 16 and the weather took an unex-

pected turn for the worse. It rained constantly for 2 days

but work carried on for 4 Troop, firmly asserting the

Squadrons name as ‘Dirty Thirty’ as we waded through

knee deep mud and water going about our daily work! The

plant operators have been working over-time, especially

in this weather cutting new drainage for the camp along

with their day job which is currently involving masses of

ground works to the Patrol Base ready for our future task-

ing.

The Fieldies have been getting ‘stuck in’ as well and

it’s not easy work, especially in full protective kit

and muddy glasses! The drivers have had difficulty

with their vehicles in this weather but it’s not only

them having issues as Spr ‘Nugget’ Nugent proved

yesterday when he fell over in the swamp: “That

will be a crate for the Troop please Nugget!”

On a serious note the 4 Troop detectives amongst

us found what they thought was an albino Afghan

digging in an IED so they took some pictures and

detained the individual….To find it was our very


XXVI

own Spr ‘Nugget’ Nugent playing in Staff Peter-

sons

fancy dress box! Well done Nugget, make that two

crates.

Sentry duty, or Stag as it is known, is consuming

the long lonely nights with the reward for the big-

gest blunder of the day finding you are on the

worst stag times! Needless to say that we are all

busy here at the moment but we are all fine.

Thanks to some strong leadership from our Troop

Commander Lt ‘Sir/Boss’ Jarrett-Kerr, and robust

discipline from Staff Sergeant ‘Jim’ Peterson, the

troop are progressing extremely well and really beginning to assert themselves as the best troop in

the Regiment! As a Troop we also wanted to send one big blanket thank you to everyone who has

sent us and will be sending us mail. Mail days are great out here and are so gratefully received, un-

fortunately at WAHID there haven’t been many flights over the last couple of weeks resulting in very

few and far between mail days. Hopefully the ‘Bastion Boys’ can sort out the helicopter crews and

start getting it out to us more regularly! Still though, it’s not bad really considering where we are in

the world!

I would like to leave you all with this from me and the rest of the lads in 4 Troop:

Stay safe and keep sending us those morale enhancing parcels!

Until next time.

OUT!


XXVI

ATO CORDON—5 Troop (By Spr Marshall)

On Tuesday 10th April 1 Section, 5 Troop were tasked to provide two Huskys and a Medium Wheeled Tractor Protected (MWT (P)) to assist an EOD call sign with the disposal of a 100kg IED that the ANA had found on patrol. We were given the job of closing the road to the north and south of a UXO pit which would be dug by Spr Funnell in his MWT (P). We positioned the two Huskys and the order to close the road was given over the radio. This was a simple task except for the language barrier as we quickly found out.

The people of Afghanistan are particularly curious and after about five minutes of our Husky being stationary, a gaggle of locals had formed wanting to know what was going on and why they could not use the road. We did have a junior member of the Afghan Uniformed Police but we were hindered by the language barrier as he spoke no English and our Pashtu was limited. My Section Commander, Cpl Carl ‘The Cat’ Moir and I had dismounted from the Husky in order to inform the locals through the medium of mime that the road was closed and that there would shortly be a controlled explosion to the south. Unfortunately our drama skills left a lot to be desired and the locals looked more confused then ever and tried to find out what was going on by speaking loudly all at the same time!

As we were speaking to one of the village elders a small boy of around 10 approached us and stated in very good English “he is asking if you speak Pashtu”. I was in shock that this young lad (called Mackmood) could speak such good English and he informed us that he had learned it at his local school. This meant that we had our own interpreter and we could communicate effectively with our AUP counterpart who quickly explained that the cordon had been put in place for their safety and that the road would be reopened shortly.

We manned the cordon for the next hour and chatted with the locals while we waited for the bang. The sound of a large explosion was soon heard and the all clear was given so we could reopen the road to the locals and return to the FOB. Another job well done by 5 Troop and a big thank you to our little interpreter.

XXVI


XXVI XXVI

5 Troop’ll Fix It (Spr Malloy)

After a quiet week for 5 Troop the work is now flying in from all directions. This has been well met

by the lads, who are glad of the graft because if you’re working hard the time always goes quicker.

8 Men of the mighty 5 Troop were tasked on the 14th April to move up to PB Wahid which we would

use as a base for the next 3 days. Before we left FOB Shawqat the vehicles were fuelled and packed,

and as always everything was running perfectly until the front gates were opened at which point the

comms stopped working! We made our way to the Ghostbusters’ (signals geeks) tent, who had it

working in seconds and eventually we rolled out of the Shawqat gates. The lads were glad to see the

back of our home for a few days as an epidemic of D + V had broken out and claimed four of our lads,

so we fled and made our way to see “Sun Tan Troop” (4 Tp).

The convoy of two Huskys moved up the route north where we met our usual barrage of stones and

rocks which wasn’t appreciated by Spr ‘Jacko’ Hawksley who bobbed and weaved on top cover to

avoid losing any teeth! We knew we were getting close when the NeB canal opened up in front of us

which we followed all the way to Wahid. We arrived at around 1600hrs just in time for scoff. After

we had our fill, we set up our tent and were briefed on the next day’s task. Cpl ‘Knoxy’ Cokanasiga

told us that we were replacing a few stolen pieces of an MGB that had been built about 1km away,

outside CP Serakoor. Also that we were to place dannert coil down to the water’s edge to make it a

more difficult for the thieves in future. We all had bets as to how long it would take for it all to be

gone! Later that day we moved to El Haam to meet a fleet of civilian contractors that had arrived two

days early. After dealing with a temporary language barrier and overly friendly locals, we eventually

moved the vehicles on to the site of the future culvert to dump their loads of aggregate. We then

drove back to Wahid to prepare the stores and continued to read the Christmas edition of Nuts mag-

azine.


XXVI

On the second day we moved to PB Folad where there is a second bridge that we needed to protect

from thieves. This took slightly longer as the distance from the end of the bridge to the water’s edge

was longer. The task went as planned and the stores were ready to be put back on the Huskys but as

the men made for the vehicles a flurry of small arms fire cracked in the distance. The splash of incom-

ing fire was seen up the dust road and the QRF from the nearby Folad were deployed. Accompanying

us was Cpl Pun who had to be taken to CP Serakoor to sort out a small group water purification unit,

but when we arrived the Infantry unit told us they didn’t have one. We about turned and headed to

CP Karim where we had hoped the kit we were looking for would be. The route we took looked quite

hairy with its narrow alleys and lack of people. We pushed on and eventually arrived only to be

greeted by yet more Infantry who seemed unaware of what we were looking for. We headed back to

Wahid for ration pack Sunday, and to check orders.

The final day was an early one and we rolled out at around 0700hrs. We got to the task site and

found an Estonian force protection in place so we got the vehicles into place and cracked on with the

culvert. Cpl ‘Knoxy’ Cokanasiga took control and had Spr ‘Jacko’ Hawksley filling his SLDT(P) with

aggregate whilst Spr ‘Ghost’ Funnel removed the existing culvert with his light wheeled tractor

(minus its air conditioning). Spr Jones, Spr Marshall and LCpl ‘Mono’ Haniver got the Hesco ready and

Spr Molloy and Cpl Moir gave further protection on top cover. Coincidently it was market day in Wa-

hid and hundreds of locals poured down the roads keeping the Estonians busy. The overall task took

about five hours and once we had finished the route re-opened.

It was now time to pack up and move back to Shawqat for a well-deserved Fanta slushy (something

that 4 Troop at Wahid had never heard of). Overall a good three days of work. The mighty 5 Troop

are now very much in the swing of things and are loving getting out and about in the AO, looking for-

ward to whatever future tasks there may be…5 Troop ALLY OOOOOOSH!!


XXVI


A word from the OC (Maj J Gossage)

Since the last issue 33 AES have been incredibly busy. 7 Troop have complet-

ed the build of a large bridge that you will hopefully have seen on the Regimental Facebook site, they

have also been out on patrol and used explosives to destroy enemy positions, handed over six bases

to the Afghan Local Police, built Unexploded Ordinance Pits, Vehicle weapon unloading bays, reno-

vated their accommodation and offices and started work on a new extremely large project that will

provide a considerable upgrade to the security of one of the Main Operating Bases. 8 Troop have

stripped out a bridge that was blown up, built a Sangar, built three burns pits and made a name for

themselves with the Grenadier Guards as the men to come to if you need your base to be renovated

and enhanced, undertaken essential borehole works to ensure fresh water in two locations, rewired

a base after moving their generators and repaired a wall that collapsed after the heavy rain we saw

(yes rain!!) over the last week. By the time you read this they will also have closed two more bases.

9 Troop have moved location and constructed their own camp within the new location, built a whole

new base from scratch to provide overwatch and security to an area being targeted by insurgents,

repaired force protection enhancements to culverts along the entire length of one of the roads, com-

pletely renovated a checkpoint that was near to collapse whilst living side by side with the Afghan

National Civil Order Police, provided support to the infantry in crossing rivers with an assault bridge

and searched for insurgent tunnels. In the background to all of this the REME have worked tirelessly

to support all of these operations both forward with the troops and in camp Bastion, while the

Squadron Echelon have managed the vehicle fleet, resourced the tasks

and ensured that the spares and equipment has kept moving in both di-

rections. Behind all of this work, SHQ have planned and scheduled every

single task as well as manning the 24 hour Ops Room and carrying out

the recces for subsequent tasks. As you would imagine this has kept us

pretty busy and I am pleased to say we are now well over a 1/4 of the

way through the tour. R&R starts for the main body of the Squadron

very soon and continues for the next few months so you can look for-

ward to a couple of weeks at home with your loved ones in the near fu-

ture. The morale of the Squadron is as high as ever, but then what else

would you expect from the best Squadron in 26 Engineer Regiment! I

hope you are enjoying the Facebook updates, radio broadcasts and of

course this newsletter and you can see how your role supporting the

boys out here is a key part of the tour for us, thanks again to everyone.

XXVI


7 Troop—MOB Price (By Spr Phillips)

The main body of 7 Tp arrived in MOB Price on the 10th of April after a short stay in Camp Bastion, where we had re-turned to collect our vehicles after an intense six weeks of Close Support Engineering to Delhi Coy, 1 Yorks, in the Khar Nikah AO.

On our arrival to Price we where happy to find that we had our own corner of camp, nicknamed ‘Engineer’s Corner’. A bit of remedial works was required to put our own stamp on the place since taking over from 37 AES, so we spent the first couple of days personalising the area. “Weller’s Wel-fare” tent and “Gossage Games Area” was given a slight uplift but the main improvement was creat-

ing our own gym area, “the Hurtlocker”.

After this the first task was to construct a UXO pit in OCCD for the Afghan Uniformed Police, this task was 1 section’s job headed up by Cpl Etherington and was completed the same day. Cpl Dickens and 2 section’s first task was to put force protection around an Heli Landing Site (HLS) and vehicle park for the Afghan National Army. A few dilemmas were encounter upon arrival and during the task, but it was completed in a day and a half.

Our third task consisted of both sections being mixed to construct a loading and unloading bay out-side of MOB Price while concurrently LCpl Cooke took a small team of men to create an opening in the HESCO for a field ambulance to access an emergen-cy HLS near to the ranges inside the Main Operating Base.

All in all it’s been a busy first week in MOB Price, but the good scoff, and gleaming welfare facilities that we’ve upgraded, make it all worth it/bearable and also help the time out here fly by.

XXVI


XXVI

8 Troop—Happy Nepalese New Year (2069) all the

way from the Helmand Province (By LCpl Ashish Malla)

After the successful completion of the first major task in our new Patrol Base (PB), we were all excit-

ed and looking forward to completing the second task and returning to the main PB for the Nepalese

New Year celebrations. But during ‘O’ Gp, our Troop Commander Capt MJ Gurung informed us that

the second task had been postponed and we have to wait at our current location until the decision

has been made. It took 10 days for the decision to arrive and during last 10 days we were heavily en-

gaged in upgrading the PB in order to improve the living standards of our Collation Forces. Some of

the main tasks were the upgrading of a burns pit, hand wash facilities at the kitchen, reinstalling of

desert roses (urinals), improvised female shower and construction of Counter IED lanes. Simultane-

ously, it was a great opportunity for the young sappers, who were asked to deliver some lessons rele-

vant to the current situation in order to build up their confidence for forthcoming Potential Non Com-

missioned Officer

Cadre.

We had various

ideas of celebrating

New Year, but once

again Capt MJ in-

formed us that on

New Year’s Day we

needed to accom-

plish a new mis-

sion, a drawdown

of a PB which was

approximately SW

of our location.

However, 8 Tp

management de-

cided that the

whole troop were

not required for

this task, hence we

were to return to


XXVI

the main PB and send only required personnel for the task the next day. Due to various reasons once

again this task was also postponed and we all returned to the main PB in two different chalks due to

the limited vehicles.

Finally the whole troop were at the Main PB ready for the New Year celebration. Spr Binod and I

were the main effort for the day to prepare the feast for the evening. Our Master Chef kindly provid-

ed us with 35 kilograms frozen Goat (without a head), which was nearly half of my height. It was a

command task for us to chop it into pieces and prepare it for the curry. We used various basic engi-

neering assets including a hand saw at the beginning followed by the Makita power saw. Only half of

the Goat meat was used for the evening leaving the rest for another time.

As usual, I assumed the responsibilities of the "cooking commander" and the mission started at 1600

hrs. On previous occasions our British colleagues mentioned the curry not being hot enough. To that

end, this time I didn’t hesitate to add special chillies which came all the way from the foothills of

Himalayas, the Dalley Khursani. Simultaneously, after top tips from the Tp Comd on ‘how to cook

the rice properly’, Spr's Gaurab and Bobin dedicated their evening on cooking rice. However the end

product was still not up to the Tp Comd’s standard. Capt MJ and SSgt Dilkumar Rai have promised to

cook the rice themselves the next time we have extra food available for curry. The whole troop is

looking forward for that special day and hopefully the rice will be cooked properly!

Immediately after a Sqn Conference at 1900hrs the celebration began with Tp Comd’s short and

sweet speech followed by best wishes. The event ended with drinking plenty of water and unfortu-

nately, some of our colleagues were sweating more than if they were working in OSPREY and Helmet

(currently 32ºC). It was all the effect of the Dalley Khursani. Not hot enough!!!

Looking forward to seeing the whole troop sweating excessively again, maybe next Saturday, but

who knows it might be postponed!

Jai Mighty 8 Troop, 33 AES


XXVI

9 Troop -CP SALAT (By Spr Saunders)

9 Tp has been tasked with upgrading and improving Check Point (CP) SALAT. We were all briefed before the task that the plan was to build new HESCO walls and gain some space inside, install a HESCO Sanger on one side of the CP and a Super Sanger on the other side. A drainage system would also need to be installed and some accommodation for the infantry that would be living there. It was to take about seven days and we would be living there for the duration of the task in some very basic conditions, comparable to Op HERRICK some years ago.

The day before the move, all the equipment and stores we needed were loaded up and the ISO con-tainers moved down in preparation. We packed our kit and prepared ourselves for the early start. The first packet moved in the early morning after the infantry had gone down to secure the area for us. As soon as we got to CP SALAT there was a fire fight between the infantry and the insurgents. This did not last long, but it meant that the work slowed down. As soon as we could, we were out working. The first thing we had to do was improve the security around a storage ISO that the infan-try had been using; we did this by extending the wall of the CP. There was a lot of levelling to be done and this time Spr Palmer was assisted by the Afghanistan Police.

The other section’s task was to build a HESCO Sanger at the rear of the CP overlooking fields. We had plenty of over watch protection, through the Danish Tanks and the Infantry in their Warriors which gave us a great deal of peace of mind.

Day two started well with more HESCO along the side of the CP to improve space and create a buff-er where nobody could see into the CP. The more we built, the faster we became at in-stalling the HESCO with plant working flat out to provide us with the fill. We had an evening meal of Gurkha chicken curry, (cooked by our own LCpl Balaju Thapa) and rice which was


XXVI

delicious. The austere conditions meant that we only had solar showers to wash with, but after a day full of fill-ing HESCO these came as a blessing. The evenings were full of entertain-ment, like playing drafts with the Af-ghan Police!

Day 3 saw the beginning of the two new front walls and the start of the drainage. The HESCO Sanger was com-pleted and the final touches with cam-ouflage netting fitting under the cover of darkness as a precaution. On day 4 the ground for the ‘Super Sanger’ was prepared with a membrane and aggre-gate placed on top in order to ensure that the drainage worked correctly. Soon after that, the Sanger flew up and by dark the top layer was in place and the HESCO was being filled.

Day 5 was the last full build day on site. The ‘Super Sanger’ was completed and the final HESCO walls were put into place. We moved the entrance to the CP to aid with the drainage and we gave the infantry some more accommodation with some much needed sun shades. Day 6 was the final day and we had to rush to finish of the last few bits and pieces and recover back to our FOB just in time before the weather closed in and we were treated to a thunder storm in the desert.

Overall, this was an interesting and rewarding task which has improved CP SALAT and the lives of those that have to live in the over the summer. Once again, 9 Tp have done them-selves and the Squadron proud in delivering nearly a complete rebuild of a CP in only 6 days and to the high standards that the Sqn de-mands.

A Short Story of Poo (By LCpl Engstrom)

As 6 Troop found their feet in SHAZAD, our first task (eagerly anticipated) was fast approaching. The

Troop moved down to SILAB, where most people would be staying to do a patrol base upgrade/

downgrade. A select few would move onto KALANG consisting of Troopy Kehoe, Cpl “Mac” Macdon-

ald, myself LCpl “Kev Engineerstrong” Engstrom, Spr “Colonel” Bird, Spr “Lloydy” Lloyd, Spr

“Sharpey” Sharp, Spr “Mac” McCormack, Spr “Simmo” Simpson and Spr ‘Mmm’ Taylor.

The task seemed simple and we couldn’t wait to get amongst it. As we arrived our fearless leader Cpl

“Mac” gave me my first task of digging a new burns pit and filling in a hole in the wall near it. As a

gobby shout from myself of “easy pops, it will be done in 3hrs”, I took half the section down to the

site. Spr Taylor jumped in the light wheelie (Light Wheeled Tractor), Simmo and Lloydy were armed

with shovels - we were ready to rock and roll.

The plan was simple enough: use the fill from the burns pit to fill the Hesco in the gap in the wall then

put the revetment in the burns pit. After showing Spr Taylor where to dig the pit, he got started.

While we were bouncing out the Hesco, a strange whiff appeared and we turned round to see John

Bags in the light wheelie’s bucket making its way over to us for the Hesco. As I cried ‘STOP’ and a lit-

tle ‘WTF’ I told him to put it back and cover it up as the stench had become unbearable. After re-

siting the pit with the same outcome we soon realised the whole area was just a landfill sight for ‘poo’

bags! Now realising my gobby shout was out the window, I consulted with Cpl ‘Mac’ and found a

patch of ground where we could complete the task.

With the pit dug and the wall complete, we jumped in to start the revetment and finish the task for

some much needed head down. With the stench still in the air we completed the first run of CGI

when we noticed the ground becoming softer and softer and before long we were knee deep in what

can only be described as smelly poo water! After yet another ‘WTF’ and a head scratch we jumped

out and back-filled the pit

with aggregate which, de-

spite the light wheelie al-

most getting stuck, seemed

to sort the problem out. As

it was now close to mid-

night, we decided to stop

there and see what it was

like in the morning.

As we headed down

in the morning to put

the last run of CGI in

the pit we noticed the

whole pit submerged

in stinky water again,

which even had burnt

floaters in it! After a

little ‘chin up’ we

stripped out and back

filled the pit. The

burns pit still needed

to be put in but with

the water table only

1/2 m down and poo

bags everywhere, the

only thing we could

do was build the

burns pit above ground and build up the CGI revetment with aggregate, mud and what was becoming

a very familiar sight: burnt poo bags! With my gobby shout of 3hrs turning into nearly 20hrs, Cpl

‘Mac’, armed with a shovel, came down to help. A back breaking 4hrs later, and in the heat of the day

(which didn’t help with the smell) the task was complete!

The next task was building a Non Equipment Bridge. Later that afternoon we prepped the stores for

the re-deck of the NEB, so at 2000hrs we began the strip out of the decking, which came up without

any problems “as half of it wasn’t there in the first place”. With the decking already cut it flew in

along with the curbs. After a quick break due to the fact ‘Troopy’ Kehoe brought out muffins and kit-

kats, which brought up the morale and energy levels, we smashed in about 1000 nails in minutes few.

Finally a good task with no problems so we headed off for a much needed wash and change of kit as

we could still smell the stench of burnt poo!!

30 Sqn discover …….. Witching

OP Massive and a bit of PT pain!

Where have all the welfare boxes gone?


XXVI

Page 41

Glossary Ranks

Spr - Sapper

LCpl - Lance Corporal

Cpl - Corporal

Sgt - Sergeant

SSgt - Staff Sergeant

WO2 - Warrant Officer Second Class

WO1 - Warrant Officer First Class

Lt - Lieutenant

Formations

Sect - Section

Tp - Troop

Armd Engr Sqn - Armoured Engineer Squadron

Fd Engr Sqn - Field Engineer Squadron

Hq & Sp Sqn - Headquarters and Support Squad-

ron

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


XXVI

Page 42

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) - Self Loading 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.

20120407-scarab telegraph facebook edition 2-u

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