It was a cold, wet Monday morning on 7th January 2008. I
was one of a group of seventeen soldiers from 3PWRR (3rd
Battalion Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment) recently
arrived at the Chilwell mobilisation centre (RTMC) outside
Nottingham. This was the start of a 12 month attachment to
The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion The
Royal Regiment of Scotland (5 SCOTS) to bolster their
strength for an operational tour in Afghanistan. Before a
regular unit receives any TA soldiers or reservists, they must
first be declared fit for role at Chilwell. Everyone, regardless
Transport for deployment in Afghanistan of rank, has to pass medical and dental checks before going
onto basic military skills tests and fitness tests as well as many mandatory lectures and briefings.
This process takes two weeks and ensures that everyone leaving has the same basic level of military
skills, ready to carry out further theatre-specific training once they reach their regular unit.
We arrived at Howe Barracks in Canterbury, home of 5 SCOTS, on 21st January and were promptly
split up and sent to our respective rifle companies. Sgt Fletcher, Pte Garner and I found ourselves in
‘Delta Company’. The other lads from 3 PWRR went to either A, B or Support Company. The 5
SCOTS Battle Group was enlarged for the tour by many other augmentee soldiers. There were other
TA soldiers from Three Rifles and The Royal Yeomanry and regulars from the Royal Tank Regiment
and Army Air Corps, too. Within a couple of weeks everyone was starting to blend in with the ‘Jocks’,
sporting a new head-dress; the ‘Tam-O-Shanter’, with our own regimental cap badges on them.
We went straight into pre-deployment training, which included a long test exercise on Salisbury Plain
and in Brecon, plus a week at Lydd in Kent with the Operational Training Advisory Group (OPTAG).
A lot of Private soldiers and Junior NCOs were also given medic training; a good reminder to us all
that we were soon going to be in a very hostile environment.
Transport for deployment in Afghanistan
On 7th April 2008, all the section commanders including me and Sgt Fletcher and the Officer
Commanding Delta Company left RAF Brize Norton by TriStar for Afghanistan. We arrived at
Kandahar Airfield on 8th April and transferred onto a C130 transport aircraft for the flight to Camp
Bastion. After nearly 24 hours of travel, we found our beds for the night. A few hours later we were
up and receiving our mandatory theatre briefings and intelligence updates. Camp Bastion is the main
base for the British and is the launch point for a lot of units who then deploy out to one of the Forward
Operating Bases (FOBs) or Patrol Bases (PBs) that are dotted around Helmand Province. The rest of
the Company soon arrived and, after a short acclimatisation, we carried out live firing training in the
desert, just outside the camp perimeter.
By mid April, Delta Company had deployed to FOB Keenan in the upper Gereshk Valley, a few
kilometres north of the town of Gereshk. After 7 weeks of patrolling in vehicles and on foot without
much enemy activity in the area, it was decided that we should move to a livelier spot. So in May we
were airlifted by Chinook to the town of Musa Qaleh. The Battle Group in and around Musa Qaleh, in
the main FOB and various PBs was very busy with a high degree of enemy contact. Groups of
Taliban were operating everywhere, surrounding the town and outlying villages, with the heaviest
concentration being a few kilometres to the north and south in the ‘Green Zone’. The Green Zone is
the area of lush, cultivated ground that parallels the River Helmand and ranges from 100 metres to 2
kilometres wide in places. It is used by local farmers to grow many crops, including opium, and is
home to many Afghans.
It is here that we found ourselves fighting the enemy for almost 5 months in temperatures of up to 35
degrees, carrying an average of 90 pounds on our backs. We had many close encounters with the
enemy and several soldiers in my platoon had to use their bayonets.
Always on the alert—reality Helmand
The Taliban, for the most part, were well trained and could bring down accurate mortar fire on us on a
regular basis, as well as the usual small arms fire and rocket propelled grenades (RPGs). Delta
Company were responsible for a number of enemy dead and wounded which helped to prevent the
Taliban from retaking the town and villages in this area. We took our own casualties unfortunately,
but no fatalities, which is amazing when I look back at some of the situations we found ourselves in.
For instance, early one morning my platoon found themselves in a maize field, surrounded by enemy
fighters, temporarily outnumbered and outgunned at ranges of less than 5 metres. One of the lads in
my section took shrapnel from an RPG in his legs during the ensuing fire fight, yet he continued to fire
his weapon regardless. For 45 minutes and running low on
ammunition, we held our ground until our other two platoons
reached our location and gave support. After taking care of
the injured, we carried on fighting for the rest of the day before
withdrawing back to our FOB that night.
I have been on operational tours before but, since hearing
similar stories from other soldiers in 3 PWRR who are also still
serving, I have realised that this campaign is the most
intense the TA – and the Army as a whole – has seen for
decades. These stories remind me just how committed our
Always on the alert—reality Helmand Territorials remain.
Sgt Andy Hainge
Javelin Platoon, B Company
3 PWRR, Brighton