Op Herrick partners’ bond unbroken |
United front: The bond of trust between British and Afghan forces will not be broken by insurgents, a senior Afghan commander has promised
Picture: Cpl Gary Kendall, RLC
ATTACKS by rogue members of the Afghan National Security Forces will not damage the relationship between the country’s military and their British counterparts, according to a senior officer.
Speaking through an interpreter during a visit to the United Kingdom, Afghan National Army 215 Corps Commander Gen Malouk labelled the murder of three Gurkha personnel in July as an isolated occurrence.
He said: “The relationship that we have cannot be damaged by very small things. The incident in July and the one before that were personal things – it is not the Army and everybody was very upset by this.
“These kinds of small things by individual people won’t damage the relationship and we will try to build the trust more and more.
“We are working together, shoulder-to-shoulder with each other.
“Always when we go for operations we work together and every day we improve our relationship.”
Gen Malouk was in Britain to see first-hand the pre-deployment training undertaken by Servicemen and women ahead of Op Herrick deployments.
The commander said that he hoped the “very effective” missions would help keep casualties to a minimum and pledged to do everything in his power to protect international soldiers.
He said: “I can give this promise to the British Army and to the International Security Assistance Force as well – I will do my best to keep British troops away from danger.
“It is our country and we have to be forward and they can give their support in the back.”
He also highlighted the fact that the Afghan National Army had grown from just one battalion, or kandak, in 2002 to 135 now, adding: “As I see it, the Helmand situation is a lot better and improved compared to last year. Next year we hope it will get better [again].”
Gen Malouk’s visit included a trip to 16 Air Assault Brigade’s mission-specific training and Lt Gen Barney White-Spunner, Commander Field Army, said it was part of a package designed to provide soldiers with a “very full understanding” of Helmand province’s cultural background.
And the officer was convinced that the brigade’s veterans of former Op Herrick tours would notice the continuous improvement Helmand province’s economy and security situation have undergone.
He said: “On the ground there is a sense of things slowly getting better. We know that it’s going to take time, we’re not going to be through this quickly.
“But they will be able to see solid progress and my advice to them is to continue with that. I wish them every luck for a very successful deployment.”
Guards keep Helmand highway open |
Making inroads: British troops patrol Route 601
Picture: Cpl Barry Lloyd, RLC
DEDICATED British and Afghan troops have helped boost Helmand’s economy by allowing a major access road to stay open.
Soldiers from B Company, 1st Battalion, Scots Guards and The Royal Dragoon Guards have been working alongside Afghan National Security Forces to improve freedom of movement along Route 601 in the centre of the province.
Operating from a base halfway along the highway, the personnel patrol on foot and in Mastiff and Jackal armoured vehicles to ensure there are no blockages and to prevent improvised explosive devices from being placed.
Base commander Capt Neil Gow (1 SG) said the joint patrols helped to reassure the local population about the security situation.
He added: “It also allows us to build up as much information as we can from the ground about what is going on.
“When we first moved here we had a lot of information about where the problems were and where the hot spots were. By going out on the ground, firstly you can see what is going on and secondly you [get] a chance to see if things are improving.”
Route 601 is a Tarmac road that connects Lashkar Gah in Helmand province with Kandahar city to the east.
It serves as an important transport link for International Security Assistance Forces as well as a commercial route for Afghan civilians.
In addition to keeping the highway open, troops have worked alongside villagers living near their patrol base on a host of redevelopment projects.
Tpr Chris Gregory (RDG) said: “We went down to see [them] and said we could offer projects where we pay them to work on their own fields to give them good water supplies so they can grow better crops and basically improve their standard of living.”
Capt Gow added that he was already seeing his personnel’s work having a positive impact on the population.
He explained: “It has made a big difference – people come up to you and say that since we’ve been here they’ve had no drama with the Taliban. Clearly there are a few hot spots, but it has been a warm reception.”
Changes made to ‘world class’ compensation scheme |
PERSONNEL will have longer to make claims for injuries following a review of the military’s compensation scheme.
The extended deadline, which gives troops seven instead of five years to initiate a claim, is one of several changes introduced by the MoD last month.
The improvements follow recommendations made by former Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral The Lord Boyce after his review of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS).
Army spokesman Col Robin Vickers told Soldier that he wanted all Servicemen and women to be aware of the scheme and to be confident to use it if necessary.
He said: “There have been a number of criticisms laid at this scheme, most of them due to people’s misunderstanding of how it operates.
“Lord Boyce has urged the MoD to improve the way it communicates the scheme to the Services and a lot of work has been undertaken to do just that.
“We are acutely aware that many people did not understand that this offered them the sort of benefits that it did and there was an underlying view that it was unfair and unreasonable.
“We believe that Lord Boyce’s extensive changes will put the scheme into a place where soldiers can be confident that they have something world class that supports them during their service.”
Other changes introduced to the scheme last month include a rise in some payments for hearing loss and an increase in the time limit for “late onset” illnesses, such as mental health problems, from one to three years from the date of first seeking medical help.
Further improvements due to be brought into effect from February 2011 included an increase to all lump sums, rises in the Guaranteed Income Payment and a nine-month boost to the time limit in which soldiers can request a decision to be reconsidered.
In addition, personnel who suffer multiple wounds from a single incident will receive compensation for each individual injury.
Col Vickers added that although making changes to the AFCS could be a lengthy process, the MoD was committed to continuing to improve the scheme by asking members of the Armed Forces for their opinions.
He said: “There is a continuous review process undertaken and the MoD has a mechanism in which changes can be made year-on-year in a considered manner.
“The last review process had interviews with a large cohort of the Services and bereaved families and all of them had the opportunity to express their views. We believe that the fundamental concerns they raised have been addressed.”
Chief of the General Staff Gen Sir David Richards added: “I am committed to ensuring that personnel injured as a result of their service are appropriately compensated for [their] injuries.”
For full details about the AFCS changes, log on to www.veterans-uk.info or www.spva.mod.uk or call 0800 169 2277 from the UK or +44 1253 866043 from overseas. Serving soldiers wishing to make a claim should contact their administration office for more information.
Black Prince a royal success |
Friendly force: The Officer Commanding of Somme Company, Major Darren Newman holding a shura with local elders in the town of Sayedebad
Pictures: Cpl Barry Lloyd, RLC
INTERNATIONAL troops have successfully squeezed insurgents out of a key town in central Helmand province in a well-executed operation.
Afghan National Army soldiers raised their country’s flag over Sayedebad following the completion of Op Tor Shezada, or Black Prince, which was led by 1st Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment.
The mission encountered little resistance as it claimed control of the town, which sits between Nad-e-Ali and Marjah, and pushed enemy fighters further away from central Helmand’s main population centres.
Lt Col Frazer Lawrence, commanding officer of 1 Lancs, said: “This is a huge step forward for [the population]. The trick is now to secure the town with our Afghan partners and that will set the conditions for reconstruction and development.
“More importantly, [it will allow] the district governor to get down here, meet his people, confirm their needs and then start to improve their quality of life.”
Although held on a smaller scale than previous operations in the region, Op Tor Shezada built on the successes of Op Moshtarak, which removed the Taliban from large areas of Helmand.
The operation began when soldiers from 1 Lancs’ Somme Company launched a night-time move into Sayedebad’s outlying villages, uncovering a large stash of deadly bomb-making equipment.
Lt Amy Pennington, of the Counter-Improvised Explosive Device (IED) Taskforce, said: “There was local intelligence that one of the compounds had been used as an IED factory.
“My team was sent in to search that factory and we actually found component parts of IEDs.
“Once we found those, we removed them and the main charges were demolished by the ammunition technical officer.”
British and Afghan troops continued to patrol through the villages in the ensuing days to reassure residents about the operation before embarking on a final move into Sayedebad which was met with little more than harassing fire.
Somme Company extracted from the area just six days after the operation began and Lt Col Lawrence and more than 60 senior figures from the local community held a shura to discuss future progress and security.
Lt Col Lawrence added: “The aim is to improve the school and get it working again, to clean out irrigation ditches and to meet the other needs that the population are bound to have.”
