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COLDSTREAM GUARDS BATTLE GROUP NEWSLETTER :
Op Herrick 11

> Welcome to the first edition of our BG newsletter!

Image: RSM, WO2 ‘Lucky Eddie’ Claus and an Elf.

It has been apparent that news has not been reaching all as regularly as we would wish nor in sufficient quantity and this newsletter will be issued each month to ensure that you have a good idea of what we’re up to. Companies have sent back their own periodical updates but, some of you haven’t seen those, it is hoped that we will be able to give you a much better flavour now of what we’re all up to. If there’s anything you’d like to see in future issues, please let us know through the rear party and we’ll see what we can do.

Before going into details of the companies, it might be helpful to explain what the overall picture looks like and where we are. Most, I’m sure, will be familiar with the map of Helmand, but for those who are not, you will find one at the bottom of this letter. Our Area of Operations (AO) is located along the river more or less in the centre of the province, between Gereshk in the north and the capital, Lashkar Gah, in the south. It is an extremely rural area (there is only one road!). The people live in mud compounds built to varying standards and surrounded by fields that are criss-crossed and separated by irrigation ditches. At the moment, the whole place looks a bit like East Anglia, with muddy ploughed fields and a lot of water – no patrol is complete without wet feet!

The patrol bases from which we operate are a mixed bag of local compounds taken over during Operation Panther’s Claw during the summer and purpose-built ‘green field’ sites. All, however, have seen a great deal of work from the Royal Engineers to make them fit for habitation in the winter. Number One Company, for instance, who slept under ponchos for the first month of the tour, now have proper tents, hardened shelters and electricity. Their compound has been spread with aggregate to ensure that the rain doesn’t turn it into a swamp and they have proper sangars and fortified walls – it is unlikely that their predecessors would recognise the place. Whilst the Royal Engineers provide the huge effort needed to build each camp, making them ‘Coldstream’ is very much our business and each platoon has done its bit to make their corner of Helmand a bit more like home. None, as usual, can quite match the Mortars in making themselves comfortable – ‘Mortar Town’ has come to Number Three Company, complete with improvised sofas, an impressive fire pit / cooking area and the inevitable array of signs and flags.

Operations are constant and, in much the way that we did in Northern Ireland, the Battle Group has set out to dominate our ‘patch’ with constant and aggressive patrolling. Whilst it’s demanding, it ensures that the enemy is given little space to operate and, ultimately, makes life a lot safer for our troops and the people amongst whom we operate. The areas in which the companies work vary – some, especially in the north east of the AO are much more developed and are being targeted for work such as setting up schools and clinics, developing agriculture and improving employment opportunities. Other areas, such as in the west where Numbers One and Three Company are operating, are very much less so and the task there is to win the trust of the people and put the insurgent onto the back foot – needless to say, they are up to the job and are making great strides in an area that, until last June, had never seen ISAF troops and was firmly in Taliban control.
 
                                                                                                                                                                        Image: WO2 (DSgt) Cox showing them how it’s done (drill, not moustaches).
 

> The Commanding Officer

Image: The Commanding Officer beginning to wonder if the barber would be as gentle as he claimed...

Two months into the tour and we find the Festive Season upon us. Time has passed so fast. Many members of the Battlegroup find themselves at home for Christmas and those that are not, enjoy the company of their ‘brothers in arms’. I for one can think of nowhere better to spend this time of year; if not with my wife and family, then there is no better place than with the professional soldiers in the 1 COLDM GDS Battlegroup. The dedication to duty, care for each other and morale is exceptional. It’s a joy to be part of such a special team.

The tragic death of Sgt John Amer last month rocked the Battlegroup. He will be sorely missed by all and especially by those who had the privilege of serving with him. Despite the bitter December weather his funeral was a fitting send off to a true son of the Regiment. Mrs Sue Amer bravely wrote a letter to all ranks in the Number One Company Group. Her words of comfort and encouragement were well received by all and are a source of strength to see them through to the end of the tour. John Amer’s death was not and will not be in vain.

The Battalion has received visitors from politicians, senior officers from the MOD and PJHQ and journalists. It has been a delight to demonstrate the good work being done by Coldstream Guardsmen across Babaji. Thomas Harding, the defence correspondent for the Daily Telegraph, embedded with the Battlegroup for 2 weeks in December. He saw the whole spectrum of activity, from kinetic patrols to lessons for a new generation of local children in the newest school in Afghanistan. He was expertly escorted by Maj Charles Foinette, whose honest and open approach enabled Mr Harding to see and experience all that the Battlegroup are doing. The positive nature of all his reports reflect well both on the Battlegroup and the wider mission. Publically, I would like to thank him for an article about the ‘Wristband Appeal’ written for the Telegraph. The response has been overwhelming and the Welfare Officer’s mail bag has been burgeoning with letters of good will and many with generous cheques.

Other visitors of note have included the Secretary of State for Defence, the Rt Hon Bob Ainsworth MP. He was presented with a Mortar Mug, fashioned from a mortar ‘greenie’ and a wristband. Additionally, No 2 Coy in Lashkar Gah were visited by the Rt Hon David Cameron MP, again he was presented with a wristband. Other VIP supporters of the wristband appeal, capture on celluloid, include the Chief of the Defence Staff, Chief of Joint Operations, Commander Regional Command (South), Commander Task Force Helmand and Commander 1st Mechanized Brigade. I write this sitrep on Christmas eve. The Battlegroup is being visited by both Commander and Deputy Commander ISAF tomorrow. I am sure they too will support, if only in a small way, our appeal.
The success of the appeal has made a significant impact on morale. The photographs of well known people wearing the wristbands on the regimental website shinycapstar.com and the many parcels being sent out for Christmas, serve to reassure our guardsmen and all ranks in the Battlegroup that the sacrifice of blood, treasure and separation from families are appreciated by those at home.

The underlying threat remains coordinated shoots with rifles, machine guns and RPGs, indirect fire attacks from mortars and IED attacks on all patrols. Despite these ambient threats we are engaged directly in working alongside our comrades in the Afghan National Army and Police, both mentoring and partnering with them, with the aspiration that soon we can hand over the lead for security in the region to them. They are improving. Additionally we are driving a programme of stabilisation projects, from Mosque rebuilds to agricultural cooperatives and we are forcing a new road through contested battlespace; the first since Dhofar.

The concept for the road is simple. Link up the two centres of government and commerce in Helmand, Lashkar Gah and Gereshk respectively and support security along this route. Much like the Romans linking major population centres before and the railways during the industrial revolution, this new transport link in Afghanistan will generate commercial activity and enhance the relative wealth of the local population.

The guardsmen continue to support all this activity with a vigour and level of professionalism which never ceases to impress. In this most challenging of environments selfless commitment, courage and teamwork are binding the Battlegroup together, ever stronger each day. A wise man told me once that
‘gentle folk sleep easy in their beds, while rough men stand ready in the night’.

The Coldstream Guards Battlegroup is ready, willing and able!
Sleep easy, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
 

PLEASE HELP SUPPORT THE COLDSTREAM GUARDS
IN AFGHANISTAN

CLICK HERE TO VIEW INFORMATION ON THE WRISTBAND APPEAL AND IMAGES OF CELEBRITIES WHO SUPPORT COLDSTREAMERS

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> Number One Company:

Since taking over their patrol base from the Mercians in October, Number One Company have made great strides in extending both ISAF and Afghan control of their area. Despite the grief felt at the loss of Sgt Amer and LCpl Hill and at the injuries suffered by others, the company remain resolute in their task and morale is high. Much effort has been put into turning Patrol Base Four into a ‘home from home’, with highlights being the new ‘cinema tent’, the long dining table built by the LCpl McHenry in the communal area (complete with candle holders on the walls) and, of course, the gym. This is almost entirely improvised from the various items to be had around the area, whether they be sand-filled ammo tins or six-foot pickets weighted with concrete. The Brigade Commander described it as ‘the best gym I have seen in theatre’, which, bearing in mind he has visited every patrol base, demonstrates Number One Company’s dedication to ‘Op Massive’! With LSgt Burns working hard in the newly-erected field kitchen, there is a good mix of fresh food to offset the rations and the company were able to celebrate Christmas in style – nearly 150 men fed by one chef and served by a four-star General!

 

Images, above & below: General Stanley McChrystal, COMISAF, visiting Number One Company on Christmas Day (Photos by Sgt Pal)



Life remains relatively spartan, but the important things are there in abundance and the company have risen together to the challenges facing them in true Coldstream style. As ever, support from home is the bond that holds us together, and the company are hugely grateful for the massive influx of mail that pours off each helicopter, especially at Christmas – there’s only so much that ‘compo’ rations can do in the face of real mince pies! Gdsm Lawler has been particularly grateful for continued supplies of scented shower gel and other ‘grooming products’. There’s nothing like looking good, even in Babaji! On the same note, Op ‘Massive’ is in full effect, with LSgt Delaney being reported as a leading competitor. Whether or not such early enthusiasm will last the tour is debatable.
 

PLEASE HELP SUPPORT THE COLDSTREAM GUARDS
IN AFGHANISTAN

CLICK HERE TO VIEW INFORMATION ON THE WRISTBAND APPEAL AND IMAGES OF CELEBRITIES WHO SUPPORT COLDSTREAMERS

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> Number Two Company

Number Two continue to have a varied and interesting tour, spread as they are about the area in support of every Battle Group. Their task is a challenging one requiring both patience and tact – personality and example both count for a great deal and the Company have them in spades. Lt Philp has built up and extremely close relationship with the commander of the ANP in Babaji and the rest of the our Battle Group feel the benefit daily. Whilst he was on R&R before Christmas, his multiple benefited from the experience of Capt Green but, thankfully this time, neither the facial hair nor the famous Tetley’s monkey of HERRICK 7 have reappeared (yet).

Maj Na Nakhorn is now firmly back ‘in the chair’ after the interim tenure of Maj Carpenter and, along with CSM Bicknell, is holding the fort in Coy HQ. There will be plenty of tales to tell at the end of the tour, suffice to say that Lt Rutt has thoroughly explored the ‘off-road’ limits of their new Ridgeback armoured vehicles and that morale is high throughout the Company. More details can be found on their Armynet page and further updates will continue to be added.

















L-R, Gdsm Ngwira, Gdsm Deakin, Gdsm Bradley and Gdsm Idonga                            An RAF Tornado GR4 providing close air support to Capt Green’s men during a patrol.
doing something silly with a WMIK at Christmas...


No 2 Coy doing the ‘hard sell’ on wristbands,
much to the disgust of the Grenadiers when he visited them shortly afterwards!













 

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> Number Three Company
Photographs by kind permission of Heathcliff O’Malley

Company Commander’s Message
Christmas is now upon us and the Company remains as busy as ever but spirits are high. The tempo of operations shows no let up; and whilst our thoughts are with you all at this time also know that all of the Company group continue in the good work they are doing to bring peace to Babaji and extend the influence of the Afghan Government. Our brothers in the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police continue to grow in strength although the road is long until they can both worked together unaided. This is their country though and they hold the key to its long term peace.

Since we last wrote 5 members of the Company have been wounded and returned to the UK. LSgt Owen, LCpl Smith, Guardsmen Cole, Acton and Matiyavi. We wish all of them a swift recovery and all the very best wishes for a well earned Christmas Break. We will see you soon.
 
You may have read some of what we have been up to in the Daily Telegraph – we were fortunate to have one of their defence correspondents with us for a few days so hopefully that has helped to bring things to life for you all a bit.

We held our Patrol Base carol service on the 21st December and we all sang heartily – and then a number of the company delighted us with their own version of the Nativity! We will also be holding “PB3 has got Talent” as a final Christmas flurry.

Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas and a Wonderful New Year!


> Number 9 Platoon
Image (right) : 9 Platoon Board – with festive captured shotgun © Heathcliff O’Malley

The run up to Christmas has been particularly busy for the men of 9 Platoon. All have been working extremely hard putting in long days either on patrol out on the ground or manning the sangers back at the patrol base.

The month started badly with Gdsm Cole and Dmr Matiyavi being MEDEVACED back to the UK, we wish them a speedy recovery and send some 9 Platoon love to them and their families over Christmas. Dmr Matiyavi will be pleased to know that “Irene” (the nickname for his General Purpose Machine Gun) is now famous having been quoted in the Daily Telegraph. He will be pleased to hear that she is still singing her usual tune.

The weather out here at PB 3 is unpredictable to say the least, with one day feeling like the wet windswept training areas we know and love in the UK and the next being pool side sunbathing conditions. The Company Group is doing some exceptionally good work out here and every man is playing their part.


We are all in high spirits and very much looking forward to our well deserved R&R that has just started to kick in for some. The camp itself is actually looking rather festive with numerous artificial trees and decorations scattered around, we must take this opportunity to thank all of you at home for your endless parcels and letters; they are all gratefully received.

So with ammunition tins full of chocolate and Santa hats at the ready to deploy in an instant we wish all our families and friends a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.






Image (left) : Cuisine from ‘Morrell’s Kitchen’ © Heathcliff O’Malley



> Number 10 Platoon
It has been a busy number of weeks since our first update on the Platoon. Kingshill has become a joint ISAF/ANA platoon house, with the Platoon rotating each multiple through every week and the ANA moving into the other half of the base. Initial worries were soon alleviated and the relationship between us and the ANA started off on the right foot. This involved us continuing our joint patrols and sharing the front sangar with the Warriors, albeit leading to some long stags at night with only hand gestures and eager nodding and smiling as conversation. The multiple that moved out of the Platoon house had the good fortune of finer dining, text link, electricity, a more substantial gym facility (for those on Op Massive) and proper showers in their new location. However, tents proved to be considerably colder than the Afghan compound rooms that we were so used to and the softie suits were deployed in earnest when 'away from home.'

After a couple of weeks on the new rotation, 10 Platoon received the news that we were to be redeployed to PB2 and tasked to provide security for the new road build that will open up Babaji for the locals and ensure them safer travel from insurgent activity. The Platoon deployed up to PB2 in preparation for the long task ahead and so we handed Kingshill from one No 3 Coy callsign to another, as Mr Hanking Evans' multiple came in to relieve us.

If text link and showers were a luxury, then PB2 was utopia in welfare terms. Our stay here made up for the first 10 weeks 'roughing it' and the guys have all had their fill of widescreen TV, DVDs, food cooked by the chefs and an even better gym! And best of all, internet! It has also given us an opportunity to recharge our batteries before we begin our task. We are now closer to No 3 Coy and have caught the odd glimpse of PB3 from the sangars and enjoyed fleeting liaisons with those on the way out on R&R. We are all looking forward to getting back to No 3 Company and catching up on all the news since the beginning of tour. R&R has now started for us, with our first going a week ago. The chuff charts have started with constant reminders of when each person is going and how many days are left..... Not so exciting for those with 60 days to push.

Christmas is very much upon us now and we are fortunate enough to be within reach of the cookhouse and so are looking forward to a proper Christmas lunch and some carol singing. We are all thinking of our loved ones back home and wish everyone a lovely white Christmas wherever you may be. Thank you from us all for the flow of parcels that have been regularly topping up our morale, please keep them coming.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

The Men of Ten.


> Number 11 Platoon
This is the news from 30A currently at Check Point Kingshill near PB1. After a trying work phase to get the place shipshape and up to our high Coldstream standards, we have been pushing out on the ground and dominating the area. Within days we had our first sample of heavy rain which turned the place into the something with more than a close resemblance to the Somme. Don’t tell the Regimental Sergeant Major, but to remedy that we have taken to stealing aggregate from the local area to provide us with a firm surface to walk on, and hopefully prevent us from drowning in mud! This is probably the only time when the blokes look forward to carrying more weight at the end of the patrol than when they set off.

Our daily routine consists of a visit to Dmr Macpherson’s gym which he built almost single handed. Even the Sergeant Major, a veteran gym buff, was impressed. Next up is usually a brief but exciting patrol, and a trip to the lucky dip ration bin! Everyone’s a winner! That said, you do need to be up very early to beat the interpreter whose entrepreneurial skills make him a real contender for Dragons Den.

Rumour has it that Gdsm Newton was getting a little too close to an ANA soldier, much to the concern of LCpl Wimbush. Polite words were said to the ANA through the interpreter, maybe something was lost in translation, who knows? But for some reason the ANA were then not our friends, even with Gdsm Newton. Anyway, we now have new ANA and these are a lot better, and a lot more aware of personal space. Sgt Guirdham and Lcpl Wimbush are still second to none in the kitchen, no doubt much to Mrs Guirdham’s surprise. We did allow the Guardsmen to cook for themselves which was a disaster after they nearly poisoned the whole camp. After remedial cooking practice they can now be described as competent, verging on proficient, in cutting and even cooking… chips. We are all missing the rest of the company and wish you all a Merry Christmas and assure you your loved ones are doing the best they can without you.


Images above: Crimes against facial hair!



> Fire Support Group

It has been a busy ride since I last wrote. The FSG has been working extremely hard alongside the rest of the Company whether it be on Patrol, Guard or QRF. With the first group departing on R&R just days ago, morale has soared as individuals start to look forward to theirs.
We have now spread from 2 tents into 3 which has made sleeping arrangements less cramped. With Christmas fast approaching, there is a festive feel in the air. Bed spaces have been decorated with the decorations kindly sent from home and from time to time a Christmas classic can be heard blasting its way out of someone’s speakers. There are plenty of treats about including mince pies and home made Christmas Cakes which are lining our stomachs post-patrol as we try to fight back the constant inevitable weight loss.

LCpl “Ginge” Shaw has chosen to grace us with is presence having completed his recent medics course and is already getting stuck into the Osprey body armour diet. Gdsm Wall has jumped across from 11 Platoon to help swell our ranks on the ground and has settled in well. It’s great to have them both on board the FSG fun bus. All are in high spirits even without the odd Christmas spirit to wash it all down with.

All of the corn fields surrounding our vast camp have dropped making Helmand look more like the Sennybridge or Otterburn. It certainly feels that way on patrol. The camp has grown in comfort with a new welfare suite containing 3 internet terminals and a small cinema where we get to watch re runs of whatever has been on television at home recently. The current favourite is “Skins”. We also have a well being dug by local contractors so we should be able to have warm showers more often, much to the relief of everyone in Capt J’s tent.

Our own home-made gym, the “FSG Muscle Beach”, has developed and there is now a proper gym on site. LCpl “Fossilhead” Parkes and Gdsm Crane have both been seen working hard to lighten the carriage of their sniper rifles around. The Platoon Commander is preparing for the Bronson challenge where he will take on the Regimental Sergeant Major in attempting to complete 1000 sit ups, press ups and over arm pull ups in 7 hours. It’s all going to end in tears. Gdsm Holden has become quite the professional skipper as he bounces around for hours at a time having brought a rope to pass away the time and Gdsm Borley continues to sit and watch, laughing.

Image (left) : Spot the Sniper © Heathcliff O’Malley


Gdsm “Swanny” Green has managed to befriend two Cats that the lads have nicknamed Charlie and Delta. They appeared in camp as kittens and now help do battle with our mouse epidemic which,, with their efforts has turned the tables in our favour meaning less of the goodies sent from home end up in an Afghan mouse’s stomach!!

All miss home especially at this time of year and many an evening conversation turns to what we might be doing if we were at home now or what we might be eating. Food fantasies have become a bit of an amusing conversation topic. Needless to say we all remain focused and will look forward to our own small Christmases when we get home on R&R. That’s not to say that Christmas will not come to Babaji. I know the chef is rustling up Christmas lunch and where would we be without “PB 3’s got talent” where many a Company member will strut their stuff in the hopes of winning a Nintendo Wii or DS.

We all send a very warm and heart felt Happy Christmas to all, especially our family and friends who have been so supportive in keeping up with the parcels, letters and telephone calls at odd hours of the day and night. We send our best wishes to LSgt Owen, LSgt Clyde and LCpl Smith and their families and hope that they have a good, well earned Christmas at home.

Image (right) : A very ‘recce’ Christmas! © Heathcliff O’Malley
 

> Number Four Company

Support Company had been spread to support Number One and Two Company for the tour but has been very recently been resurrected (if in number and name only) by taking over the North East of the Battlgroup’s area. The company is made up of two Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team (OMLT) multiples, a Police Mentoring Team (PMT) multiple and multiples from Numbers 1 and 3 Company. We will soon be joined by a reinforcement multiple from 3 YORKS. Company Headquarters is an ad hoc (posh speak for impromptu) grouping with Officers and Senior Non Commissioned Officers from across the Battalion. As we have only just been formed (reformed) this sitrep will be very short.

Morale is high and the Catering Warrant Officer made Christmas one to remember for all the right reasons ............




Image (left):
Helmand – our ‘home from home’! Babaji is in the middle, just below the red line that is Highway One and with the river to the east.



> Mortar platoon update

Update from the Mortar Platoon Colour Sergeant, CSgt Mark Bennet:

The platoon has deployed with three sections supporting both number 1 and number 3 company with a third section supporting the Operational Mentor and Liaison Team (OMLT)  within our battlegroup.

The Mortar Fire Controllers (MFC's) work with the Fire Support Teams and along with the mortar sections quickly established ourselves as the most accurate and fastest mortar platoon within Helmand.

The Guardsmen in the platoon also deploy as a 60mm two man team with the forward section or as riflemen, if the companys require, but still manage to maintain full coverage across the whole battlegroup, this proves how versatile the modern day Mortarman is.

Most Mortarmen have fired High Explosive Rounds within the first two weeks of being here, which proves that all the hard work we subjected ourselves to during pre-deployment training was worth the blood, sweat & tears.

After two months of drinking protein shakes, and constantly talking about it LSgt Ambler ( Cobra 52 section commander) has finally found the gym in PB3 even though its just for a good signal on the welfare phone.

LCpl Makings has, as expected, gone into hibernation throughout the winter months only to get out of his 'scratcher' for a few fire missions, and Gdsm coleman has been crowned the 2009 Babaji scrabble champion.

EXCLUSIVE IMAGES FROM THE MORTAR PLATOON


Image above: Cobra 51 PB 1


Image above: Cobra 52 Command Post


Image above: Gdsm Tippet PB3


Image above: LSgt Ambler lumping up


Image above: Gdsm Sinkins PB3


Image above: CSgt Burnett LCpl Mather PB3 MFC's


Image above: Cobra 52 PB3


Image above: LCpl Makings Gdsm Abrahams PB3


Image above: Cobra 52 Command Post - Dedicated to LCpl Hill


Image above: PB3 MORTAR
 

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