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Lashkar Gah Platoon Sitrep as at 19 Oct 07
(Archive)
It was during the Mission Rehearsal Exercise on Salisbury Plain
in July that members of No 3 Company were warned off about
becoming attached to the 2nd Yorkshire Regiment (2 Yorks),
formally the Green Howards. A few weeks later before departing
on our pre-deployment leave that elements of support company
were going to fill up the remainder of the Platoon.
On returning from leave it was with an early start as we headed
up to Weeton Barracks in Lancashire where the 2 Yorks are
currently based. Meeting the rest of the company for the first
time, it was an opportunity to being friendships, which will
develop over the tour.
For the duration of the tour the Platoon will be working out of
Lashkar Gah, the capital city of the province of Helmand, where
there is a population of 70,000. This is the centre of the
Afghan Development Zone, an area which the government in Kabul
has stated will help to facilitate the success of the province.
Through achieving success here it is hoped this will then
trickle out to the surrounding areas. Part of this will be
achieved through getting the Afghan National Army and the Afghan
National Police to work together. What I was surprised to see
was that Lashkar Gah has an ice cream factory and also a marble
factory yet these products don’t seem to be sold in the city.
The deployment of the Platoon saw the commanders leaving during
the middle of September to allow them to get onto the ground
with the people we were going to replace. This allowed valuable
time to get to know the ground and city which will become our
area of operations for the next 6 months.
The facilities within the PRT camp are of a high standard, the
accommodation, commonly known as the ‘pods’ is fully
air-conditioned or heated, with mains electricity supply. The
Naafi, gym, volleyball court, internet and telephones enables
everyone to wind down after patrols. The camp itself is quite
busy containing over 700 personnel however there are plenty of
quiet corners to be found, that is until the next helicopter
comes in to land and creates a dust storm.
As I write this the last elements of the platoon are currently
in Camp Bastion, due in tomorrow, which will complete all
elements of the company.
2Lt Hayhurst
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