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3 Company Sit Rep as at 1st Dec 07
(Archive)
3 COMPANY REPORT FROM PATROL BASE KEENAN
MESSAGE FROM THE COMPANY COMMANDER
Time is flying! We have now completed the first 6 weeks of our
tour and Christmas is fast approaching. The boys are decorating
the camp with decorations sent by families, so a big thank you
for those, and the place is beginning to look rather festive,
although perhaps not as festive as things might look back
home...! The most obvious difference being the presence of sand,
and more sand, rather than snow! Still I am told a sleigh can
get across sand just as easily as it can over snow....
10 Platoon, 3 Company,
Coldstream Guards
So what have the boys been up to over the last few weeks? The
focus has really been on the replenishment and reinforcement of
Patrol Base Keenan to turn it into a Forward Operating Base
rather than a patrol base. This means the men are gradually
receiving items to make their lives more comfortable; matresses,
gym equipment, internet, TV and DVD player are all contributing.
Further to this the camp has now been extended to cater for a
platoon of Afghan National Army soldiers we should be receiving
in the next few weeks. This will give us the added challenge of
joint patrolling with Afghan soldiers but enable us to project
the image of NATO forces here in support of the Government of
Afghanistan, something critical to the success of our operation.
It will also give some of the better Pashtu speakers a real
chance to further enhance their language skills, I am sure the
locals are getting a little bored with us asking the same
question every time we go out on patrol!
The men have been showing their softer side in dealing with the
locals. A 2 year old girl was brought to our camp the other day
with injuries to her head and shoulder. The level of medical
assistance and knowlegde out here is extremely basic so her
parents could do little for her. However, LCpl Constantine did
some stirling work whilst getting through most of his sweet
selection, before she was extracted back to Camp Bastion for
some proper medical attention. Not only does this help the
little girl, it should go some way to reinforcing the trust we
are building with the locals. Aside from the medical condition
the little girl required it was evident that her physical size
was far smaller than that expected of an average child of the
same age back in the UK. Clearly undernourished, the provision
of food for families is a real concern. So where we can we help?
We have handed out winter packs, including, blankets, food and
clothing (some more appropriate than others...the local women,
or local men, would not take kindly to some of the boob tubes
sent out). It is getting pretty cold out here at night and with
the absence of electricity and fuel so the locals are very
exposed.
11 Platoon, 3 Company,
Coldstream Guards
On a note of morale, the boys are all very well. Guardsman Dunn
is set to return home on R&R soon after recovering from his
injury and Guardsmen Zawiasa and Whybrow are now back in the UK
well on the road to recovery. All real characters they are very
much missed. Our wishes go to them for a speedy and full
recovery. On a particularly high morale note, the first tranche
of men left for their R&R on 28th November, so we are now into
the 3 month R&R cycle. Always focussed on the job at hand the
boys do nonetheless keep a close eye on their R&R date!
Meanwhile, the boys continue to work extremely hard in some
pretty austere conditions. Weight loss has been extremely easy
over here so families can expect to see a real change in their
loved ones, especially in those perhaps more rotund than others.
Other than this the growth of beards continues, although some
have now gone for the clean shaven look such is the irritation
of wearing an helmet with a beard and getting your beard caught
in your sleeping bag zip! As I have said in previous articles,
please do keep the post coming, letters, magazines and food
(home baked cakes – a special request from Capt Gerald Johnston)
are especially popular
T F CHARLES
Major
Company Commander
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