JULY 2006 marked the opening of another chapter in the illustrious history of the London Irish Rifles, when Somme Company was formed for service in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
SOMME COMPANY comprised soldiers from all companies of the London Regiment, bolstered by troops from other TA Battalions and the Grenadier Guards. It was to provide manpower for the ‘force protection’ of 12 Mechanised Brigade in Southern Afghanistan. In spring 2006 notices were issued calling for volunteers for compulsory mobilisation (surely an oxymoron). A few weeks passed and The London Regiment (with the Rangers leading the way, naturally) was in Thetford to participate in exercise ‘Thal’s Legacy’. It was here that those the personnel who had volunteered for Somme Company were introduced to the informal yet highly effective leadership style of the OC, Major Milan Torbica.
In July, by an almost happy coincidence, members of the London Irish found themselves using transit accommodation just a stone’s throw away from the old Duke of York’s Headquarters, our ‘spiritual home’. As summer turned to autumn, our training schedule moved up a few gears, with additional physical training on Thursday evenings followed by the annual training package for 2006. Exercise Tricolore Guard saw personnel from the London Regiment move to La Courtine in southern France.
Training at altitude in the mountains and the heat gave us a taste what we could expect the following spring. After annual camp there was further training for Somme Company, with visits to the Brecon Beacons and Copehill Down, followed thereafter by the mandatory OPTAG package which was held at RAF Wattisham and at Stanford training area. Then we were allowed to enjoy Christmas with our loved ones.
‘So, this is where it begins’, said WO2 Robert Denman to all those assembled at Chelsea Barracks on the afternoon of Sunday 7th January 2007. The same evening there was a road move to the Reserve Forces Training and Mobilisation centre (RTMC) at Chilwell, where we would receive much of the kit that we would need for our upcoming adventure, along with fitness, health and dental checks.
The two weeks that at Chilwell was followed by a week on Salisbury Plain on exercise ‘Kush Dragon’. Many of the lads at the time said that they found this exercise boring, but it was important for two reasons: firstly it proved to the powers that be that we were more than capable as a company to perform and therefore provide the basic tasks such as gate control, manning the Quick Reaction Force (QRF) and proving over-watch on positions of interest which we would be required to do as a force protection company (our military bread and butter, so to speak); and secondly we met up with a contingent from the First Battalion Grenadier Guards, who were to be integrated into Somme Company. After a long weekend’s leave, the Company was on a road move up north to Otterburn. Over the next two weeks, the men of Somme Company found themselves preparing for the deserts of central Asia by training on the snow covered moors of Northumbria.
Two weeks’ much earned leave followed, and when it was time to return to duty Somme Company found itself in a new home at Brunswick Camp, Pirbright. Here, the final touches were made to Somme Company, with equipment checks for all and specialist course training for some. Concurrently, the move to Afghanistan was begun. This was completed relatively smoothly. With the final flight arriving at Kandahar Airfield on the 13th April, Somme Company was complete in its Theatre of Operations.
I write this article from Camp Bastion. The following characters from The London Irish Rifles can be found amongst the ranks of Somme Company. In Company HQ there are WO2 Denman and Cpl Gibbs. Amongst the motley crew of One Platoon Rgrs Aspinall, Craig, Newnham, O’Shaunessey and Thomas can be depended on to uphold the traditions of the ‘fighting Irish’. Two Platoon included Cpls Roberts, Groombridge and LCpl ‘H’ Sebukima. LCpl Hill was the only wearer of the Caubeen and hackle to be found in Three Platoon, whilst LCpl Watts and Rgrs Simpson, Keane and McCabe were D Company’s ambassadors in Four Platoon.
Of those mentioned above it should be noted that WO2 Denman, Cpl Gibbs, Groombridge and Roberts, LCpl Hill and Watts, and Rgr Newnham have all already seen previous operational service in Iraq, and it is also worth noting that Groombridge, Roberts and Hill are all now over half way on the road to receiving their Accumulated Service medals.
Force Protection is not usually portrayed as a glamorous task, but that should not detract from the fact that it is of the utmost importance and more often than not, very hard work. Somme Company’s role of Force Protection has included numerous tasks, such as controlling access to Camp Bastion, providing drivers, vehicle commanders and gunners for the TLZ (Tactical Landing Zone) and a mobile patrol. The wadis and deserts of Helmand were a real challenge.
One thing that Camp Bastion does have is plenty of sangars, and it should come as no surprise that Somme Company personnel have found themselves ‘stagging on’ and observing their arcs. But Somme Company has been getting its share of the more ‘interesting’ tasks, too. We routinely provide the Quick Reaction Force (QRF), a vehicle-mounted response unit available 24 hours a day. And we provide a section to protect the airborne medical Immediate Response Team (IRT). This task has seen Somme Company troops deploy as far north as the mountains of Kajaki, and as far south as the plains of Garmsir.
Somme Company has also been tasked to provide Force Protection for FOB (Forward Operating Base) Price, a NATO compound outside of Gereshk some thirty miles to the east of Bastion. This tasking has involved manning the sangars of FOB Price, providing framework patrols into Gereshk itself, and providing men to go out on the ground with B Company 2 Mercian. In addition to this, Somme Company has sent personnel south to Lashkar Ghar in order to provide a Police Mentoring Team for the Afghan National Police.
As I write this article the days are beginning to shorten and the nights are growing colder, signs that we are moving into autumn and that our time out here will soon be at an end – only another five weeks or so to go! We have been in this theatre of operations for over six months, and in our respective platoons and sections for over nine months. This has given birth to a strong esprit de corps enabling us to ‘weather the storm’, and take whatever has been thrown at us with tenacity and hopefully good (occasionally dark) humour. Friendships have been made for life over here, and the London Irish boys have grown closer, strengthening our working relationships for the future. In fact it was overheard in conversation recently that the ‘D Company’ lads in One Platoon were so close that it would take more than P4 to break them apart: Quis Separabit indeed!
Paul Thomas
From the CSM…
WRITING A SHORT ARTICLE about 16 months of my life and 9 months of my soldiers’ lives is not an easy task.
Add the intensity of life in Helmand and it is doubly hard! So I will concentrate on operations from our point of view.
The tasks the boys are employed on cover the full range of operations that make up modern warfare, up to and including the Infantryman’s core purpose; to close with and kill the enemy.
Somme Company was primarily mobilised to provide Force Protection to the main ISAF (International Stabilisation and Assistance Force) base in Helmand. This involves not only guarding the camp itself, but also maintaining a patrol routine in the 960 km2 Area of Operations (AO) that surrounds it. These AO patrols involve men patrolling in armoured Land Rovers (EWMIKs) laden with GPMG and .50 cal machine guns. The boys resemble something from the glory days of the Western desert. The threat is very real, particularly with suicide car bombers and Taliban transiting the AO to get further up the valley.
The same composition also makes up the patrol of the Tactical Landing Zone (TLZ); this operates 24 hours per day providing protection to the vital strategic airbridge supplying Helmand. Again this is a vital and exacting task.
The Company provides Bastion’s organic protection. We man the Main Gate 24 hours a day, searching personnel and vehicles and protecting this vulnerable area from attack.
The boys are also manning the various sangers dotted around the perimeter. These are static defensive positions covering likely infiltration route and vulnerable areas. The work can be monotonous, but the soldiers have risen to the challenge with their customary good humour.
The Incident Response Team (IRT) is a dedicated team of medics that deploy, by helicopter, each time a casualty evacuation is required. The Company provides a seven man close protection team to them. The boys have dealt with casualties from amongst the military and civilian population and some truly harrowing scenarios. Each British casualty you have heard about during our tour has been recovered by Somme Company troops, including our own Guardsman Daryl Hickey, bought back by his mates. War does not respect age or gender and the Company have recovered small babies and old women, a true test of your soldier’s mettle.
The Company also provides one platoon to help develop and mentor the Afghan National Police (ANP). This has involved working with other ISAF nations in Gereshk and Lashkar Ghar. There have been numerous attacks against the ANP and this has placed our soldiers directly in the firing line. The locals are deeply suspicious of the ANP and the Company has performed magnificently in trying to redress this. They have also had to react robustly to threats against them.
The Company has been supplementing B Company of the Mercians and 3 Company The 1st Bn The Grenadier Guards in Gereshk since the beginning of the tour. This has involved the boys in everything from guarding the Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) to warfighting against a determined and well trained enemy. North West of Gereshk lies the ‘Green Zone’ and the Taliban. Patrolling the area is nerve racking as it resembles the jungles of Vietnam in more than just vegetation. The boys have gone toe to toe with one of the fiercest foes faced by the British Army since the Second World War.
We have also provided convoy protection for supply runs to some of the FOBs. Due to the high threat of suicide car bombers this has meant that most trips have involved the troops taking robust counter measures against such threats.
The London Irish can be rightly proud of the sons it has sent to war in Helmand. Those that have stayed the course are worthy of your praise and deserving of your gratitude. My one note of caution would be to say that after some of their experiences they may also need your understanding and patience. They have truly earned their bragging rights.
Rob Denman