9th-12th-Lancers - Year 2005 - Page 0050
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| Regiment | 9th/12th Lancers |
|---|---|
| Year | 2005 |
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48 REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE 9TH/12TH ROYAL LANCERS (PRINCE OF WALES’S) Op TARROCK Forward Air Controlling in Afghanistan with Ex SWABIAN LANCE drawing to a close a certain young Troop Leader was looking forward to the move back to Hohne and the possibility ofa few weeks summer leave back in Blighty. I could, therefore, be forgiven for having anx- ious thoughts plague my mind when on the final evening of the exercise the Squadron Leader asked to see me urgently. Thinking I had once again upset SHQ I prepared for the worst, and was somewhat taken aback to discover it was in fact a job offer: “]on, you didn’t have any plans for the summer did you? I mean, it’s not as if you have a girlfriend to go on holiday with is it?” ‘No G-H, thank you for bringing that up.” “Well then, how would you feel about going to Afghanistan for three months as a FA C?” “Hmmm, is it still dangerous over there?” I then spent the next few minutes pondering the idea, having passed the FAC course only 3 months prior I decided it was an opportunity not to be missed and it was agreed that I would assume the post for the first three months and Cpl “FHM” Bennison would fulfil the final three month commitment. With about ten days before I was due to fly to Kabul time was against me to ensure I was able to deploy. A few days later Cpl Bennison and I were on a flight back to the UK to carry out the necessary combat readiness checks and attend a hastily arranged visit to a Harrier Fighter Squadron, which was deploying to Kandahar. With all the boxes ticked all that remained was to return to Bredebeck to attend the Officers Mess Oscar Night and attempt to woo the future Mrs Farrer (position vacant) with pre-emptive stories of my intended bravery in the face of hordes of Afghan Militiamen. It didn’t work. I instead deployed with a large hangover and still not the faintest idea where I was eventually going to end up or whom I was working for, much to the amuse- ment of my fellow subalterns. My pre-deployment knowledge of Afghanistan consisted of what I had read in the first book of the Flashman Chronicles, as good a guide on the Afghan culture and customs as any other I assure you! So when I arrived at Kabul International Airport, after a four day delay in Bucharest courtesy of the RAF, I was not surprised to be asked questions as to who I was and where was I going to be working. I rather hoped that they were going to enlighten me on that! After a few phone calls it was established that I was not to stay in the relative comfort of Camp Souter in Kabul, but instead jump on another C-130 Hercules and head north to the recently established Forward Support Base (FSB), just outside the city of Mazar-e-Sharif (MeS). The FSB was already home to A Company 1 GREEN HOWARDS (QRF Coy), a platoon of Swedish MPs, a German LO, a handful of Dutch movers, a USAF Lt C01 and now a plucky 9th/12th Royal Lancer. This forgotten outpost, as we were often referred to, had been established to support the Military Observation Teams (MOTs) operating in the Northern provinces. As part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) the MOTs were responsible for an area that stretched 400km North to South and 1200km East to West, the QRF Coy had a Platoon on 90 minutes NTM that was to react to any incident involving ISAF Troops in Area North. The term Quick Reaction Force is perhaps a slight misnomer when you place 90 minutes before it, but that was the time it took the German CH-53 Support Helicopters to fly from their base in Uzbekistan to MeS Airfield. Capt Far/er making foe/ids as a/Ways, It was within this QRF Platoon where I was employed the majority of the time. Given the sheer size of the area being patrolled the lack of mutual support for troops on the ground is obvious. The way to improve the situation was to increase the number of qualified Forward Air Controllers who could, if required, call for Close Air Support. As a result I found myself attached to the QRF HQ, which deployed with the 90 min Platoon on every response it had to make. Thankfully, these were not a regular occurrence and the majority of the callouts were as part of ISAF controlled exercises. It was during these exercises where I was able to conduct most of my training tak- ing advantage of the large number of aircraft operating out of Bagram and Kandahar. RAF Harriers, US A—lOs, Dutch F-16s and Apache Attack Helicopters were readily available and pro- vided some valuable training in an environment that really test- ed the skills required to make targets unique. It is quite a chal- lenge to direct a pilot’s eyes onto a sand coloured building when it sits amongst several other sand coloured buildings in the mid- dle of a big sandpit! I was never required to engage “live” tar- gets in Area North as it was relatively calm and stable compared to the more active Southern regions. Good Job FaZ/l |
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