8 NAVY NEWS, AUGUST 2008
● Yankee Company take cover as Taleban mortar their compound
THINK Norfolk.
testing the evacuation procedures of the sections,”
Bernard Matthews. Alan Partridge. Tractors.
said Nick, clicking away furiously with his camera in
Norwich Union. The Canaries. Nelson, of course.
between taking cover from incoming fi re.
Not Taleban. Not firebase. Not Royal Marines.
“The medics were suddenly very busy, ammunition
Not firefight. Not blood-spurting casualties.
resupplies were getting low, more casulties were being
But Bodney Camp near Thetford offers all that.
suffered. At this point the possible reality of the
And a bit more to boot, as the men of 45 Commando
deployment was sinking in.”
found when they headed to East Anglia for the latest
For many men in 45, the reality of Helmand is all
stage of their training for impending deployment to
too familiar. When the unit heads to Afghanistan in
Afghanistan.
October, it will be its third tour of duty there since
Last month we found the Arbroath-based Royals
2001.
conducting live-fi ring exercises in the lush, rolling
Of course, Royal Marines don’t just sit there and
terrain of Dumfriesshire.
take it.
Bye-bye, lushness.
They can dish it out as well, fighting their way
Hello, arid dust.
into a ‘Taleban’ compound – just as they did for real
The ranges at Bodney replicate Afghanistan (well,
a little over 12 months ago during their last stint in
as far as is possible in Norfolk) chiefl y courtesy of a
Afghanistan.
replica Forward Operating Base (or FOB) – which
And then the enemy struck back, pouring forward
looks remarkably like the real thing in Helmand (or,
en masse against one side of the FOB. In scenes
for that matter, American fi rebases in Vietnam).
reminiscent of Zulu, commandos rushed from other
FOBs have been part and parcel of the British
walls to bolster their threatened flank, popping up,
military’s way of doing battle for 150 years. They were
taking out targets – Taleban – then ducking down
born in Afghanistan and the North West Frontier in
for cover.
the days of Empire, stone breastworks or ‘sangars’
The fighting abated sufficiently for a senior visitor
(Persian for barricade apparently). to call in on the men.
In fact it’s a name which is still used on the ground, Commander-in-Chief Fleet Admiral Sir Mark
but stone and brick have been replaced by plastic Stanhope headed up the line to chat with the marines
wire mesh holding tons of earth, soil and rocks in about their looming tour of duty.
● Men of Yankee Company
place. After discussing the Commando’s mission with
await the next Taleban assault
It’s a simple fortifi cation – and relatively effective, Commanding Offi cer Lt Col Jim Morris, he joined
on their forward operating base
as the men of Yankee Company found when the the men of Victor Company... as they assaulted a
and (below) one Royal carries a
‘Taleban’ hordes began bearing down on them. Taleban stronghold.
‘wounded’ comrade to safety
After an initial skirmish, the entire company came For helping them subdue the foe, the Victor
under attack from the insurgents. They were met by men let the admiral get to grips with some of their
all the guns Yankee could lay their hands on from .50 weaponry and battlefi eld kit.
cal to rifl es. Then it was off to X-Ray Company in the forward
This was just the beginning of a ferocious three- base, where the Royals treated Admiral Stanhope
hour ‘battle’, whose realism was possibly a surprise to a ‘banquet’ (sometimes known as a 24-hour ‘rat
to some. pack’), before chatting with him about various issues,
What began, perhaps, a war game soon ended up including current operations.
dropping the ‘game’ bit. Those ‘current operations’ begin in just two months
“The amount of activity really did make it seem as the RN becomes the biggest single British presence
as if we were under attack,” said 45’s cameraman in Afghanistan once more.
LA(Phot) Nick Tryon. Defence Secretary Des Browne formally announced
“The entire company received the order: ‘incoming’. that 3 Commmando Brigade would replace 16 Air
At that everyone hit the deck, including me.” Assault Brigade from October.
The realism of the training was undoubtedly The headquarters will be accompanied by its
enhanced by the presence of battlefield casualties. fighting arms – 42 and 45 Commandos – plus the
The military regularly uses actors – locals in guns of 29 Commando Regiment RA, pioneers of 24
Plymouth play the part of hurricane victims during Commando Engineer Regiment, and vital support of
disaster exercises at Bull Point, for example. Commando Logistic Regiment.
But rarely are ‘actors’ used to such effect as here. Air cover will be provided by the Harriers of the
People with various disabilities played the role of Naval Strike Wing, Sea Kings of 845 and 846 Naval
injured commandos – complete with fake blood. Air Squadrons, and Lynx of 847 NAS.
So realistic were their ‘wounds’ at times that some By the time the deployment reaches its climax next
Royals thought the casualties were genuine. spring, there will be around 8,000 British personnel
“Casualties started coming in fast and furious in theatre.
● War is 99 per cent boredom... The men take a breather in between Taleban onslaughts
yon, 45 cdo
es: la(phot) nick tr
pictur
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