NAVY NEWS, OCTOBER 2008 45
‘The war was very real’
ON AN early spring day
This is the reality of Helmand
in 2006, VIPs, top brass
● Self portrait
for men in the air and men on
at 35,000 feet...
and a fair smattering
the ground. The innocent can
Cdr Ade Orchard
appear suspicious, the suspicious
of journalists and
in his Harrier over
innocent. A crowd of people
photographers mustered
Afghanistan
gathering might be the insurgents
on the standings at RAF
massing for an attack… or locals
Cottesmore.
visiting the village market.
Tales of aerial combat, dogfi ghts
Tagged on the end of a charming
and the like, are often rather duller
Rutland village, the base is the
on paper than they are in the skies.
archetypal inter-war airfi eld with
“I shot down this plane, then I
its red-brick buildings and huge
shot down another…”
hangars.
Joint Force Harrier is as much
Today it would witness
unit history as it is memoir; it’s
an historic event. RAF 3(F)
about all the men and women who
Squadron would decommission
headed to Kandahar.
their Harriers and take charge of
And that is a good thing. For
their new ‘bird’, the Eurofi ghter
not only does it show that it takes
Typhoon.
a real team effort to support the
That was what the bigwigs and
handful of ‘aces’, but it also allows
press had come to see – most of
for some good dits (or anecdotes
them at any rate. But after the
if you prefer Crab speak) on the
RAF had enjoyed its moment in
ground, as well as in the skies.
the sun, the Fleet Air Arm stepped
Despite all that talk of jointery,
up to the mark.
It too would recommission that
the naval fl iers quickly gave their
day with ‘new’ aircraft, Harriers,
base a nautical fl avour. The Battle
yes, but not the fi ghter with its
Ensign was raised, a blast wall
distinctive black nose cone, instead
adorned with a rather large White
one with a rather elongated front
Ensign and Harrier, a warning sign
end. Thus began a new era in naval
posted on the ops room door – ‘Do
aviation – the days of air defence
not enter, here be sea dragons’,
were past, the days of close air
and (best of all), a mock carrier –
support dawning.
HMS Kandahar – erected in front
It was a dawn not necessarily
of an air shelter, complete with ski
welcomed. The demise of the
ramp.
Sea Harrier was – and remains
Such refi nements weren’t the
in many circles – a controversial
only taste of home: the British
subject, but it could have been so
galley served up “good old British
much worse.
fare” – chicken tikka masala,
With the fi ghter’s days
treacle sponge, spotted dick and
numbered, the Navy pumped
jam roly-poly. (The American
money into the RAF Harrier
diner, by contrast, offered less
programme rather than try to
wholesome fare, chiefl y out of a
extend the life of the FAA jump
freezer, and always accompanied
jet. It was, believes Cdr Adrian
by ‘freedom fries’ – chips.)
‘Ade’ Orchard, fi rst commander
Kandahar offers a few mod
of the newly re-formed 800 Naval
and white and ‘friendly fi re’ is an
cons – Burger King and Subway
Air Squadron, the right decision.
With the Naval Strike Wing back in Afghanistan, the fi rst Fleet Air Arm Harrier easily-avoidable blunder.
fast food stores and a string of
“If the Royal Navy hadn’t taken pilot to lead his fl iers in Kandahar, Cdr Adrian Orchard, has charted that
Except that war is more grey
coffee shops (operating out of
this route, the retirement of the
groundbreaking deployment in Joint Force Harrier: The Inside Story of a Royal
than black and white. It doesn’t
containers) – and daily dangers,
FA2 wouldn’t have merely marked
take place in the safety of a
courtesy of Taleban rocket attacks.
the end of an era, but could also
Navy Fighter Squadron at War (Penguin, £16.99 ISBN 978-0-178-15399-1)
London offi ce, where mistakes
The ground crews were in the
have spelt the end of naval fi xed-
can be eliminated with the click
front line every bit as much as the
wing aviation.”
of a mouse button or hitting the
pilots.
Ade Orchard was among the
‘delete’ key.
These barrages also created
fi rst Sea Harrier men to cross
remain proud of their heritage and just don’t give up”. followed by a ‘bite’.
War is a melting pot of fear,
extra work for the naval aviators,
to the ‘dark side’ and fl y the
their distinctly different ways of That does not, of course, mean Over one Taleban position,
terror, anxiety, relief, exhilaration,
for after each attack the runway
RAF’s bomber variant, fl ying
working – and matelots no more that they cannot be killed. Orchard unleashed a 540lb ‘air
life-and-death decisions in the
and dispersal areas were littered
missions over Iraq during the
enjoyed extended periods in the Whenever pinned down by burst’ bomb – it blows up above
blink of an eye. It is rarely clear-
with shrapnel which had to be
2003 campaign. It was, he says,
presence of the Crabs than vice insurgents, Allied troops would the target.
cut.
cleared by the FOD plod.
“a defi ning moment in my fl ying
versa. “If I’d wanted to work for call for air support to suppress the “As the shockwave spread
On a night fl ight over Kandahar,
And for all the technology, for
career”.
this length of time with the RAF, enemy – which invariably meant out at the speed of sound, the
Ade Orchard and his wingman
all the guided missiles and laser-
He continues: “I suddenly
I’d have joined the bloody RAF,” 800 NAS. fi reball sucked in the air from the
escorted a ground convoy through
targeting, the night vision goggles,
realised that with the right gear –
one chief complained. This is not a tale of gung-ho surrounding sky,” the Harrier pilot
the darkness.
the jet engines, many things have
and even then I believed that the
Ade Orchard understands such pilots wanting to lay waste to great observed.
The troops were becoming
remained unchanged since the
GR7 was the right gear – your
sentiments – but he also lives in tracts of Afghanistan. These are And then it seemed that the
increasingly agitated. They spoke
fi rst naval aviators earned their
effectiveness on the battlefi eld was
the real world. not men who “love the smell of enemy was striking back, fi ring
in increasingly clipped tones on wings a century ago.
just immense.”
“People just had to accept that napalm in the morning”. Often, a ground-to-air missiles at the
the radio, convinced their slow- “No matter how hard anyone
So the king is dead, long live the
despite the apparent separation loud ‘boo’ would suffi ce. passing jets. Orchard’s RPM gauge
moving column would be attacked trained or practised, the thought
king.
into light and dark blue, all “Sometimes,” Cdr Orchard says “spun like the wheels of a fruit
by a suicide bomber. that on every sortie there was a
The new king had a new domain,
Harrier pilots were now part of a succinctly, “it was just a question machine” as his jet powered away
A truck zig-zagged through one good chance that your actions
no longer the endless expanse of
joint force. For some, that was a of scaring them shitless.” from the danger zone, decoy fl ares
of Afghanistan’s towns. The naval would result in the deaths of
the ocean, but the mountains and
bitter pill to swallow.” AndAnd than ththt att meant t meameant ntn “a loa a loowww-lev-leeveveel l spinning out of the belly of spispinninnnning ngng oououtut of oooff ththhe bebe bellelly oy yoy of f
avavviviaiatatororsrss called it in. calcaca l The troops maybe dozens of human beings in
steppe of Afghanistan.
There were bigger issues than suues ththt an n shoshhoow of force”,ww owoof ffff forcorcce”,e”e ro roarror arririing ong ngn oveovover rr the Harthethheh HaHHarrirrririiererer..
toototook up position and threw dooook ukuk p pppp p posiossis wn a split second was sobering in the
In the autumn of 2006, Orchard
RAF/RN rivalry at stake – the liv– – the heh livi eses s
TTaaalebanlebab n n pospopositionsossitiitioonsnss..
As it turAs AsAs it iti turtuu nednened out,e ououut,t there theththeerrere
a awaa wwallalall of filll of ofof fifi re rerre in front of the ve ehicle, extreme,” writes Orchard.
led his naval air squadron into the
of Allied troops on the ggrrorround in undund iniin wweere no enemere neenno eenemn my y
whiwhwwhich quickly turh ch chch ququiquickck ned around and “For every single person in the
line of fi re over Kandahar and
Afghanistan for a start.
scasscarrprppepered.erededd. squadron, the war in Afghanistan
Helmand.
RN jets hadn’t been bbeebeeee n n
“It“It might haItt mi mmim ghtghth ve been the suicide was very real.”
It marked the end of a long
involved in a campaign like kee
bombbomber,ommberber,’ Ade Orchard ■ Proceeds from Joint Force
road as Sea Harrier pilots and
Afghanistan since Suez
obobserbsse ved from above, “or Harrier will be split between the
Sea Harrier engineers became
half a century before.
ppeperperhaps it really wh as just a Forces charity Combat Stress
‘plain’ Harrier pilots and Harrier
The work-up they
loslollost delivery driver who and the Royal Navy Historic
engineers with the GR7, the Royal
had alongside the Air
wowould at the very least Flight
Air Force’s bomber model of the
Force proved invaluable,e,,
have needed to go home
fabled jump jet.
but heading to Kandahar Orchard r OrcOrOr hararrd d
andand change his trousernd ch cchch s.”
And to understand the GR7
knew that he and his men wmenm n wewewere re rre
Loow-levw-levevel rell ruruuns unsns n
missilesmismim silssiiilleses OOnOn On the other side of ton tht wn,
meant spending time with the
under a great deal of pressure to essesssureu to
pose parpososose ppartticular dangericuularla daddangengersrs,,
– Orchard’–O– Orchrc arda d’sss bomb had bombboombhb hada thethtthe flhhee fl iere sss spied something bsppie urning,
RAF. A lot of time.
deliver the goods.
chiefl y the terrain, sometimes
malfunctioned and detonated a disc rotating wildly, in fl ames.
There is, as you’d expect, plenty
“Any unit deploying to the front
the enemy taking potshots at the
prematurely. They dropped down for a closer
of banter with the Crabs as they
line for the fi rst time is under
jets. Otherwise, however, the
It could have brought down the inspection.
are the other half of Joint Force
the spotlight,” he writes. “Our
experience was rather surreal.
jet; it could also have exploded “It looks like somebody swinging
Harrier.
performance would be closely
“Contrary to both popular
over the Allied troops by accident. a burning tyre round on the end of
The Crabs steadfastly stick to
scrutinised.”
belief and the images so dear to
It didn’t. It killed six out of seven a rope,” Orchard radioed.
RAF banter, even at sea: offi cers’
And no man or woman in Hollywood, the world does not insurgents who had been pinning It was. The locals were
mess (wardroom), boat (ship),
800 NAS heading to Helmand rush past in a blur when you’re down the friendly forces. celebrating Eid, the festival at
bed (bunk). And as for the cabins
underestimated their foe. The fl ying an aircraft fast at low level,” Or, in the clipped chatter the end of the holy month of
aboard our Harrier carriers, well
Taleban are not “just a bunch of the author points out. between ground controllers and Ramadan.
as one squadron leader fumed,
religious nutters wearing outdoor “We can see rugs and washing fl iers: ‘Your BDA is six KIA.’ Your “It was just another reminder
“Luckily I haven’t brought a cat
pyjamas and black turbans, hanging on lines, kids running battle damage assessment is six killed to all of us that just because a
with me because there was sod- waving copies of the Koran and
around, the locals doing what in action. bloody war was being fought in
all room to swing one.” (He has a carrying Kalashnikovs”. They are they’re up to, and almost count War to Fleet Street and the the country, life for most of the
point – Ed.ntnt tt ) warriors, Orchard observes, with the number of animals.” news editors in the ivory towers locals carried on pretty much as
BanBanter aside the twannterter asaasideid o Services no “apparent fear of death – they And sometimes a ‘bark’ must be of 24-hour news channels is black normal.”
Win Joint Force Harrier
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of a centuryofof .
Brig O’ Turk, Callander, FK17 8HT
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