Winter approaching
With winter fast approaching in Helmand we are already starting to see a distinct change in temperature. Although it is still hot around mid day, the mornings and evenings are getting reasonably chilly. Softie jackets are now being worn to see off the chills. In the officers' tent, one of the older officers has even resorted to using a hot water bottle. In doing so, he has come in for much ribbing from the younger subalterns, however, in his words, “Why rough it?” We're now waiting for the slippers and Horlicks to arrive!
Although the winter in Helmand is not as cold as other parts of the country, we are preparing for sub-zero conditions and a fair amount of rain. Camp Bastion is renowned for turning into a mud bath.
The last couple of weeks have been busy. The deployment of the company has changed quite dramatically with two platoons being deployed elsewhere. Four Platoon was the first to go, much to the annoyance of the other platoons, and this was followed about a week later by the deployment of Three Platoon.
Four Platoon has been deployed to a Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Eastern Helmand. The platoon's role there is similar to what they were doing in Bastion, however, they are working more closely with the Danish Battle Group who operate out of the FOB. One major benefit of working with the Danes, which has enraged the other platoons, is that the Danes serve up lobster in their canteen. Lt Hyrcak wasted no time in relaying that snippet of information. Let's just hope they don't get too fat eating all those pastries!
Three Platoon was packed off to the Brigade Headquarters in Lashkar Gar where they are being gainfully employed providing force protection. This includes patrolling the streets of 'Lash' where the soldiers are getting the opportunity to interact with the locals. Sgt Mitchell's West Country charms obviously haven't had the desired effect though as an Afghan kid managed to catch him in the eye with a rock.
Not that we want to blow our own trumpet, or rather our bugle, but the riflemen of Three Platoon have taken over and expanded the task which was previously done by two platoons from 2nd Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment. Good on them.
On September 11, the Buglers from Salonika Company performed magnificently at Remembrance Services across Helmand. In Lashkar Gar, Rfn Birks performed excellently and was even featured on Sky News. In Camp Bastion, Cpl Hutchinson and Rfn Norman made us equally proud.
Back in Camp Bastion, our tasks have become fairly routine. The soldiers are rotated regularly, which hopefully ensures that that they remain focussed on the job in hand. With Three Platoon gone, fewer vehicles have been breaking, much to the delight of the MTWO, WO2 O'Malley.
Some impressive range work has been overseen by WO2 O'Loughlin with the lads working hard to perfect their compound clearance drills. The OC also continues to remind us of his first round hit with a UGL round. Given his pistol shooting record though, we can only put this down to sheer fluke!
The gyms are being well used by most of us in our spare time and quite a few soldiers seem to be investing in protein supplements to help them with their personal battles on 'Op Massive'. Rfn Ceesay continues to lead the way.