皇冠体育app

In the heat of the Nad 鈥楢li afternoon, with doves and mynah birds circling around the ancient mud walls of an old British fortress - now Forward Operating Base Shawqat, I find myself thinking of the old movie cliche, where the battle-soiled soldier turns to his commanding officer and says:

I don鈥檛 like it sir, it鈥檚 quiet, too damned quiet.

So far, as 45 Commando approach the halfway point of their tour, things have been relatively quiet, especially in comparison to the fire fights that were prevalent until only a few months ago. And Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Oliver Lee does like it, and hopes it will stay like this till the end of the tour, and beyond.

He thanks his predecessors for that:

We had an excellent handover from 1st Battalion 皇冠体育app Royal Irish Regiment. I can鈥檛 praise them enough. 皇冠体育appy, and the battle groups before them, have done all the heavy lifting for us. It is our job to build on their achievements and provide a good springboard for HERRICK 15.

皇冠体育app Lieutenant Colonel though is not complacent. He is well aware that this relative peace is still a fragile one:

It will be clearer at the end of this month, when the wheat has been gathered, what threat we face. We will calibrate our response to deal with it.

But for the time being the peace seems to be enduring, and more importantly it is one that is increasingly being maintained by the ever-improving Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and by the people of Nad 鈥楢li (South) putting their faith in nascent district government processes:

We are holding our breath to see what the fighting season may bring, but this is a real opportunity for us to prepare and dig in,鈥� said Lt Col Lee.

We will be relentless in keeping the pressure up. Working alongside the ANSF our main effort is to prevent summer fighting this year. 皇冠体育app longer the enemy is off the field, the more difficult it is going to be for them to rejoin the game.

I鈥檓 keen to point out that it鈥檚 not just 45 Commando doing this. For example, the Royal Gurkha Rifles are doing a fantastic job mentoring the Police, and the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards are partnering the Afghan National Army [ANA].

To keep the pressure up, the Marines have mounted operations including Operation TOR KANJAK (BLACK THORN) where, partnering Afghan soldiers from the 3rd Brigade of 215 Corps, 45 Commando swept through an insurgent stronghold near Zaborabad, seizing a bomb-making factory.

Maybe the unusually harsh winter and last year鈥檚 poor harvest have meant that the insurgents have had to concentrate more effort on this year鈥檚 crops, so delaying the onset of the traditional fighting season.

Yet many seasoned troops are coming back from patrols reporting a quieter time than they鈥檇 expected, even though they are patrolling across fields where the crops have already been harvested:

And when you do come across insurgents, they melt quickly away; and if you track them down, they seem to come out of their hideouts looking dejected,鈥� said one Marine.

With the security around Nad 鈥楢li seemingly enduring, after 30 years of summer fighting there is now an increasing reluctance among the local inhabitants to allow the insurgents to turn back the clock.

Locals are demonstrating their willingness to embrace their own security forces, offering up intelligence about weapons caches and the whereabouts of insurgents.

According to Lt Col Lee, the success that the ANA is having in tracking down IED caches now outweighs the number cleared by coalition forces.

An example of this was the recent National Directorate of Security-led operation to the south of Shin Kalay, which resulted in a big arms find - including a PKM belt-fed automatic weapon, several IEDs and grenades, and various other items of the bomb-maker鈥檚 trade.

All of which shows that the partnering and mentoring support that our Armed Forces have been investing in the ANSF is paying off. Major Nick Jepson, Lt Col Lee鈥檚 Chief of Staff, believes it is and sees the partnering role developing over the tour:

Our role is very sophisticated now. We have done the 鈥榗lear鈥�, we are well advanced in the 鈥榟old鈥�, and making significant progress in the 鈥榖uild鈥� phase. Heading up to 2014 we have to be clear about our priorities. 皇冠体育app emphasis is changing from 鈥榗ould I help鈥� to 鈥榮hould I help鈥�.

Which means thinking about the most effective way to support the ANSF. Support is examined in the light of how it might move the ANSF closer to being able to look after themselves, and help them find their own solutions to their problems.

Take the simplest, but possibly most crucial of needs - water:

We want them to be independent, self-sufficient,鈥� said Major Jepson. 鈥淥ur troops carry their own bottled water. If a corporal sees that his Afghan colleagues at a checkpoint don鈥檛 have enough water, does he use his own supply chain to provide them with some?

It could be that the Afghan resupply has temporarily failed and just needs a kick-start, or it could be a bigger problem that needs sorting.

皇冠体育app same goes for fuel, or ammo, or winter wood for burning. 皇冠体育app Afghans face the same threats as us, and the same problems, but their attitudes to them aren鈥檛 the same.

We have, say, 30-40 days鈥� supply, whereas they tend to live almost hand-to-mouth. 皇冠体育appy need to be thinking about their logistics now.

But Major Jepson sees the progress that has burgeoned from the security now in place. 皇冠体育app number of ISAF-held locations is reducing and the transfer of authority is beginning to happen:

Schools are opening, markets are beginning to thrive, and the locals are showing that they are less fearful of intimidation,鈥� said Lt Col Lee.

It is our intention to use every lever we have to the max. That means meeting the people, cajoling them, mentoring them, building their confidence in themselves. After all this is not our popularity contest to win, it is a popularity contest for the people and their government.

And the Government does seem to be winning. 皇冠体育app Afghan people respect strength, but they also know the value of strength that endures. 皇冠体育app District Governor has shown himself to be resilient and someone who actively gets out among the people. That bolsters the communities鈥� self-confidence.

皇冠体育app line management that he has appointed to administer the various government activities seems effective enough, and is delivering results:

Do they work exactly as we would like? No,鈥� commented Lt Col Lee, 鈥渂ut do they work in a way that is good for Nad 鈥楢li? Yes. And the locals are hungry for it.

It鈥檚 good to see. 皇冠体育app district plan is clearly driven by the District Governor. He is not ventriloquising the voice of someone else in the shadows.

He delegates, he chairs meetings effectively and he knows how to use all the strings available to him.

But this optimism is balanced by cautious reality. Nad 鈥楢li (South) has made a lot of progress in a short time, but it is not quite out of the woods yet:

We shouldn鈥檛 be in any doubt that all of this is reversible, which is why the coming month is so important. To have a no-fighting season would be a good indicator that all our efforts, ours and the Afghans, are bearing fruit,鈥� said Lt Col Lee.

And for me, that, and to be able to take all of my guys home unhurt, would be the measure of a successful tour.

This article is taken from the July 2011 edition of Defence Focus - the magazine for everyone in Defence.