Royal Blue

More On Marines Heroic Rescue Attempt

Marines cling to helicopters to rescue comrade

When the 200-strong team was forced to pull back from a battle with Taliban fighters at a fortress in southern Helmand Province on Monday, they realised that L/Cpl Matthew Ford was not with them.

Not knowing whether he had been killed or wounded, the unit launched an improvised rescue attempt in which four soldiers rode astride the fixed wings of two Apache helicopters, clinging to the sides of the aircraft, as they flew back over a river into a rain of fire.

When they landed near the walls of the Taliban fortress, known as Fort Jugroom, the team found that Cpl Ford had been killed and returned with his body.

"It's a testament to the men involved that they were prepared to mount a risky operation at very short notice, using a new and completely untried procedure, returning into the line of fire in order to rescue their comrade," said Col Rory Bruce, the spokesman for British forces in Helmand last night.

"I think that shows the level of camaraderie and bravery of those soldiers involved."

It is expected that some of them will be recommended for awards for bravery.

The assault was the latest in a new phase of British operations in Helmand, which has seen a shift from the tactics employed in the first months of the British deployment to southern Afghanistan last summer. While British forces still maintain a number of "platoon houses", fortified bases in towns in north Helmand, which were subjected to intense Taliban attacks last summer, another concept is being tried against the Taliban. The Marines call it "mogging'.

Small British units are now spending weeks at a time moving through the featureless deserts of Helmand. They are re-supplied from the air and seek to emulate many of the tactical advantages of mobility and surprise traditionally enjoyed by the insurgents.

By avoiding well-used tracks and roads they reduce the threat from roadside bombs and can appear out of the desert, strike a target and disappear again.

Monday's attack, near the town of Garmser, was an example of just such an intelligence-led raid.

British military commanders stress that the object was not to take and hold the fort, but to kill experienced and tactically astute Taliban commanders, who would be hard to replace, and to disrupt Taliban re-organisation during the winter months when it traditionally prepares for a spring offensive.

"Last summer's tactics were not all of our choice, but were the result of a number of political decisions which were taken by the Afghan government," said one senior British military source.

"Mogging is not about taking and holding ground, it is about having the battle at the time and place of our choosing and moving into the Taliban's sanctuary ground.

"It is not about the numbers of Taliban killed and you will find us generally reluctant to give numbers killed.

"Monday's operation succeeded in killing a number of middle-rank Taliban leaders. We lost one soldier, which is a source of regret. But the effect on the enemy is both real and psychological."

However, the strength and tenacity of the resistance on Monday by a force of Taliban fighters numbering only around 30 against 200 Royal Marines backed by artillery and aircraft gives clear warning that the Taliban are becoming an ever more formidable force numbering fighters who do not lack for courage or motivation. The months ahead are likely to see more hard fighting.

The Telegraph also included a Picture of the rescue attempt :

More troops may go to Afghanistan

More troops may go to Afghanistan

Tony Blair signalled yesterday that he was poised to send more British troops to Afghanistan to defeat the Taliban.

The Prime Minister refused to rule out reinforcing Nato forces in the hostile Helmand province with more British troops when he was challenged at his monthly press conference in Downing Street.

He said that the Taliban had to be defeated, and he would await requests from commanders on the ground, but that line has been used in the past as cover for a plan to send more British troops to the region. Commanders are expecting a sharp upsurge in violence after the winter snows make movement easier for the Taliban.

The Ministry of Defence yesterday named the latest British serviceman killed in Afghanistan as L/Cpl Mathew Ford of 45 Commando Royal Marines.

He died on Monday in a firefight as commandos stormed a Taliban fort to the south of Garmsir in southern Helmand. It was during the initial breach of a compound that L/Cpl Ford was shot and killed instantly, the MoD said.

Mr Blair will discuss the failure of Nato partners to offer more troops for Afghanistan with the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice when she visits London tomorrow. He discussed British troop deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan and the need for reinforcements with Robert Gates, the US Defence Secretary, at the weekend. It raises the possibility that troops withdrawn from Iraq could allow more to be sent to Afghanistan.

Mr Blair will today face cross-party calls for the withdrawal of British troops from Iraq. As many as 40 anti-war Labour MPs are expected to sign a Commons motion saying: "We are totally opposed to the 'new strategy' in Iraq announced by President Bush which threatens to turn the disaster of the occupation of Iraq into a catastrophe.

"We call on the British government to seize this moment to break from Bush and instead to begin the process of speedily disengaging from Iraq. Enough is enough - it's time to go."

New Military Academy

Academy sign of 'purple approach'

The creation of a central academy for military training is symbolic of a new way of working in the UK armed forces, a defence expert says.

Recruits from all three services - the Army, Navy and RAF - will be trained at the centre together, rather than separately as they are now.

John Chisholm, editor of Naval Power International, says the move is indicative of the increasing emphasis on "tri-service" operations in the battlefield.

The "purple" approach - so-called because it is the colour you get if you mix Army green with the light blue of the RAF and the dark blue of the Navy - involves members from all three forces working closely together.

"If you take a Royal Navy aircraft carrier then you may have on board Army, Navy and RAF aircrew operating three different types of aircraft," says Mr Chisholm.

"Within that context... it may be a good thing to bring people together at the beginning.

"That may be the advantage of [the academy]. They will get to know each other and will be able to operate better together and understand each other's problems."

Mr Chisholm says there are many examples of purple operations around the world today.

"The obvious place it happens is on any Navy task group," he says.

"Basra is a good example now. A lot of the helicopters in Basra are Navy helicopters - but they are shuttling around guys who are in the Army.

"In Afghanistan, the vehicles that are there are from the Royal Marines - they are now training Army people on these vehicles."

Presently, most of the armed forces training takes place at more than 20 different bases scattered across the UK - most of them addressing dealing with the needs of just one service.

Mr Chisholm believes many of these bases, including the main Navy training centre at HMS Collingwood in Hampshire, will decline in importance or be closed after the academy is built.

Rivalry

He anticipates that specialist training will remain, while "skills training" common to all forces - like helicopter maintenance or fire fighting - would be moved to the new training centre.

"What you would want at that sort of academy is what you can train Army, air force and Navy people in the same way.

"They are going to be operating side-by-side within naval task forces and will have to work together then," he says.

"There's a lot of rivalry between units. You can have detrimental rivalry and some of this will hopefully go if training takes place together at this level."

According to the Ministry of Defence website, other areas that could be covered by the new academy include intelligence, languages, communications and computing.

But Mr Chisholm says there is another major factor in the decision to create the academy - money.

"Like any other attempts at reform in the military, attempts to save money are at the bottom of it.

"I'm still a bit doubtful as to what it will achieve. If they put it all together you're going to lose identity in terms of the three services," he adds.

"What worries me about it is it's just going to be a desire to save money and the benefits are not going to be realised - but I would hope they are."

Heroic Marines Rescue Attempt

Helicopter rescue bid for Marine

The Royal Marine killed in action in Afghanistan on Monday was the subject of a dramatic rescue attempt by his colleagues, the MoD has revealed.

L/Cpl Mathew Ford, of 45 Commando Royal Marines, died during an attack on a Taleban fort in the Helmand province.

When his colleagues regrouped and found he was missing, they flew back.

Four strapped themselves to two Apache helicopters which landed inside and outside the fort's wall. But they discovered he was already dead.

UK Task Force spokesman, Lt Col Rory Bruce, said the heroic mission was a "leap into the unknown".

"This is believed to be the first time UK forces have ever tried this type of rescue mission," he said.

"It was an extraordinary tale of heroism and bravery of our airmen, soldiers and marines who were all prepared to put themselves back into the line of fire to rescue a fallen comrade.

"And it was with great sadness they later found their brother-in-arms had been killed in action."

L/Cpl Ford was part of a 200-strong force, who attacked the major Taleban fort to the south of Garmsir in the southern province.

'Family devastated'

The MoD said the Apache helicopter can only carry a pilot and a gunner but there are attachments on the wings for personnel to harness themselves to in emergencies.

The fort had been a surveillance target for more than two months.

A third Apache helicopter and other units provided covering fire, as the rescue bid got under way, the MoD said.

The helicopters landed in the fort and located L/Cpl Ford's body, which they then strapped to the Apache.

L/Cpl Ford, who was the eldest of three brothers, was brought up in Immingham, North East Lincolnshire - where his mother and stepfather still reside.

He shared a flat in Dundee with his fiancée, Ina.

His mother, Joan, said: "We are all devastated by the news of Mathew's death.

"He was a larger-than-life character who lived his life to the full.

"He was a wonderful son to me and brother to Thomas and Scott and was looking forward to his future with Ina."

L/Cpl Ford's commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Duncan Dewar RM, said the serviceman's "professionalism, reliability, and selflessness as well as his sharp wit marked him out from the crowd".

J Company Out And About

British Troops Fight Four Hour Battle With Taliban

More than 100 elite British troops today fought a furious four-hour battle at close quarters with the Taliban as they built checkpoints to keep the insurgents away from a local town.

A company of Royal Marines was ambushed at dawn in Helmand by rebels hiding in trenches and compounds just 40 metres away.

The force included marines from J Company of Plymouth-based 42 Commando and from Arbroath-based 45 Commando.

They were helped by Danish and Estonian troops and the Afghan National Army.

The fight began at 6.45am after the British force went to an area 5km from their base at Camp Price, near Gereshk, as part of Operation Bauxite, to install permanent vehicle checkpoints.

The security measures are being introduced at the request of locals to stop the Taliban coming into their town and also to keep the British base out of range of rebel mortars.

Up to 50 Taliban fighters attacked the multinational forces from irrigation ditches near the hamlet of Habibolah-Kalay.

During the ferocious battle, the Taliban leapt up in groups of four to open fire, so close the British could clearly see their trademark black turbans.

Major Ewen Murchison, the commander of J Company who led the battle, said: "That is one of the fiercest fights we've been in to date in terms of both the weight of fire that was coming our way and the proximity of the Taliban to my own troops.

"We went in at first light and the fire fight started at about 6.45am. We were under heavy small arms, RPG and mortar fire.

"There were 35 to 50 Taliban flying at us from numerous fire positions in and around the compounds and trenches employing their classic shoot and scoot tactics.

"During the course of the four hours I used the full range of military weapons available to me."

British troops responded to the Taliban ambush with small arms and machine guns, before resorting to mortars and artillery.

When this failed they deployed shoulder-launched anti-tank missiles at the enemy compounds and then called in air strikes by Apache helicopter gunships.

But the tenacious Taliban refused to surrender.

The battle climaxed with a raid by two Harrier GR7 jump jets, which dropped two 1,000lb bombs on the Taliban positions, finally ending resistance.

The noise from the laser-guided explosives shook the province and sent a huge plume of smoke into the sky that could be seen 5km away at Camp Price.

No one from the multinational forces was injured in the battle. It is not known how many Taliban were killed.

Maj Murchison, who was brought up in Bearsden, near Glasgow, but now lives in Plymouth, said: "You go through the escalatory process of using your direct fire machine guns.

"If they're still not having the effect then you obviously escalate through the use of indirect fire weapons like mortars and artillery.

"And if they're still not having the effect you resort to the dropping of bombs.

"If they are well-dug in in trenches, quite often you need a 1,000-pounder to have the desired effect to neutralise the target.

"If I fire shots at them and they run away that means I've achieved my objective. If they continue to fight then I have to kill them."

As the Taliban finally fled, the British forces stormed the compounds where they found a bomb factory and weapons cache.

Maj Murchison continued: "I conducted an incursion into one of the compounds and found AK variant weapons, RPG launchers, grenades and rudimentary IED bomb making equipment, batteries, wires and explosives, so a pretty good find from my perspective."

The company commander said they had been asked to build more checkpoints by local community leaders who have seen how security improved in their area after similar measures were introduced around Gereshk in November.

He said: "We're doing it in conjunction with the locals who had a shura (council) and said to us if we could help them build some checkpoints in this area this would decrease the influx of Taliban into Gereshk town centre by about 80%. That was their figure that they gave me."

More checkpoints were built in January as the British continue their campaign to push the Taliban further away from that part of north-east Helmand.

More On This Story at http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1246866,00.html

Marine operation brings hope of electricity to millions in southern Afghanistan

Marine operation brings hope of electricity to millions in southern Afghanistan

Royal Marines began their New Year by clearing villages in the area around Kajaki, Afghanistan, of Taliban, enabling work to begin on a major hydroelectric dam.

The Operation, codename Operation CLAY, began in the early hours of New Year's Day and ran for four days. Around 110 troops carried out a variety of operations around Kajaki in northern Helmand province to bring stability and security to the area, whose dam is capable of providing much needed electricity to southern Afghanistan.

The troops established a new observation point in the mountains around the town; cleared a cave complex and a village known as a Taliban training ground; and built a Permanent Vehicle Check Point (PVCP).

And during the course of the operation British Forces believe they killed a local Taliban commander.

The Royal Marines involved in the operation are from M Company, 42 Commando Royal Marines, part of 3 Commando Brigade. They were supported by Royal Engineers and members of the Territorial Army.

Major Oliver Lee, 3 Commando Brigade's Operations Officer, said:

"The operation was designed to dominate the immediate environs of Kajaki so that security could be established. 42 Commando carried out a focussed, targeted military operation intended to gain ownership of the key high ground around Kajaki. In the process of that operation we understand that their commander was killed."

Major Lee would not identify the commander but said he was believed to be "a man of considerable influence in Kajaki".

Major Lee said the number of Taliban forces killed was in the "tens". British Forces sustained one minor casualty, a gunshot wound to the hand.

However, the operation was deemed a success because by securing the area around Kajaki, contractors will be able to carry out repairs to the dam, subject of the largest USAID programme in Afghanistan, which will bring electricity to 1.8 million Afghans across southern Afghanistan who currently have none.

In assessing the success of the operation Major Lee said:

"A programme that will switch on 1.8 million homes will start and without the operation it wouldn't have done. It will treble the area of irrigated land, significantly increasing the swathe of land that can be exploited by crops other than poppy."

The operation began with the Marines securing a third Observation Point in the mountains above Kajaki, providing the Royal Marines with greater fields of view and fire across the Kajaki area.

M Company then conducted search operations through a series of caves to the North East of Kajaki which were believed to be used by Taliban forces. Having conducted all but the final stage of the clearance, M Company received a heavy weight of fire from enemy forces and they withdrew, regrouped and switched their attention to clearing the neighbouring village of Khalawak.

2nd Lieutenant Burty Kerr commanded 11 Troop, M Company, as they patrolled towards the objective of a known Taliban compound deep within Kajaki Olya. As the troop approached the form up point to begin the assault, known as the start line, they came under enemy fire. Instantly the Royal Marines identified the firing point and returned fire as Corporal 'Jacko' Jackson led his section into the first compound, which they quickly cleared.

The Royal Marines were being targeted with accurate small arms and Rocket Propelled Grenades, but they responded with pin point 81mm mortars, heavy weights of machine gun fire and ILAWs, a hand-held missile launcher, as they continued their push through the open ground.

Once the foothold within the compounds had been gained, 10 Troop were called forward to assist with the systematic clearing of the buildings. Still under fire, the Marines gradually made their way towards the Taliban training compound.

Having finally cleared the objective the Royal Marines regrouped and patrolled out of Kajaki Olya and back to Forward Operating Base Kajaki to await further tasking.

2nd Lieutenant Burty Kerr described the day's events:

"We received incoming (fire from the enemy) as we approached the start line. Initially we were pinned down but managed to suppress the enemy before gaining entry to the compounds. Once in, we cleared the area pushing the enemy back as we swept through. The lads worked extremely well throughout the operation with intelligence suggesting that Taliban forces took a hard blow and were overwhelmed by the capabilities of the troops on the ground."

Major Martin Colin described with pride how his men have conducted themselves during recent operations in and around Kajaki:

"From Troop level downwards, the mission command was excellent and the young guys in particular all performed their jobs very, very well with an immense amount of enthusiasm and professionalism; I couldn't ask any more of them."

M Company deployed to Kajaki in December 2006. The first few weeks were spent learning the area and the dynamics of the Afghan friendly forces (Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police and the Helmand Security Force (Militia/ANAP)) that M Company was to work alongside for the foreseeable future.

Members of 42 Commando Mortar troop and I Star (Reconnaissance Troop) are currently manning the Operation Post positions which provide fire support to troops on the ground.

Further south, 59 Independent Commando Royal Engineers and 131 Independent Commando Squadron (Volunteers) Royal Engineers began the construction of the PVCP. They worked through the night to complete the build within 36 hours as contacts with Taliban forces continued around them.

Staff Sergeant Andy Walton explained how the PVCP will improve the security of the local area:

"Once the PVCP has been finished it will provide additional security for the local Afghans, and eventually the Afghan National Police will man the position independently. The position will provide additional arcs (fields of fire and view) around its immediate area and enable coalition forces to disrupt the Taliban which, until now, have conducted their operations with relative freedom."

Meanwhile, M Company, led by Major Martin Colin, cleared Taliban forces from the village of Kajaki Olya, to the south of Kajaki, where Taliban have been observed conducting training within specific compounds in the heart of the village.

British troops destroy Taliban camp

British troops destroy Taliban camp 

British troops have destroyed a Taliban training camp in Afghanistan, killing dozens of the enemy, in a victory the military said would help bring electricity to nearly two million people.

About 110 Royal Marines swept through northern Helmand targeting insurgent boltholes to pave the way for much-needed repairs on a hydroelectric dam in the north of the restless province.

Launched on New Year's Day, Operation Clay saw troops from Plymouth-based 42 Commando engaged in four days of ferocious firefights.

The raids resulted in the deaths of a senior Taliban commander and "tens" of his henchmen.

Amazingly, only one marine was injured during the deadly battles. He was shot through the hand.

Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai, who is championing the scheme to fix the Kajaki Dam, has sent a personal message of thanks to Operation Clay's commanders.

Marauding Taliban fighters had been stalling repairs on faulty turbines at the dam, which is situated at the source of the Helmand River, but the work can now begin next month.

Once it is fixed, the facility, which was built in 1953, will bring electricity to 1.8 million people and treble the area of irrigated farmland in the fertile province.

Speaking from the British base at Lashkar Gah, military spokesman Major Oliver Lee said: "We needed to sort out the insurgency that there has been in the environs of Kajaki. And we very successfully did that over this past week or so with some very focused targeted military operations which included killing the key insurgency commander at that location.

"It involved running firefights for three of four days up against fairly coherent sustained attacks of small arms, rockets and indirect fire. It was a very meaningful fight, rest assured."