SITREP FROM CO 1 SCOTS - 31 Jan 08
The Battlegroup has set into a rhythm now. The R&R season is well under way (which is always a good sign) and the companies are very familiar with their roles and the environment in which they operate. This is all about to change for most, as the deployed force moves through the troop reductions that the Prime Minister announced last year. The 1 SCOTS team will remain for the whole 6 month tour but the sub-units will be reorganised so that the force package that’s left is best structured to pursue the mission. Most interestingly, Rhine Coy 1 SCOTS, which has been battlegrouped with 1 LANCS, will return to the fold.
Winter has come to Basrah, and with it a lot of mud, silt and standing water. It gets everywhere and is impossible to control. The temperatures have been low enough to be uncomfortable for those working through the night but not too dramatic. There are a lot of tracked armoured vehicles in the COB and, indeed, in the Battlegroup and these tend to churn the ground, further adding to the problem. Our tents are all rainproof with the exception of the cookhouse. A band of industrious workers from Bangladesh cuts about there chasing the puddles and mopping them up as they arrive. In truth, the infrastructure from which we operate is very good. All of us who have been on operations before have worked in far more austere conditions.
For now, Rhine Company remains detached to 1 LANCS, where the wheeled might of their Mastiff vehicles interacts very effectively with the tracks of their Bulldog fleet. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before, but Bulldog is like a 432 on steroids. It is a 432 body, with a new engine, suspension, armour and a really first class remotely-fired crew-served weapons system. Mastiff itself is proving to be an excellent vehicle, just as we expected. It is powerful and responsive on the roads and very well protected. The men of Rhine Company have been very busy. They have spent long hours securing vulnerable areas within the COB and days on end on operations some distance from here. As they have returned from these patrols it has sometimes been difficult to tell where the desert ends and the vehicle begins as the Jocks have inevitably and unavoidably dragged the mud everywhere with them.
Mons Company is doing a good job of training the Iraqi Security Forces. It is detached from the main body of the Battlegroup and I think the Jocks appreciate this bit of independence. Their focus has been mainly towards the Iraqi Army but they have also worked recently with the Iraqi Police, training them in anti-ambush drills. Their location and role means that, uniquely within the Battlegroup, they can pursue the ‘Main Effort’ every single day. Even when others are distracted by our own force protection operations, Mons Company remains engaged with the Iraqi Security Forces. The Company’s work is about to become even more intense. It is about to lead on the training of a whole new Iraqi Army brigade, that will arrive with them this month. It will take this new brigade of 2,400 men and train it until it has reached its ‘Full Operating Capability’. The whole process, and we have been pivotal in it all, will see this brigade developed from scratch to fully operational, to Iraqi standards, during our tour. The Company is also about to prepare specific Iraqi teams for ambitious combined operations with us within Basrah Province.
The Brigade Surveillance Company has been very busy. It would be inappropriate for me to explain the detailed nature of its operations but I can say that, without doubt, its product has saved lives. It is simply a matter of time before it will also be pivotal in the defeat of terrorist cells. The Jocks in the BSC enjoy some independence, operating from their own compound in the COB and, like the rest of the Battlegroup, are frequently called upon to brief visitors. Some of the BSC team are sporting very smart American flying suits. These, I’m told, are a ‘must’ for safety and comfort in some of the aircraft in which they have been working. The RSM’s not so convinced!
The Minden Contingent, attached to the Scots Guards, has been working quite separately from the rest of the 1 SCOTS Battlegroup, on quite a different set of tasks. We see the team regularly, mainly to ensure their pay and administration is correct, and we expect to be working a lot more closely with them towards the end of the tour as the Force reorganises.
We have hosted a number of very important visitors over the past few months. On the political front we have been able to tell the Prime Minister just how good we are and have given the Minister for the Armed Forces a ride in a Mastiff. The Chief of the General Staff has also visited us, for the 3rd time in a year, and (very importantly) we have hosted a visit from our successors on their initial recce.
Morale remains good. The pace of life is about right. We surge when required but everyone is able to get a reasonable amount of sleep and the accommodation and welfare facilities are good. To put this into perspective when we consider the other operations we’ve done over the years, in Ireland, Bosnia and Iraq, this deployment compares favourably. The less experienced soldiers, who have little with which to compare it, may not appreciate this, but the others will.
The threat remains largely unchanged. We experience contact, on average, every day. The threat profile is from IEDs, rockets and small arms fire. The battlegroup fought out of a very complex ambush in Baghdad city centre recently, while escorting Colonel Alex Alderson (formerly RS then commanded HLDRS) in one of the vehicles. No one was hurt on our side but a terrorist and a donkey weren’t so lucky. That innocent people were not injured or killed in this incident is down to the superb fire discipline, marksmanship and driving skills of the soldiers involved. As I have mentioned in previous SITREPS, the threat is quite manageable because our drills, equipment and protective infrastructure are all good.
This will be my last SITREP as CO. I hand over to Lieutenant Colonel Charlie Herbert next month. I am sorry to be leaving the Battalion on operations and am very proud of what our Jocks and officers have achieved since we formed. We have moved from being a brand new team, through Collective Training Level 4, to deploying on operations within 15 months. HQ LAND plans for an established unit to achieve this within 18-24 months. We have also converted to BOWMAN, Mastiff, JAVELIN, JPA and JAMES in the same time frame and have hosted a Royal visit. Crucially, we remain fully manned. I said at the start that, ultimately, we would be judged by our manning level. We are currently recruiting more soldiers than we’re losing and our figures, which are forecast out to the end of March, show us on track to remain fully manned. I expect the Regiment to turn some soldiers recruited from the Lothians and the south of Scotland towards other Battalions and I think that is perfectly fair. The key point for us is that we have demonstrated that we are completely sustainable, despite the turmoil and emotion of the merger.
I think that having done all of this, and now we have proved ourselves on operations, a chapter is closed.
Bob Bruce
R B BRUCE
Lt Col
CO 1 SCOTS/M2T BG