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Wed 7 Jan 2004
The
lone woman in the 93-strong deployment, supermarket worker Pte Jolene
MacKay, with fellow territorials at Perth barracks.
Scots TA
regiment to guard Basra region
by GETHIN CHAMBERLAIN
SCOTTISH
Territorial Army soldiers set off for Iraq yesterday to take over force
protection duties outside Basra and relieve pressure on regular forces
in the Gulf.
A party of 43 from the 51st Highland Regiment (Volunteers) and 50 members of 4 Battalion Parachute Regiment - also Territorials - will be based at Shaibah airfield south-west of Basra.
They have recently completed a two-month training programme in weapons, biological and chemical warfare, Islamic culture and the background to the Iraqi conflict. The soldiers include a solicitor, a teacher, a fish farmer, a paramedic and a care assistant. Although it is the first overseas posting for many of the group, some have previously completed a tour of duty in Afghanistan.
Captain Alan Roan, the adjutant of 51 Highland Regiment, said they had received a full training package intended to bring them up to the level of their regular counterparts. "It is still a place where things may happen, but they are well and truly prepared for anything they will find," he said.
Troops based in Basra and the surrounding area have experienced fewer attacks since the end of the war than those in other parts of Iraq, although one young Scottish territorial soldier has already lost his life in the southern Iraqi town of Ali Ash Sharqi.
Fusilier Russell Beeston, 26, died when his convoy was lured into an ambush by a crowd of Iraqis angry at the arrest of a popular local leader.
Yesterday, Company Sergeant Major Ewen Marshall said the trip to Iraq would initially be a shock to the system for many of the volunteer troops, but they could take "anything thrown at them".
He said: "This is one of the best-trained TA units I’ve seen deployed in operations. They’ve been put through their paces and they have worked hard.
"Some are feeling a bit apprehensive about going. You have to remember that they usually only go on a annual two-week camp, so reality will hit home when they land in Iraq. But I’ve no doubt that they can take anything thrown at them."
Sergeant Major Marshall said the reservists had also been trained in basic Arabic, including everyday greetings and commands such as "stop" and "halt" for use during road checks.
The only female soldier to join the deployment, Private Jolene MacKay, 21, said she was excited about the tour.
She said it would be a big change from her day job as a supermarket assistant in her home town of Wick, Caithness.
"I don’t get any preferential treatment and I don’t expect any, I’m here to pull my weight just as much as the rest of them," she added.
About 7,000 United States soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan who were planning to leave service in the next few months have been told they must stay in the army.
A party of 43 from the 51st Highland Regiment (Volunteers) and 50 members of 4 Battalion Parachute Regiment - also Territorials - will be based at Shaibah airfield south-west of Basra.
They have recently completed a two-month training programme in weapons, biological and chemical warfare, Islamic culture and the background to the Iraqi conflict. The soldiers include a solicitor, a teacher, a fish farmer, a paramedic and a care assistant. Although it is the first overseas posting for many of the group, some have previously completed a tour of duty in Afghanistan.
Captain Alan Roan, the adjutant of 51 Highland Regiment, said they had received a full training package intended to bring them up to the level of their regular counterparts. "It is still a place where things may happen, but they are well and truly prepared for anything they will find," he said.
Troops based in Basra and the surrounding area have experienced fewer attacks since the end of the war than those in other parts of Iraq, although one young Scottish territorial soldier has already lost his life in the southern Iraqi town of Ali Ash Sharqi.
Fusilier Russell Beeston, 26, died when his convoy was lured into an ambush by a crowd of Iraqis angry at the arrest of a popular local leader.
Yesterday, Company Sergeant Major Ewen Marshall said the trip to Iraq would initially be a shock to the system for many of the volunteer troops, but they could take "anything thrown at them".
He said: "This is one of the best-trained TA units I’ve seen deployed in operations. They’ve been put through their paces and they have worked hard.
"Some are feeling a bit apprehensive about going. You have to remember that they usually only go on a annual two-week camp, so reality will hit home when they land in Iraq. But I’ve no doubt that they can take anything thrown at them."
Sergeant Major Marshall said the reservists had also been trained in basic Arabic, including everyday greetings and commands such as "stop" and "halt" for use during road checks.
The only female soldier to join the deployment, Private Jolene MacKay, 21, said she was excited about the tour.
She said it would be a big change from her day job as a supermarket assistant in her home town of Wick, Caithness.
"I don’t get any preferential treatment and I don’t expect any, I’m here to pull my weight just as much as the rest of them," she added.
About 7,000 United States soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan who were planning to leave service in the next few months have been told they must stay in the army.
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