the afghan hound - regimental comrades...

aviation assaults than the

whole of HERRICK 14 - a

cracking achievement. But we will have to wait until

our return to fill in the de-

tail. The level of support

from back home has been

amazing. Every soldier has received a parcel from the

Regimental Association,

donated by over 100 Old

Comrades and kindly or-chestrated by Mark Ashley-

Miller (who as my first Ad-

jutant I remain slightly

scared of!), that have been

great fun (going to the shower block with 'Gay Bar

Soap' was interesting) and

cheered everyone up. We

have also had massive sup-port from right across the

wider community - really

touching - and further

proof that remaining linked

to our recruiting areas is critical to maintain a Regi-

mental identity - the Wrist-

band Appeal has gone from

strength to strength. When the dates for my leave are

finally confirmed I aim to

give a Regimental Presenta-

tion in Dempsey Barracks

and one in London for any-one who is interested in

getting the latest on what

the team have been up to.

I would like to wish every-one a very merry Christ-

mas and a joyful New year.

I hope you enjoy the read.

Welcome to the Christ-

mas Issue of the Afghan

Hound. The weather has finally turned and the

nights are getting seri-

ously cold - although the

sun still comes out during

the day it brings false hope! That said I have no

doubt that Germany and

Wales are substantially

wetter and more miser-able. The last month has

been a roller coaster of

emotions with the tragic

loss of Lt David Boyce

and LCpl Shag Scanlon, their eulogies are hum-

bling, and I would like to

thank the Rear Opera-

tions Group and all those at ERE for giving them

both the send off they

deserved - and we will

come together as a Regi-

mental family at the end of the tour to raise a glass

or two in their memory.

The pace of operations

has remained high

throughout. Our training, and the commitment of

the boys, has really paid

off. We have certainly

taken the ISTAR Gp to

the next stage of its evo-lution and virtually the

entire Regiment is cur-

rently deployed in sup-

port of the largest Afghan National Army operation

so far. Things have

moved forward and the

conditions are very firmly

set for Transition of Nadi Ali (where A Sqn is based)

back to Afghans in the

very near future. B Sqn

are picking up more and more tasks in support of

2 MERCIAN in the north

of our area as well as

starting to reinforce the

wider ISTAR Gp (based on QDG RHQ). C Sqn

have already done more

Commanding Officers Foreword. Lt Col JJ de Quincey Adams

C O N T E N T

CO’s Fore-

word

1

A Sqn 2

B Sqn 3

B RF 4

RHQ 5

TFH LAD 6

BTE 7

EOD &

Search

8

ANCOP 9

War Artist 10

Eulogies on

back pages

11

D M C THE AFGHAN HOUND

1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards

1 9 D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 1 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 3

Right: Commanding

Officer, Ops Officer

and Regimental Ser-

geant Major Talk

about Regimental

Business

P A G E 2

A Squadron Major Jonny Hanlon & Capt Whelan, SSM WO2 Russ Kimsey

T H E A F G H A N H O U N D

Above: Major Jonny Hanlon & The Kandak

Commander. Pre deployment on OP ZP

A Squadron have now been on the ground for

over 3 months and are well settled in our role

as Advisors. Out here, the weeks seems to

have flown by as the Afghan Army take advan-tage of the winter lull to make gains over the

insurgency and keep their Advisors on their

toes. As I write this, the majority of the Sqn

has deployed North to advise, mentor and marvel at the 1st Kandak on Op ZAMEN-

STANI PERROZI. This is the biggest operation

of our tour so far and sees the whole of the

ANA 3rd Brigade deployed to PB SHAZAD in

northern Nad E‟Ali to clear the area of insur-gents and establish an Afghan foothold in an

area that has only known ISAF and Insurgent

presence. 1st Kandak is on the main effort and

leading that, alongside their Tolays, are the A Sqn Advisors. It is the early days of the opera-

tion but preparations have gone well and the

Squadron has been swept along with the en-

thusiasm of the Afghan Warriors to get the

job done. We‟re also keen for them to be done before Christmas! There are a few bets

running if we‟ll still be out there on the big day

and it‟s a hard one to call at the moment.

As well as Operations, the last month has seen a

shift in where the Kandak Commander has

wanted to base his soldiers. Tolays have pulled

out of 2 bases and with them their Advisors. It has meant that the Squadron has come together

back in FOB Shawqat for one of the first times

since we were in Camp Bastion over 3 months

ago. It has also meant that stories can be swapped, life with the ANA compared and gentle

banter traded. Out of the Squadron, only Advi-

sor pair 15, Capt Jimmy Carroll and Sgt Des

O‟Connor, look as if they will be staying in same

base which they started their tour in. R&R flights are in full swing as well and people are

coming and going constantly. It is always hearten-

ing to see those returning to catch up on home

news and know that others will soon be back home to see friends and family. The tempera-

ture has seen a rapid drop and there have been a

few hurried phone calls home for hot water bot-

tles as those here firmly dig out their winter

sleeping bags. We are conscious that the time may not be flying by for those at home and our

thoughts are always with you. We hope you‟ve

all been good and get a visit from Santa! We wish

you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New

Year from all of us out here.

Above: Capt Jonny Whelan celebrating

his 34th Birthday in FOB Shawquat.

V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 3 P A G E 3

A Squadron Capt Will Russell & SSgt Sheep Jones TATT 11

Capt Billy Russell and SSgt Jones 578 are currently based in

PB SAMSOR Nad-e-Ali district, facilitating partnering between

C Company 1 PWRR and the 4th Tolay. Thus far, we have kept the Tolay busy and the insurgents out of the area on a

daily basis with a busy patrolling and training programme. We

are lucky enough to have an effective and well respected To-

lay commander by the name of Najibullah who keeps a „tight

ship‟ as well as having a humorous side (frequently making Capt Russell laugh keeping SSgt „Sheep‟ Jones‟s jokes at bay!).

The living conditions in PB SAMSOR are what you would ex-

pect from a PB, showering out of bags, making good use of

portable loo bags and entertaining ourselves during downtime with volleyball and reading copious amounts of magazines and

e-books! SSgt „Sheep‟ Jones is frequently seen to be enjoying a

„gentleman's‟ hour/Grandfathers hour in the afternoon post

patrolling; this activity is not subject to just my 2ic I would

have to admit!

Above: Capt Russell & SSgt Sheep Jones on

Patrol in Nadi’ Ali.

Right: Sheep & Capt Russell pre patrol

picture with their Tolay.

Below: Capt Russell Arm wrestles with the

Tolay Commander in FOB Samsor.

The soldiers (Warriors) in the Tolay have displayed good low level

skills on patrols and on planned operations which has certainly dis-

pelled any pre-conceptions about the capability of the ANA before

deploying. There are a few frustrations along the way and cultural differences, most of which have been solved; cultural and military

training before deployment in September has been most beneficial.

C Company have made good use of the helicopters in TFH and we

have been on two aviation launched operations to date into the Western Dasht. The mission has been to re-assure locals of ANSF

and ISAF presence and security where there is little GIROA influ-

ence and has been a good way of creating unpredictability in our

patrolling and work within the AO.As with the other members of

the Squadron, we have drank gallons of Chai (Afghan green tea), chewed through fresh foot bread and even been given small gifts

(incense, scarves for our other halves, pomegranate and ANA t-

shirts) which has been gratefully received, further indicating the

strength of the relationship we have with our Tolay.

P A G E 4 TATT 11 Continued


Above: Sheep, who once worked in a bakery in Merthyr

Tydfil, thought it would be appropriate to make wraps for

the Mexican Theme night in FOB Samsor.

Right: It would not feel right if you did not look Mexi-

can..

Major Hanlon has also been given some pur-

fume by Najibullah and despite not seeing many

females in our PB it is always a treat to get a

whiff when up in FOB SHAWQAT with SHQ!

The main effort in the C Company AO has

been the transfer of security to the ANSF and

the merging of the ISAF AO and reducing our footprint, this has accelerated recently and we

are expecting big changes to the lay down come

the end of tour. It has been a challenging but

yet enjoyable job so far with doses of satisfac-

tion along the way with small operational gains being made by the Tolay in terms of their train-

ing competencies and effectiveness as an organi-

sation.

As the weather draws in and the temperature drops,

Sheep is digging his slippers out of his Bergen and Capt

Russell is preparing to deliver small gifts around the AO

on the night of the 24th (rosie cheeks and a decent outfit should bring some Christmas cheer)! Halfway through

the tour now and we are now relishing the challenges

ahead as Nad-e-Ali continues to undergo transition.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all Afghan

Hound readers….hohohohohohoho

Below: Capt Russell & One of the ANA

Sergeants. Out on Patrol in Nadi Ali.

P A G E 5 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 3

B Squadron Maj Paddy Bond ,Capt Simon Mildinhall. & SSM WO2 Rob Mansel

Above: 2nd Troop B Squadron Cpl Morris & Crew.

Having said goodbye to old Lt Boyce and LCpl Scanlon,

B Sqn returned to MOB PRICE and immediately de-

ployed back out onto the ground. In our own AO,

YAKCHAL was still proving an extremely interesting

area and taking up the majority of 4th Troop‟s time,

whilst in the North OP JANGEL SALAT 2 required the

attentions of two Troops, Tac and an enthralling trip

to work with the MERCIANS in FOB OULLETTE for

Capt Chambers. In addition to all of this, the Sqn was

also required to support the BRF in the Green Zone of

the Upper Gereshk Valley, all whilst staying on top of a

demanding vehicle maintenance schedule. OP JANGEL

SALAT 2 saw 2Lt Groves taking up the reins of 1st

Troop and working with 2nd Troop to secure a newly

black-topped route that had attracted a lot of insur-

gent activity recently. The two troops, commanded by

Maj Bond in Tac, spent a week working alongside the

Afghan National Civil Order Police (the Afghan equiva-

lent of SWOT teams) as well as a platoon of Warriors

from 5 Rifles.

Above: 4th Troop move through central Gereshk

whilst on route to Yakchal.

The operation saw the ANCOP push into

areas they had hitherto been unwilling to go

to, reassured by the presence of 10 CVR(T)

and 6 Warriors. This resulted in no IED em-placements on the stretch of road for the

duration of the operation, as well as the find-

ing of a rifle, some IED components and the

improving of relationships with local nation-als in the area. Meanwhile 4th (Support)

Troop under Lt Williams and Sgt Thurston

were conducting daily partnered patrols into

the troublesome village of Yakchal, working

hard to improve security there as well as helping to train the ANA. Lt Lough took 3rd

Troop up to the “PB Line” in the Upper

Gereshk Valley to assist the BRF, which has

been recently covered by The Sun. The only disappointment comes from the newspaper

failing to include any quotes from Lt Lough,

which clearly would have resulted in much

champagne being supplied to the Officers‟

Mess on our return in May.

“ Working Hard to improve security in

Yakchal”

P A G E 6

B Squadron 4th Troop :Lt Bryn Williams & Sgt Billy Thurstan


Above: 4th Troop pose for the Christmas Calendar .

Christmas attire kindly donated by the RCA & HHQ.

Below: 4th Troop clothes on.

Support Troop, B Squadron,

unlike the other three

troops operates on one of

the British Army‟s Afghani-stan purpose made vehicles–

the British made „Jackal.‟

Best described as a four

wheeled semi armoured sand buggy with a grenade

machine gun or ‟50 cal.,‟

mounted on top. A combi-

nation of its speed, as Cor-

poral Veasey will happily demonstrate, and more

open nature means the

jackal is more suited to the

interaction with the Local Nationals and relevant to

Support Troop – the Afghan

National Army. Support

Troop, B Sqn are the part-

nered force to the Afghan National Army for a 50km

stretch of Highway 1. The

highway is the main artery

for most of Afghanistan with

it running between the ma-jor cities, including that of

Gereskh in Helmand, which

is the main population area

for B Sqn.

As it hosts large proportions of the local population and due to its operation being essential to the

infrastructure and maintenance of this developing country it is a vital mission to maintain its secu-

rity. Therefore with the help from the Queens Royal Hussars who are tasked with being the

„Advisors,‟ and thus (in their words) – the oil that lubricates the relationship between the some-what chaotic and crazy Afghan National Army with the immaculately organised Support Troop,

both units „Secure,‟ the highway.

Each day will typically involve two or three partnered patrols with the ANA, although inevita-

ble lack of fuel, lack of „warriors,‟ lack of warm clothing, a lack of time for lunch or usually a com-

bination of all three means that one of these is normally cancelled, much to the frustration of all

the ISAF involved. When the patrols take place Support Troop provide either a mounted over

watch capability or dismount with the ANA „warriors,‟ to both boost their security and to ensure

that the planned patrol goes vaguely in the correct direction. These patrols involve interacting

with the local population, exploring new areas of the desert or disrupting into the Green Zone, all

of which have varied experiences and results.

4th Troop Continued


Above: Lt Williams counts to ten as the ANA test his patients.

Below: 4th Troop Patrol Orders “ Yakchal

When patrols allow, Support Troop up-

sticks from MOB Price and deploys for

several nights to an ANA run checkpoint

along the highway called CP Kay. This CP

is located on the edge of the Green

Zone and therefore occasionally experi-

ences „incoming.‟ This is primarily from

the ANA who believe that it is perfectly

acceptable to wake up their comrade for

sentry duty with a burst of AK47. Occa-

sionally the CP receives incoming from a

more understandable direction at which

point Support Troop burst into life in

various dress states and attempt the al-

most impossible task of identifying the

enemy. Every Thursday morning involves

the weekly „shura,‟ and planning meeting

with all the Tolay (Company) command-

ers. This regularly involves a four hour

meeting with lots of fist stamping and

raised voices and numerous interpreters

working overtime to translate these

ramblings. I leave each time more con-

fused and less aware than I was when I

walked in and certainly without a clue as

to which patrols are taking place the fol-

lowing week.

Everyone within Support Troop is

adapting very well and performing to the

highest of standards. Each day much laugh-

ter is caused by the bizarre nature of our

Afghan counterparts, most of which are

rationalised by our excellent interpreters -

Hafiz and Richard. Those new to Afghani-

stan are enjoying the challenges it pre-

sents albeit with the dangerous undercur-

rent this country always beholds. Those

who are experienced with this country

comment on how much it has changed

and progressed since they were last here

– hopefully eluding to a time when transi-

tion to our partnered force is a real possi-

bility. Although a much more reliable and

easier to use vehicle than the Scimitars,

the other troops certainly get their own

back and laugh a lot at our open top/

fronted vehicles when the rain comes or

the temperature drops to minus numbers,

something which is occurring more and

more regularly as we approach Christmas.

P A G E 8

4th Troop Continued


Left: 4th Troop form up in MOB PRICE

for pre patrol checks.

Below: Lt Williams explains to the ANA

why he knocked their barrier down with

his Jackal.

Travelling at 70kph along the highway into a wind chill well below zero is certainly not an enviable task,

especially at 0600hrs when the daily culvert checks (irrigation tunnels underneath the tarmac highway)

take place. The Christmas vibe is gradually creeping upon us, although as Trooper Doolan mentioned,

“this is the hottest I have ever been on the eleventh of December.” The forthcoming weeks and months hold much of the same for Support Troop who have the overall aim of bringing on the ANA

further with the hope of one day being able to leave the Highway in the sole responsibility of the ANA.

It is with pleasure that I can report that each day they learn that bit more and although at times frus-

trating, „transition,‟ is within our sights.

Support Troop, B Squadron wish you all a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

Brigade Reconnaissance Force (BRF) Maj

Justin Stenhouse ,Capt Ruggles– Brise & SSM WO2 Mark Hawtin.

Left: BRF just

about to get on the

Chinook Helicopter.

Other wise known as

a Helicopter Assault

Force ( HAF)


We are now 2 months into Op HERRICK 15 and writing

this article gives some pause for thought as to what the BRF

has achieved. There is no doubt that we have been busy,

with large number of operations under our belts some of which have multiple phases and consisted of troops being

deployed by vehicle or by aviation. Aviation is certainly the

preferred method of travel as Warthog is very uncomfort-

able and slow; and you are not back in time for breakfast or lunch depending on how long we have been out for; there is

always a distinct moan from whichever troop is chosen.

However, there is something very comforting about having

armour around, even just hearing it in the distance, we are

and remain very grateful to OC Warthog, Maj Chris Wild-man and his boys. The environment out here is testing, at

the start of the tour is was hot and sapped your energy and

now it is cold and sometimes wet and we wish for the sun.

The locals are also kindly irrigating their fields making move-ment very difficult, so as soon as you jump out of the heli-

copter you are knee deep in clinging mud. We now know

why we expended so much effort on PT during out pre de-

ployment training. LCpl Jones 470 found himself the source

of much amusement by 1st Tp recently when he was blown into a rather deep irrigation ditch by the CH47 as it took

off, all that could be heard were his cries for help.

Above: Major Justin Stenhouse (OC BRF)

Rock Drill , BRF Compound.

The BRF has operated virtually all over

Task Force Helmand‟s area of opera-

tions (AO), from the Bowri Dashte

(Desert) that has now been reclaimed and is being farmed by the Afghans to

the Arghandab River Valley (ARV)

which is very open with large ditches

and berms making movement by vehi-cle very difficult, however great terrain

for arrival and departure by helicop-

ter. The Warthog Group particularly

enjoyed operating down there with us!

(See Photo). We have also operated in the complex terrain of the Green

Zone where at sometimes when you

are lying in the hedgerows you could

be in the UK, usually you are brought back to reality pretty rapidly. Recently

the BRF has had some particularly suc-

cessful operations, Cpl Beal and 1st Tp

found an Insurgent prison with a pris-

oner who we recovered to Bastion for subsequent release. 2nd Tp not to be

outdone discovered a lunatic asylum

and it was not Regimental Headquar-

ters! All the troops have been par-

ticularly successful with discovery of large insurgent weapons and Impro-

vised explosive device (IED) caches

which have subsequently been de-

stroyed. Even as I write 3rd Tp in the Dashte east of Operations Box

BURMA have discovered 20 pressure

plates hidden in the ground and are

awaiting the counter IED team to

come and destroy it.

Above: Warthog Group Fail Their first swim test

Below: Capt RB ( 2ic BRF) managing to keep his feet

dry...for now.

P A G E 1 0

BRF Continued


Above: LCpl Symonds admires the local horticulture

It seems an age ago when the BRF formed up

on the 03 Jan 11, the change in everyone is

impressive and humbling to witness. There

have been some particularly notably perform-ances from Cpl Beal, and LCpls Grills, Ellis

and Pearce (both from 1 YORKS). It is also

safe too say that we have all lost a little weight

while we have been out here although some are more sensitive than others if you give

them a little pat on the tummy on the way

past, for example Sgt Greenwood, I am told

this is a trait he shares with the Commanding

Officer! The SQMS (SSgt Gallagher) and his team in Bastion go to great lengths to ensure

we are well supported and have made the BRF

compound very comfortable. They continue

to work long and thankless hours to ensure when we depart or return on operations eve-

rything is in place, from our early morning

bacon sandwiches (where sometimes they

have been know to help the chefs with the

cooking to ensure we get them in time) to taking the troops vehicles for their mandatory

servicing whilst we are out. WO2 Davies continues to prove his worth procur-

ing communications equipment that other sub units

could only wish for. We recently lost him for a few

days when he had to deploy to a Forward Operat-ing Base as a Liaison Officer (LO), thinking he

would only be absent for a few hours he took noth-

ing more than a sleeping bad and a box of Pringles.

He was sadly mistaken, however this has allowed him to gloat to the SQMS that he has in fact left

Camp Bastion. Cpl Oates (R Sigs) who has only

been with us for the last month has had a steep

learning curve, when asked to provide some black

illumination so we could see better with our night vision devices he duly fired some rockets into the

sky, the night remained dark. He could not under-

stand why we could still see nothing on this very

dark night. It was only when Capt Ruggles-Brise read the packaging to him that it became apparent

that he had been firing smoke rockets into the air.

As we approach Christmas our thoughts are with

our families and with many of us with new children

either born just before deployment or some after it is even more poignant. But we wish everyone a

very Happy Christmas. We continue to examine

the options as to how we will celebrate the day

out here with a number of suggestions being vetoed

even if just to retain some decorum.

Above: Sgt Matt Hansen Out on patrol in

his Jackal Vehicle.

P A G E 1 1 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 3

Left: WO 2 Marc Davies & SSGT

(SQMS) Russ Gallacher :

A big thank you goes out to the Nottinghamshire Constabulary and Support Our Soldiers, South West

Wales Branch for their more than generous donation of Christmas Parcels for the Brigade Reconnaissance

Force (BRF). WO2 Marc Davies and SSgt (SQMS) Gallacher of the BRF handed out the parcels to members

of the Squadron on their return from a particularly demanding Operation. Cpl Morgan one of the soldiers who received a parcel said “The parcels were a really nice surprise and its good to know that people back

home are thinking of us during this festive period, the chocolates especially went down well, yum yum”.

3rd Troop BRF Capt Chris Roberts & Sgt Matt Hansen

Above: 3rd Troop BRF with the Apache Helicopter.

P A G E 1 2

3rd Troop Continued


Breaking into December, the frequency of

Ops has picked up an extra gear. The Insur-

gents annual lull in battle over the cold win-

ter months has provided the opportunity for 20 Bde to claim a bit more territory. This

has meant an increase in how often we‟re

going out the gate for Ops planned for the

long term. Recently the Sqn has entered the heady heights of minor celebrity. Many a Z-

lister would kill to be on page 17 of The Sun

and that‟s where the BRF ended up. For

those who didn‟t see it; The Sun covered an

Op where we rescued a kidnapped ANA sol-dier due for execution by the Taleban and

found a large number of IEDs in a factory,

which were blown up in place. The Op was

done with excellent support from B Sqn and a Troop of Warthog vehicles from the QRH.

3rd Troop now holds a small record; the larg-

est find in a certain area of Helmand Prov-

ince. Whilst out as a single Troop mounted

in the QRH Warthogs we decided to do a bit of potholing – it‟s never too early to start the

AT – in the underground river systems

(called Karizs) that criss-cross around Hel-

mand. LCpl Carr securely fastened by a rope

to Pte Drew, lowered himself into the Kariz.

Above: LCpl Carr searches Kariz Hole

for IED Components.

Above: 3rd Troop next to Apache.

Armed with a pistol, torch and Vallon he set

out through the overgrown and sewage strewn

tunnel. After only a couple of minutes he came

across a hessian sack filled with ammo, drugs and explosives. Later in the day Tpr Gould was

down a different Kariz hole and found the

mother-load. 20 pressure plates all ready to be

fixed up to IEDs and placed in the ground to target the Afghan and ISAF security forces. We

secured this and extracted it out of the hole;

any excess was blown up in place by our overly

keen Engineers Sgt Stewart and LCpl Carr. Not

a bad mornings work and a nice change from searching endless compound after compound.

Tpr Nursey: On a recent Helicopter Assault Force (HAF) , “where we fly onto a target”, we

entered a compound to search it. Tpr Griffiths

had gone into the compound and was helping to

search the rooms. He went through the door

and all we heard was a little girly scream. He thought he was going to have his first contact as

a chicken came flying out at him. He‟s had a

few more run-ins with chickens since. They

always seem to burst out at him. Chickens are not the only farm animals he has had a relation-

ship with. In another compound LCpl Hum-

phreys and Griffiths came sniggering out from

behind a small wall and claimed to have just at-

tempted to milk a goat! A gentler side was also seen to Griff as he lovingly tended to a small

flock of Afghan „fat-bottomed‟ sheep. He fed

them and petted them, I don‟t think the com-

pound owners had ever seen anything like it before!


Above: Cpl Lewis left & Davies right. On the HAF.

Below : Right: Capt Roberts finds out his comms are down.

Whilst it is a demanding and difficult job consider-

ing the complexity of some of the BRF tasking and

missions, the Troops always find a way to lighten

the atmosphere and pick-up morale on the ever colder early mornings. Something as simple as

posting stag in a make shift sangar tower can re-

duce the entire Troop to fits of laughter if carried

out by Tpr Durnall. One of the slighter and more mobile members of the Troop he made the simple

job of climbing through a small hole in the wall to

stand up in the tower seem like Mission Impossible

IV! High jinks with native farm animals seems to

have been perfected by Tpr Griffiths. Currently we‟re in the middle of a helicopter-fest; with five

HAFs in five days planned. It started well with the

first HAF delayed by 24 hours! But, to make up

for this we managed to pull it out of the bag and complete HAFs onto three separate targets the next

day. Two were pre-planned, and as we came off the

helicopters in Camp Bastion the message was

passed around not to bother taking off our kit,

we were going back out onto a detention opera-tion to arrest four men. We arrived on to the

target compound and found six men, all a bit

dodgy and linked to IED making. Following a

thorough search and with zip ties securely around their wrists all six were brought back to

Bastion for further questioning and evidence col-

lection. I was very impressed with the „wilco‟

attitude taken towards the swift turn around and

the speed that the guys got to the target com-pound considering the amount of weight every-

one has to carry.

With Christmas just around the corner the en-

tire Squadron is in the festive mood.

The SQMS team has beautifully decked out the briefing room

with tinsel and sparkles (interior design beckons after 22

years!) and the number of parcels arriving every day has no-

ticeably increased. A special thank you goes out to all of those who have sent welfare parcels, as there are always a

few who don‟t get quite as much mail. They really make a

difference to the lads and reinforce that connection between

home and Afghan. Troop skits have been handed out; we‟ve each been given a different Troop or SHQ to take the mock

in a loving manner. This was strictly enforced by the OC

who feared an overload of Orang-utan and Ginger-Ninja style

performances. I‟m sure we‟ll all find a small space for that!

The biggest morale booster for everyone is that Christmas, brilliant in it‟s own right, also signals the proximity of R&R.

Something I know the entire Squadron is looking forward to.

The chance to see loved ones and friends, and take a pause

on this dreadful enforced de-tox. Wishing you all at home a very Merry Christmas and a Happy

New Year from all in 3rd Troop. Above: Tpr Durnell searches a Sangar.

P A G E 1 4

Regimental Headquarters/ 20X ISTAR FIND

GP LASHKAH GAH


Above: ISTAR 20x Headquarters. Queen’s

Bays Bell far left of the picture. Capt Hoey cen-

tre right sitting behind his computer drawing

pictures.

Readers of the Afghan Hound will, of

course, long be familiar with the Regiment

(and wider family) appearing in the local

and national press. For us in the ISTAR Gp HQ, in the less glamorous side of opera-

tions, it was a delightful surprise to find

some of our members clinging to the coat-

tails of the sub-units in an article in The Sun. The shy and retiring Commanding

Officer had a quote coaxed out of him but

less happy was 2nd Lieutenant B******

S****, attached to the BRF, who seems to

be under the impression that the Int Corps is MI6 and therefore his name must

not appear in print. A note has been made

and fines will be issued upon return to the

mess next year. The media cell say his chest is hairless enough but needs to be

bigger if he wants to appear on page 3

rather than 17 so he has been sent inter-

net shopping for some herbal pills. Such

small occurrences serve to keep us amused as the pace climbs higher in Bde

HQ. The well-oiled (not like that, the

Becks is alcohol-free) machine is churning

out plans as fast as the sub-units can exe-

cute them and with officers starting to go away on R&R we are all stepping up a gear

to cover for them.

Left: Capt Sambrook & 2LT Smith hard at

work

We must be getting more efficient as despite this, most people continue to be able to get out for a

day or two – even the 2ic was spotted sporting body armour and helmet the other day. This may have

been for a debriefing by the Brigade Chief of Staff though as he was also seen shoving a copy of Coun-

try Homes & Interiors down the back of his trousers. Messing report: Within the MOB, as tempera-tures have dropped fewer and fewer hardy souls choose to sit outside but ISTAR Gp HQ continue to

grizz it out. Actually at lunchtime when the sun has burnt off the mist and a glimmer of warmth deli-

cately spreads through the thin winter air, it is most agreeable to tarry a while nursing a coffee before

diving back into the hustle and bustle.


Above: Operations Officer Capt Ben Parkyn. “ Please

Colonel can I go out with the BRF”.

KBR continue to do their best with the food

although the blockade on the Pakistan border is

starting to bite – CO QRH was recently seen

pacing round and round, muttering “the foie grass must get through” as his Adjutant at-

tempted to distract him with a punnet of olives.

We must all learn to tighten our belts, now

metaphorically as well as literally. What helps, of course, is the almost constant stream of

Christmas parcels from those at home, friends

known and unknown. The odd chocolate or-

ange from close ones is much appreciated but

what is also astonishing is the generosity of strangers: church groups, scout groups or just

kind-hearted people who have passed a shoe-

box round their office. So thank you to all who

have sent a little something from home this Christmas, we wish you the very best and look

forward to seeing you soon, at home or on the

parades when we return.

LAD TFH Cfn O'Neil Below: LAD TFH get in to the Christmas

spirit.

The LAD has had a very busy and constructive

month. It all started with everyone having to feel

sorry for the AQMS as he thought he had man flu,

this took up some considerable amount of pro-duction hours. It later emerged that the AQMS

wasn‟t ill and that he had been spending a little

too much time with the RAF personnel that he

shares his luxurious Bellagio tier 2 accommoda-tion with. Cfn Rayner is slowly making progress;

he has now upped his working hours, spending a

minimum of 4hours in work but only 2 of these

actually in coveralls. The EME is still happy for Cfn

Rayner to carry on with his main task of „trying‟ to get massive in the gym, it has been explained

to him that mopping the floors and filling the

fridges does not get you massive muscles.

The LAD also had some members take part in the Danish half marathon. Capt. Alexander, won the

event with a time of 1 hour 16 minutes and 38

seconds. ASM Thompson was the second from

the LAD to finish with a time of 1 hour and 51

minutes. Cfn O‟Neill was the last of the LAD to finish with a time of ………. A high profile visit

to the LAD was also announced, the visitor being

Commander EC (Col. Thompson).

Colonel Thompson was very impressed with the LAD and

spent a lot of time talking to the Armourers and VM‟s. Every-

one was happy to talk to the Colonel until Cfn O‟Neill pulled

his camera out for some publicity shots. A further visit to Camp Bastion was announced this time the visitor was the

world famous golfer Colin Montgomery. The ASM, SSgt

„Pete‟ McGlashan (26RA) and Cfn O‟Neill were lucky enough

to have a golf lesson with Colin and the ASM even got invited to have lunch with him.

P A G E 1 6

LAD TFH Continued


Above: ASM & Cfn O'Neil pose with Colin Montgom-

ery with the Ryder Cup. Camp Bastion.

The highlight of the afternoon was having

pictures taken with Colin and Golf‟s top

prize – the Ryder cup. The REME are still

recruiting in theatre, with Tpr Mather (BTE) showing an interest in becoming a

vehicle mechanic. It was later explained to

Tpr Mather that he would have to be in

work on time everyday, wouldn‟t be able to skive down at the American PX and

would have to work late in the evenings.

This news brought about a sudden change

of heart in Tpr Mather who now no longer

wants to transfer. The AQMS displayed the very best of his management skills

when he managed to book the EME in as

the Headline act in Padre Mike‟s Medical

Centre Cabaret Night! So with only one day to practice before the night and his

nerves all a flutter the EME treated the

crowd to a medley of the latest hits! As

the gig was such a massive success with a

sell out crowd of 30, the AQMS has al-ready been in touch with the organizers of

the Glastonbury Festival to negotiate the

EME‟s performance fee for the summer.

Right:: Tpr Mather showing interest in vehicle mechan-

The LAD is well into the festive season

with Santa & a Snowman decorating

the roof of the LAD HQ office, the

sweets have all arrived and the non-alcoholic becks is also on route from

the NAAFI, so it should be a party to

remember unfortunately!

The ASM will not be spending Christ-mas with the LAD as he has left to go

and have R & R with his family back in

Paderborn, we will save him a few

mince pies though. It has also come to

light that the BRF cannot handle their workload we assume this is due to

LCpl Dan Nelson spending most of his

time down at the NAAFI trying to chat

up the medics much to their dismay, SSgt Bobby Walker spending all his

time in the gym doing insanity work-

outs. The HQ LAD Vehicle Mechanic‟s

are under new management from SSgt

Brian Cook of 26RA with his hand on the tiller the vehicle mechanics have

been completing Inspections on the

Jackal‟s of the BRF allowing them to

deploy out on operations.

Cfn O‟Neill will never be allowed out of Bastion again

after his tail gate drop off at Khar-Nikah lasted three days

as opposed to the planned 30 minutes! Tyre flips have

been an ongoing challenge at the LAD with everyone be-ing invited to do 15 flips of a MASTIFF tyre, these weigh

in the region of 100KG! Cfn O‟Neill was awarded 60 flips

for continually forgetting his notebook.


Above: EME & ASM talk to Commander EC Col .

Thompson.

Above Right: Cfn O'Neil Masters the tyre flipping

Above Left: AQ felt left out so he thought he would give it a go.

Right: This is as close as it gets for the EME . He wanted

Christmas to be cancelled. So threatened to shoot the Snow

man.

Below: Cfn Raynor Santa's little helper.

He completed these over 3 days which made his

little arms sore. The ASM has broken his own

record for 15 flips by 8 seconds after he re-

turned from a conference that made him quite cross, the new record stands at 41 seconds for

15 flips, all comers are welcome to try and bet-

ter this.

A very Merry Christmas And Happy New Year

to all. Readers should Look forward to another

exciting instalment from the LAD next month.

P A G E 1 8

Brigade Troops Echelon WO2 Rob Lockyer.


Above: Maj Tyson Officer Commanding Brigade

Troops Echelon.

Well another month has passed and the Brigade

Troops Echelon (BTE) continue to drive through

change whilst offering the highest level of support

to a large, complex and dynamic organisation. The team are continuing their aggressive house-

keeping, newly coined “Battlefield Clearance” and

a plethora of pre-inspections and inspections were

passed with flying colours. November and early December has seen the BTE undergo significant

structural change. This saw the re-development of

Camp 251, home of the BTE, with a new office

complex (tent) built at the rear of the existing J4

hub. The BTE is growing in size by two companies, and the ‟new build‟ will house the Company Quar-

ter Master Sergeants (CQMS‟) from C Coy 1

PWRR and a Rifle Coy from 3 Scots, as well as the

CQMS‟ and SQMS‟ already working with the BTE. The BTE are also enabling the move of the QRH

Warthog Group from Bastion to MOB Price,

which entails the usual J4 and J1 issues in terms of

moving large numbers of personnel, vehicles, ISO

containers and equipment. Planning and forward loading of stores to Patrol

Base (PB) Clifton continues, in order to ensure

that the PB is in good order for when it is eventu-

ally handed over from the Danes. Once complete,

it will be home to C Coy 1 PWRR, once they fin-ish a short refurbishment period in Bastion.

Left: Sgt Pye & Cpl Watson make a

new door for the BTE .

Below: Cpl Young hard at work. All are trying to get into the spirit of Christ-

mas, especially when we have a delivery of

welfare parcels. Once they have been col-

lected we all go through to our adopted postal sorting area, the brew area at the back

of the J4 hub, don our Santa hats and divide

the contents in to several larger boxes for

the sub units that are based in forward loca-tions.

The fitness bug seems to have taken hold

once again, 10 of the BTE‟s finest attempted,

and completed, the Dan Bat Half Marathon.

Of note, this saw one of the oldest BTE com-petitors beat the youngest, finishing in a time

of 2 hours. The unnamed individual has been

heard gloating slightly by re-telling the story

of how he kept the youngster in his sights for 11 miles, putting in a phenomenal sprint finish

over the last 2 to beat the youngster by


almost 10 minutes. Our next challenge for the BTE

Olympians is a marathon being held on News Years

day, so we are all keeping off of the mince pies!

The R&R plot is well under way, and as most QDG soldiers come through the BTE prior to flying out, it is

a good opportunity to catch up with friendly faces and

listen to the „war‟ stories of the „Daring Dragoons‟!

Banter between everyone within the BTE continues unabated. The latest round saw LST commander, Capt

Berry, who had just returned from a PB, have his unat-

tended kit laid out show parade style. On seeing his

kit in neat lines on the floor he gave a tired outburst

“This is not on! That‟s it, I am going to unleash the Dog of War” At which point all those in earshot fell

about with laughter.

With the first half of the tour nearly over it would be

great to say that both the QM and SPS departments were operating at steady state. However, with new

sub units coming in, location changes and a never end-

ing inspection and assurance regime I am sure that we

will all be kept on our toes until we handover in April.

On behalf of the BTE I would like to thank everyone for supporting and sending Christmas Parcels out to

Afghanistan. It really is amazing to see so many kind

hearted people doing their bit for the forces.

A Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all. Congratulations go to WO2 RQMS Lee Bilner and

WO2 RQMS Jason Wilcox for being selected for pro-

motion from WO2-WO1 in 2012. Also, birthdays

have been celebrated for Cpl Akuila Korovulavula and LCpl Dean Hanbury.

Above: BTE G4 HUB

Below: right: Brew Area, where all the Welfare parcels

get opened.

Below Left: Members of the BTE take part in the Danish

Left: Members of the BTE pose for the cam-

era after the Danish half marathon.

P A G E 2 0


Staff and Personnel Support (SPS) Capt Mike Day

Left: SPS

Technical

Training Day

Comd SPS

visit.

The wider SPS team enjoyed some techni-

cal training, which was well timed to coin-

cide with the visit of Commander SPS 1

(UK) Armd Div, Lt Col Mike Sykes visit. A timely get together brought some smiles,

allowed all to discuss and confirm that yes

the soldiers in every unit believe that they

should be paid far more than they receive at present and their pay must be wrong.

The training was followed by a games eve-

ning for all SPS in Camp Bastion. There

were 4 teams competing for the title, one

of which was led by Capt Mike Day. The competition was fierce, but friendly.

There was a clear pull towards the BTE

team, with many SPS from other units

wanting to be part of the elite squad. There were 6 games:

Balls: The aim of the game was to get the

tennis balls into a bowl. The instructions

were a little unclear, and the assumption that typical mess tactics could be rolled

out to manoeuvre the balls fell foul of the

judges, resulting in “nil pois”.

Bridging: 5 team members were re-

quired to bridge the gap. The technique

was slick and the bridge was solid, how-ever the final task of downing a can of

coke was not achieved due to a lack of

practice and weak gullet by the final man.

BTE were placed second.

Core stability: Capt Ollie Martin and Cpl Lisa Ev-

ans, wife of Cpl (box head) Evans QDG were re-

quired to maintain a stable position with their head

on one chair and feet on another, whilst lying hori-zontal and passing an object around their body as

many times as they could. They achieved a com-

bined score of 110 and secured second place. And

yes, Cpl Evans did get the higher score between her and her boss.

Above: Cpl Lisa Evans testing her core stability

Above: Cpl Ridley & LK during

the tyre stack phase.


Tire stack: The aim was to get 4 tyres numbered 1 to 4 across 3 squares without putting a higher number tyre

on top of a lower number tyre. It was immediately obvious that a specific sequence was required. This was im-

mediately identified by Capt (Timmy) Mallet. To avoid congestion, Capt Mike Day assigned only 2 pairs from the

vast amount of power available to conduct the task. With the concise direction from Timmy and the slick action of the 4 soldiers which included our very own Cpl Mac Ridley and Cpl Ellie Lakoisolomone, the competition

were left wanting as the BTE team romped home in half the time it took the team that came in second. I think

part of this was the 1,000 yard stare given by our most Cbt orientated CHRS.

Little Piggy: You guessed it, the game revolved around eating,

so there was only 1 choice to be had…..WO2 Chris Shaw was

the obvious choice. The game was quite a mess, yet Chris en-

tered into it whole-heatedly as you would expect. When trying to find the sweet in the bowl of chocolate sauce, it was no sur-

prise that the chocolate sauce was gone in less than 60 seconds.

This was followed by a bowl of rice crispies, plenty of crackers

and the obligatory mouth full of crackers. Sadly the dice were against him and although he won on the eating and was clearly

the one who participated unreservedly, he came in 4th.

Left: WO 2

(RAWO) Chris

Shaw with a

face full of

sweets.

Above: The RAO Hand bags at dawn.

Hand bags at dawn: With the scores tight, we had to

win this game to win overall. It was clear from the way

that the game was being set up, that this was going to be a

joust of some description. The RAO was looking forward to getting involved however; Cpl Mac Ridley was immedi-

ately volunteering to “inflict some mindless violence on

someone”. As he was so keen, I agreed. Sadly for Mac,

the rules dictated that team leaders were to compete. As the smallest of competitors it was obvious that the book-

ies were providing long odds. The RAO however does

enjoy the famous line by Al Pacino in the Devil‟s Advo-

cate, “keep low, stay small and don‟t let the ******* see

you coming”. Needless to say, several swift blows to the head of the opposing RAOs left BTE victorious!

The BTE welcome the arrival of Private Deependra

Kumar Gurung who put in a strong performance

during RSOI, particularly compound clearance and

searching and Captain Nigel Hinton who will take over the role of RAO BTE for 6 weeks. The bonus

for the guys with this changeover of SPS manning is

that Captain Hinton is accompanied by enough

Welsh cakes to feed a small third world county for a year.

Quote of the tour so far Pte Stacey Lane:

“The RAO made me spoon with Cpl Ridley for it”.

She was for the chance to go to Brunei to escort 2 RGR‟s heavy weapons. She meant “spoof”.

Above: Lcpl Tupou & Pte Lane

hard at work.

P A G E 2 2

EOD & SEARCH TASK FORCE LCpl Simon Jackson


I am now 3 month‟s into my 6 month tour

of Helmand province, Things are going well

and the time is flying by. It started with the

five day RSOI package which was one of the first things I noticed was different to our

previous tour on Herrick 9. I found they

went into much more detail on all aspects;

having a whole day on search was an eye opener for what I and the rest of the infan-

try escorts would be up two for the next

six months of the tour. After these five

short days, that was me ready to go. I

joined my team who had just come back off their R&R after a couple of admin days we

deployed on the ground as BRIMSTONE 10

to OP BOX BURMA. I manage to complete

10 jobs (a job is classed as neutralisation of an improvised explosive device) I have now

returned to Camp Bastion until my R&R in

Below: Brimstone is the Call Sign for

EOD & Search

Above: Tpr Frost , LEFT still finds the time

for a laugh in the Incident Control Point

(ICP) . During an IED find.

Tpr Arron Renolds

I am now 3months into my tour, it‟s not what I

expected it to be but I am enjoying my role at the

moment which is as an infantry escort for the EOD and Search Task Force. I just come back

from my R&R, it was a good 2 weeks off and I

enjoyed it. The team I am with is excellent,

I couldn‟t ask for a better team, and operator. We have been kept quite busy, we have had one

casualty at the beginning which left the team

down and worried about future tasks, but as of

late we have began to pick up and look even bet-

ter than before. I have only got 3 more months left of tour and hoping it goes quickly, knowing I

have 3 months left I now have something to look

forward to. So far this tour is turning out to be a

challenge but it is also rewarding going out every day dealing with the IEDS. It is a good feeling

knowing that we can clear the path for the rest of

the troops to do their day to day job, is a good

feeling. This tour is turning out to be an experi-

ence that many of us will remember for differ-ent reasons, good and bad, but we have been

really well hosted by the Royal Engineers. We

have all made good friends and the banter about

us all wanting to be Engineers goes down well but

we all know they want to be QDG!

We would like to thank the Regiment for

the Christmas boxes we have received

And we would like to wish every body back

home.

Merry Christmas

and a Happy New

P AGE 23

AFGHAN NATIONAL CIVIL ORDER

POLICE (ANCOP) WO2 Simon Jones (Jugs)

Dawn breaks over FOB Ouellette

(Forward Operating Base) which resem-

bles Dartmoor prison, then luckily for us

we break out Tango and Cash style into CF Burma and OB Haldenby.

A days training with the ANCOP is full of

surprises, as most of us will be aware,

there is never a dull moment. The Police Mentoring Advisory Group (PMAG) PATT

I work with consists of various ranks and

Cap badges, already we have jelled as a

team and we have all hit it off enormously

especially with the banter towards our OC Lt Pitto from Spain, I mean Gibraltar.

The ANCOP we are mentoring are a

good bunch and surprisingly professional,

they also have a good sense of humour which makes the rapport even easier to

build, this is essential when you are serv-

ing out here in Afghanistan. On a daily

basis we turn up at the various CP,s

(Check Points) and instruct them in les-sons, which include, first aid. C-IED,

weapon handling and Immediate Action

( IA) drills, they are hugely enthusiastic

which makes the lessons a lot of fun for

the boys to teach.

As we gradually start to realize that this is es-

sential to success on this tour and subsequent

tours after, we are moving towards transition

and our mentoring is reflecting this as we move forward. To date we have conducted

numerous tasks and Operations with the AN-

COP which have been a huge success, they

have taken the lead on every opportunity and they have proven more than capable. Christ-

mas is around the corner and that in itself is

being looked forward too, everyone is missing

their family's back home and we which them

all the best and we will see them soon. We as an ANCOP PATT have had huge re-

wards ourselves during this tour so far and

continue to do so, we are still learning the job

and the guys are staying focused and we have some keen and exciting Instructors within the

Team. We remain committed to the job in

hand and there is an excitement around the

guys, they are ready for the next challenge

which in Afghanistan is only around the cor-ner.

Merry Christmas and Happy

New Year to all.

“ The ANCOP

have proven to

be more than

capable and

have taken the

lead at every

opportunity.”

WAR ARTIST Mr Daniel Peterson


Left: One of the

first patrol pic-

tures just outside

Gareshk with 4th

Troop B Sqn. Sgt

Billy Thurstan

talks to Lt Bryn

Williams.

I‟ve been with the QDG, here in Afghanistan for three weeks now. Arriving in Bastion on a C130 from Minhad

was far from the beginning though. I‟d already spent 18 months or so making phone calls, talking to different

regiments, pulling strings and jumping through hoops, until eventually the QDG invited me to spend time with

them on Op Herrick 15. Another chain of events then began that culminated in a Hostile Environment Aware-

ness Training course in Chillwell, multiple medicals and a dash to the Afghan Embassy in London for the re-

quired visa. ISAF Accreditation secured I was ready to go. When I arrived the Media Operations team issued

me and the other media people, who arrived at the same time, with blue body armour and helmet and, took us

for Reception Training and Onward Integration (RSOI) and Role Over Drill Egress Trainer (RODET) training,

this is a role over drill in the event of the vehicle you are travelling in tips over. As soon as we got back from

that the RSM QDG picked me up and we quickly stowed the blue kit under my bed space and I was issued with

full multi-cam PPE. No one wants a big blue target on patrol with them and, I certainly didn‟t want to be the

reason why some Insurgent got paid a ten grand bonus. I didn‟t see much of that bed space in Bastion as the

very next day, after morning PT, the RSM and myself were off on what turned out to be fifteen days „on the

ground‟. We started off with a visit to TFH HQ in Lashkah Gah and an introduction to the Colonel, among

others. This is a seriously busy place and not the sort of activity you would first associate with soldiering. How-

ever, after witnessing ISTAR in action during a BRF Operation and the amount of work that‟s involved I soon

saw the benefits. From TFH it was on to MOB PRICE to meet the B Squadron. It was with B Squadron that I

would make my first patrol and after a brief from Lt. Bryn Williams, 4th Troop, we were in the Jackals and driv-

ing through the streets of Gareshk. Nice town! I‟m happy to admit I was nervous. This was my first time out

and after a brief about suicide bombers and IED threat levels my imagination was in overdrive. Mainly making

sure I was ready to catch anything that was thrown into the Jackal – insurgents have been known to throw gre-

nades from the crowded market place. All went well. We made the drop off and after another drive through

Gareshk we were back in MOB Price.

P A G E 2 5

War Artist Continued Below: LCpl Bob Comley TPB Yakchal


A few days later and a few more patrols and I became more relaxed. Particularly as I soon realised

that the members of B Squadron really did know what they were doing and how to go about it. One

patrol was in support of the ANA as they searched some compounds in the notorious Yakchal area. It

wasn‟t to be the last time I went there. I spent a small amount of time with 3rd Troop in a „Sand Box‟ of Scimitars and Spartans next to a CP in the dessert, but now it was time to be in the air again and off

to witness the work of A Squadron down south in Nad „Ali.

From FOB Shawquat, PB Samsor and PB Khamaar I got to carry out a number of foot patrols and

meet and drink copious amounts of Chai with the men and commanders of the local ANA. The foot

patrols, usually working with the ANA, meant another level of anxiety for me but by this time I knew I

could trust the skills of the officers and men of the QDG. Getting out on foot and seeing the local

nationals living their lives in the market places and compounds was an outstanding experience. It was

good to see that both in Nad „Ali and back in Gareshk the smiles, waves and thumbs up outweighed

any animosity I witnessed. After time well spent with A Squadron it was back to Bastion to link up

with the BRF and go out on an operation in the Green Zone of Yakshal. After an interesting brief,

which effectively meant we were going in by HAF and GAF to occupy a number of compounds and act

as bait for the Insurgents so that ISTAR could watch and study their movements. A yet higher stress

level for me but a thoroughly worthwhile time spent patrolling in, setting up a Tactical Patrol Base

(TPB), stagging on, gibbering in the freezing nights, listening in to icomm, dealing with a contact or two

and tabbing 3km or so across the dessert to get to the HLS for the exfil. The question about all this,

must be why? What was I doing while all the work was going on around me? Well, I was drawing,

painting and taking photos and videos. I was talking to the guys on the ground and getting a feel for

their lives in theatre.


Above: Capt Nick Garland in the TPB Yakchal.

War Artist Continued

The purpose for my visit is to produce these sketches, live in the field, and to follow them up with more

finished pieces and paintings when I return home. The outcome will be the first, as far as I am aware, vis-

ual diary of the Regiments time in theatre as well as the customary paintings and prints for the various

messes. A finished hand bound book will be produced and, hopefully, some copies made and put up for sale when the tour is over.

This book will be greatly enhanced with your help. Officers and men are invited to supply summaries of

their tour as well as extracts from their diaries. I understand that there are even some budding poets out

there putting their thoughts on paper. The more of this we can get hold of the better a commemoration

this book will be of the tour. If you can supply your submissions via the RSM, even the smallest diary ex-

tract will be very much appreciated.

As I am getting myself together to leave on the 21st I‟d like to thank everybody I‟ve met during my time

here for their outstanding hospitality and helpfulness. Nothing seemed to be too much trouble for any-

one and I never imagined I would get to see and do as much as I did.

I‟d like to wish all the officers and men of the Welsh Cavalry and 20 Brigade a great Christmas, wherever

they are during the period, and a safe and successful rest of tour. See you in Cardiff for the parade!


Quote of the Month

Prices:

£1.50 $2.00 Euro 2.00

Contact the UWO on

Contact the Unit Welfare Officer (UWO)

Capt Kelvin Thomas on the following e-mail:

[email protected]

Also available at HHQ

We are on the Web ! Contact the RSM QDG on:

[email protected]

“He wants your stories”

Joke of the Month

A women walks into a bar, she asks

the barman for a double entendre.

So he gives her one.

Capt Charlie Robinson declared in his mid-year

report;

"My aspiration is to be a very successful banker and

earn more money than all of the officers at

Regimental Duty put together.”

He later promised the serving officers a create of

champagne if he has not achieved half of this

aspiration in 3 years time.

Lookalike Corner

The RAO

A Christmas message from Padre Alex Bennet ( QDG PADRE):

Preparations for Christmas are well underway, and on Wednesday 21st December we will have a Carol Ser-

vice with the bands of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, the choirs of the US Marines Corps and the Royal Tongan Marines.

At Christmas we are thinking of everyone at home, as you are thinking of us. Thank you for your generosity

in sending parcels and good wishes from the UK and Germany, We all wish you a very blessed Christmas .

1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards Op HERRICK

15 Photographs.

LIEUTENANT DAVID ALEXANDER GRANT BOYCE

1ST TROOP LEADER

B (FORMATION RECONNAISSANCE) SQUADRON

COMBINED FORCE NAHR-E-SARAJ (NORTH)

1ST THE QUEEN’S DRAGOON GUARDS

Lieutenant David Boyce deployed to Afghanistan on 21 October 2011 in command of 1st Troop, B Squadron, 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards. After completing his in theatre training, he moved for-ward to the Combined Force Nahr-e-Saraj (North) (CF NES(N)) Main Operating Base PRICE, from where his Troop was one of four tasked with securing two vital routes passing through the District, as well as supporting ground holding companies North of Helmand’s second city, Gereshk. On the morning of Thursday 17 November Lieutenant Boyce was leading his Troop to support another Com-pany, when shortly after leaving Highway 1 his vehicle struck a powerful Improvised Explosive Device which killed both him and Lance Corporal Richard Scanlon.

Lieutenant David Alexander Grant Boyce was born on 18 September 1986 in Welwyn Garden City. He studied International Relations at the University of Exeter before taking a gap year. Lieutenant Boyce joined the Army in September 2009 and commissioned from the Royal Military Academy Sand-hurst into 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards in August 2010. From there he attended his Formation Reconnaissance Troop Leaders’ Course, immediately followed by the Platoon Commander’s Division. He joined B Squadron in May 2011 during the early stages of Mission Specific Training, and took com-mand of 1st Troop in July. His reputation as a highly competent, decisive and inspirational young offi-cer preceded him; his reports from both the Troop Leaders’ and Platoon Commanders’ courses were exceptional, and his impact on his new command was immediate and profound. Fit and confident, he was equally comfortable in his Scimitar or on foot.

David was a consummate leader. He was a popular, good humoured member of the Officers’ Mess, an avid skier who was due to assist in the running of the Regiment’s 2012 Winter Sports Team, and was well respected by all ranks. He was also a keen sailor, sailing for the Army Offshore Racing Team during the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race 2010 and numerous other regattas for the RAC and the Army. He was a man of huge potential but his legacy will endure in the troops he trained and led. David leaves behind a loving family, his father Martin, mother Andrea, sister Charlotte and girlfriend Jodie. His regimental family is richer for his short but accomplished time within our ranks. Our thoughts and condolences are with his family and friends at this tragic time.

Lieutenant Colonel Jasper de Quincey Adams, Commanding Officer, 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards said:

Lieutenant David Boyce was a charming young officer who, quite simply, represented everything that that is great about the Regiment and British Army. He died while commanding his soldiers on operations in a complex and demanding environment. He led from the front, setting the very highest standards, and in-spired his men and peers alike. Tall, powerful and with an infectious smile he, like so many officers of his generation, was committed to his men and determined to succeed on the operations. He had the gravitas of one far more senior but maintained the infectious enthusiasm of a young man doing what he loved. His men adored him and showed him the level of loyalty that is reserved for the very best. David had so much to give, so much to look forward to and so many opportunities ahead of him. The Regiment has been denied one of our best, and a professional commander for the future has been taken from us. But our tragic loss is insignificant compared to that of his family; his mother, father, sister and Jodie all of whom he loved so much. And so to them we offer prayers and our thoughts, and our thanks too, for sharing with us someone so very special. David was a man to walk the mountains with, a man to go to war with and he will never be forgotten.

LANCE CORPORAL RICHARD SCANLON

1ST TROOP

B (FORMATION RECONNAISSANCE) SQUADRON

COMBINED FORCE NAHR-E-SARAJ (NORTH)

1ST THE QUEEN’S DRAGOON GUARDS

Lance Corporal Richard Scanlon served with B Squadron, 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards. He de-ployed to Afghanistan on the 18th of October as part of the Task Force Helmand Formation Reconnais-sance Squadron. After completing his in theatre training, he moved forward to the Combined Force Nahr-e-Saraj (North) (CF NES(N)) Main Operating Base PRICE, from where his Troop was one of four tasked with securing two vital routes passing through the District, as well as supporting ground holding companies North of Helmand’s second city, Gereshk. On the morning of Thursday 17 November Lance Corporal Scanlon’s vehicle was struck by a powerful Improvised Explosive Device, which killed both him and Lieutenant David Boyce. Lance Corporal Scanlon joined the Army in November 1998, he passed out of training in October 1999 and joined his regiment, 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards in Catterick. He was known for his fantastic sense of humour, he had the ability to make anyone smile, whatever the circumstance. Lance Corporal Scanlon deployed to Bosnia in 2001 and Iraq in 2003 and 2005 before deciding to leave the Army in July 2006. After being dissatisfied in a number of civilian jobs he rejoined the Army and the Regiment in September 2009 and was promoted to Lance Corporal in October 2010. He was a genuine regimental character and will be hugely missed by all who knew him. He leaves be-hind his mother Cherry, step-father Robert, father Raymond and sisters Lisa and Emma. Lieutenant Colonel Jasper de Quincey Adams, Commanding Officer, 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards said:

Lance Corporal Richard Scanlon was one of life's great characters, always with an infectious smile and

a tangible love of life. An experienced soldier, calm under pressure, he was hand picked as the Troop

Leader’s gunner on a demanding operational tour. He was a fighting soldier, cracking in the field or on

operations, and in camp, his flamboyant character meant he could find fun in any situation. His appetite

for the finer things in life was prodigious and had earned him one of the more memorable nicknames -

nothing was ever half hearted for Lance Corporal Scanlon! We will miss him terribly, barracks life will

have lost some of its sheen, but our tragic loss is insignificant compared to that of his family; his mother,

stepfather, father and sisters Lisa and Emma, all of whom he loved so much. Lance Corporal Scanlon

will never be forgotten and our memories of him will forever be cherished.

the afghan hound - regimental comrades...

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