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2 PARA tough it out in Helmand's 'Green Zone'
A Military Operations news article

13 Aug 08

Coming face to face with the Taliban is all in a day's work for the soldiers and officers of B Company, 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, at their base on the edge of the notorious Green Zone in Aghanistan's volatile Helmand province.

Around 250 soldiers live in one of the most dangerous and austere bases that UK troops occupy - Forward Operating Base (FOB) Inkerman in the Upper Sangin Valley.

This is the first time that a company has been based there, during the summer fighting months, for a full six month tour. It enables troops to better get to know what the normal pattern of life is and how the enemy operates.























The Paras go out on patrol, defending the area and interdicting the enemy forces to the north and south of the base. There is estimated to be an 80 per cent chance of them coming into contact with the Taliban on even the most routine of patrols:

"Fear lives in every man and dealing with that is part and parcel of soldering. It's a cold courage the boys display every time they step out," says Lieutenant Wes Smart, 25, Platoon Commander with B Company, describing how his men deal with the possibility of engaging with the enemy every time they leave the FOB.

The company has a wealth of assets available to them to give them the upper hand when going up against the Taliban. These include mortars, artillery, grenade machine guns and snipers, along with the latest cameras, sensors and unmanned aerial vehicles. They can also call upon precision guided artillery, attack helicopters and close air support to give them extra help when needed.

"I think we are achieving our objectives; certainly over the last two months that has become quite obvious. This FOB and the company operating here does achieve the aim," Major Russell Lewis, 35, Company Commander for B Company 2 PARA at FOB Inkerman, explains.

"We lost three [soldiers] to a suicide bomber and immediately after the event it was incredibly hard. They were the first losses for the Battalion as well out here and as you can imagine the atmosphere in the FOB was incredibly sombre and upset. But what was amazing though was how quickly people dealt with it either as individuals or groups. It is amazing how just allowing people to talk amongst themselves really helps them," Major Lewis added.

Life in the FOB is tough going for the soldiers. It was originally just a compound until it was set up in 2007 as a patrol base. Sadly it was also where Captain Dave Hicks from 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment (The Vikings) earned his posthumous Military Cross for his actions in trying to defend the base from being overrun by the Taliban.

The FOB has since been bolstered with defences and areas which provide overhead cover when mortars and rockets get fired into the camp. The living conditions are very basic with the soldiers sleeping out in the open on a cot bed with only a mosquito net to protect them from the elements. They also have to wash their own kit and wash themselves in the open in solar showers:

"There is nothing here but you get out what you put in; we have made furniture, which passes the time," Private Martin Smith, 24, explains. "We get mail sent from home and the Help for Heroes and Provision for Paras send out welfare packages which are good."

They do have some simple luxuries such as running water, which is pumped up from a well bored by Royal Engineers, and electricity from generators.

The soldiers are also able to call home using satellite phones, watch DVDs, play on Playstations, and exercise using makeshift free-weights and anything else they can find to maintain their fitness levels.

Major Russell Lewis is keen to express the appreciation he and his soldiers feel for the the support they have had from home:

"I don't think people have forgotten about us. The amount of welfare parcels that we have been sent from people that we have never heard of nor have any connection with the Armed Forces is touching, like when we get a parcel with a small note from a small church somewhere saying we just wanted to say how much we are supporting you.

"The guys are doing an amazing job in incredibly challenging conditions and they do it really well. The nation should be proud of its armed forces because the people out here are working really hard in a really hard environment and producing impressive results."

Airborne Legend wrote:It's an ACOG dude.