An evening with 40 CDO

[Allan Buckley]

Last evening I was privelaged to attend a talk given by a serving member of 40 CDO about their time in IRAQ. It was very interesting and very well recieved by all who attended.I came away very proud of my association with 40 CDO and of the knowledge that once again the Marines have proved to the world that they can handle any job given them .Well done the boys
ex 40 57/58 62/63
Allan B

[harry hackedoff]

Allan beat me to it (bastard )
Gents, it was indeed a priveledge and a pleasure to attend the presentation, given by one of Command Coy`s Officers, followed by an informal chat and a few wets .
He began with a brief description of what 40 have been up to, during the two years leading up to the Iraq War. they`ve certainly been busy Following this was an in depth heads-up on their part in the war itself. The initial heli-bourne invasion was the biggest since Suez, with part of the unit flying off Ocean with the ARG( Amphib. Ready Group) and the remainder flying in from Kuwait. Primary targets for D-day were two pumping stations which suply oil to off-shore discharge stations, in order to prevent the Iraqis from flooding the Gulf with oil. Very accurate sat phots showed these in amazing detail, backed up by photo-recce shots from Tornados. These showed very flat terrain, with raised roads between all tactical areas. What they failed to show, was the flat area was a sea of mud. Elmers SEALs soon found out, however, as all of their vehicles sank up to their bollocks The pumping stations and some command bunkers were taken easily and 40 soon reached(and then passed) their limit of tactical exploitation.
As we know, 42 did not land that first night, (reasons elsewhere on these forums) so 40 were left without protection on the Northern flank. With an Iraqi armoured column of some 70-odd tanks bearing down on them, C. O. turns to Anti-Tnk Officer" How mant tnks did you say?" "Seventy-odd, Sir" "And how many Milan rounds have we got left?" "Er, sixty-eight, Sir" Speedy calls for Spectre gunships(times two) and several A10s meant the Tanks weren`t going anywhere fast. Some of the BBC footage with Clive Myree was shot during this first night, and subsequently with the boys in and around oil storage facility. You may remember Myree talking to camera with a Milan firing post, set up on a bank behind him.
40 had a busy time throughout the whole campaign and set their stamp on what was to follow by the sheer agression they displayed in the early days. At one time, they controlled a town of forty-odd thousand people with less than two-thirds of the Unit, again footage showing foot patrols and house searches and prisoners being told to "face the effing wall" was shot by Myree.
All in all, a very thorough briefing which was enjoyed by all present. After this was a questions sesh which was halted, temporarily, by the question"What`s happened to Saddam, has any one seen him?" Imagine my surprise when me old mate Saddam bimbles into the room, waving to the cheering throng like a true star After a few phots, "Saddam" removed his mask to reveal non other than our own Madmick
"For christs sake, put the bloody mask back on", I thought

[Rogue Chef]

Ahoy there!
I was lucky to spend about half of my 22 years at 40 Cdo RM. It comes as no surprise to me that they upheld the traditions of our Corps at the highest level.

Good on you lads.

[JR]

RC,Yes I'm in agreement with you there,we all have our favourites but to me the great 40 Cdo is the best.Aye JR

[exvmremf]

I was Anti-tanks 40, 80-83. Although the troop will have changed several times since then, I bet they were relishing zotting off a bucket load of rounds at moving targets.
I remember they reckoned a Milan teams life expectancy after firing the first round was about 12.5 seconds, the time it took the missile to travel the full 2km before they were targetted and taken out.
Obviously the Iraqi's were a bit slower off the mark, or just crap!!!!!!!!

Good effort lads.

[harry hackedoff]

From the till receipts,
Milan rounds expended during conflict.............120
How much does one cost, today
Cheers, exvmremf

[GINGE]

I think their over priced

FALKLANDS
The Argentine defense on Mt. Harriet consisted of four company sized, 360 degree positions, well concealed among craggy boulders. Due to the open terrain, 42 Commando, Royal Marines chose to make a night attack. In the early part of the night four MILAN missile teams took up positions on the approaches to Mt. Harriet. The teams did not have night sights for the MILANs. The gun crews were able to engage Argentine machine gun positions by observing tracer fire, estimating the distance to the target, and firing the MILAN as the target was illuminated by artillery or mortars. The first missile fired at a machine gun position hit low, a second scored a direct hit at 1500 meters, passing through sandbags and earth filled drums. Another was launched with devastating effect against a machine gun position concealed in a cave. The cave measured 1.5 meters across at the entrance. In all, 15 MILAN missiles were fired by 42 Commando during the night attack, and 10 achieved direct hits. LTC Vaux of the Commandos admitted that it was a "pretty expensive way of doing it" since each missile cost $35,000. However, when the mission requires it, it is an effective option.

[Sisyphus]

Pride in a Unit is great. And 'cos we had trickle drafting means you get to have more than one to go at it !!!!!! :laola:

[Guest]

do 40 intend doing the same at Norton Manor? maybe Flo Jed or anyone else serving can enlighten us

[harry hackedoff]

T, the guy was down here on holls and kindly offered to give the same briefing he does as part of the P R role they do for Sandhurst etc. I appologised for the fact that it has pissed down for most of his stay here, "I`ve had enough sun for a while" he said
He knows all about you, and your Easter Eggs mate
Aye,

[Guest]

don`t tell me he`s pissed that he didn`t get one

[harry hackedoff]

He certainly didn`t have one in his mouth mate nor any plums either. V down to earth bloke
One thing that came across, which I never realised, is how well Royal integrates with USMC. They had SEALS attached and a MEU in tow. Definately flavour of the month as far as Elmer is concerned.
Which must piss the Whitehall Mafia off, no end.
Daily Mail, anyone
Don`t think so.
Aye,

[Allan Buckley]

Trust Harry to question my parenthood , but as I have always maintained 40 are the best absolutely no doubt Wheres my blue lanyard
Allan

[Guest]

the Whitehall Mafia.........Hmmm, did you hear our cult on about the guy from the MoD who topped himself, very nicely placed emotional bit in there, the voice wavering.

Allan, you mean you don`t have a 40 Cdo tie, Light Blue Daggers?

[Allan Buckley]

Bootneck as a guillable sort of guy are you kidding about the tie , if not where from
Allan