Reports from the front line

On arrival I was swept straight into the Reception, Staging and Onward Integration process that all deploying soldiers go through. This involves zeroing your weapon – to make sure that it still shoots straight following the long flight(!) – and a series of exercises to update troops on the latest tactics.

This is not just about how to fight the Taliban or work with the Afghan National Security Forces, amongst other topics the lectures also deal with driving in the desert, health, working with the plethora of journalists that are a daily feature of life in Afghanistan and emergency first aid refresher training.

After this I flew by Merlin helicopter to Lashkar Gah, my home for the next six months.

The population in the Lashkar Gah Main Operating Base has more than tripled since I was last here. The Provincial Reconstruction Team, incorporating the government officials, has grown exponentially – part of our remit is about improving Afghan governance and developing the Afghan economy after all.

The nice thing about Lash is that because of its proximity to the Helmand river there is even some evidence of plant life and greenery. Camp Bastion really is in the middle of the desert, and the dust and sand gets into everything.

There is even a garden in the compound where I am living tended by a very talented Afghan local, who is engaged in his own constant battle to keep the plants alive through the very harsh summer.

As I write, 16 Air Assault Brigade is about to take command of Task Force Helmand, with 4th Mechanised Brigade departing back to Catterick in North Yorkshire following their six month stint.

I spent three days taking over from Lieutenant Colonel James Carr-Smith, having the intricacies of being the Task Force Helmand Spokesman explained to me – I am new to the media game so James had his work cut out trying to explain everything in simple terms in such a short period!

Literally hours after taking the reins and hoping for a period of calm to get myself settled into the role, I was faced with my first serious incident – a suicide bomber blew himself up in front of a patrol from the Royal Gurkha Rifles in the Nahr-e Saraj District, killing a young soldier (Rifleman Suraj Gurung) and injuring two others. Although extremely unfortunate, situations like this obviously generate significant media attention which needs to be dealt with.

My part in this is to act as the conduit for information to the military communications chain of command and the media, providing press releases and making sure that what happened is reported correctly.

I must admit that I had been expecting to have to deal with this type of situation, but not quite so soon after taking over. Hopefully the coming months will not see me having to do this again.

My next task will be to fly up to Kabul to meet the various people that I will be working with in the British Embassy and the main International Security Assistance Force headquarters in Afghanistan.

I will then need to get around the area of operations in Helmand to get a better idea of how our operations are shaping up, and where I might find some interesting stories, either for my team to generate, or to send some embedded journalists to.

I have to say that I am very much looking forward to getting out and about.

I’ll keep you informed!