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HQ Squadron QDG
22 April 2009

The Welsh Cavalry return from Afghanistan

Soldiers of Headquarters Squadron, 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards (QDG), led by their Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Alan Richmond returned from Afghanistan yesterday afternoon (Tuesday 21 April) to a hero’s welcome at Dempsey Barracks, the home of the QDG, in Sennelager, Germany.

WO1(RSM) Jerome Tyson, Son Toby, Daughter Megan [Left]    

Major James McCullouch, Wife Ali, Son Charlie [Right]

Friends and families displayed with pride their home-made banners and waved welsh flags.  The troops were met with cheers and many hugs after an arduous tour in Afghanistan.

Cpl Morné Combrinck (AGC), Wife Marlize, Son Maynard

Lt Col Alan Richmond said “It’s great to come back to an absolutely fantastic homecoming, the rear party and families have really made it one to remember.  The Regiment has had a very demanding tour over Op HERRICK 9, not only for the soldiers, but also for their families and loved ones left behind in Germany and UK.  However, the Regiment will not be fully back together until the return of A Squadron in early May and then we can all take well earned leave”.

C Squadron QDG returned from Afghanistan on March 23rd 2009.  A Squadron QDG are due to complete their tour at the beginning of May.  A Squadron’s homecoming will mean that all the QDG elements who have been serving an operational tour as part of 3 Commando Brigade have returned to their home base in Germany.

The QDG Battle Group (BG) was located in the Garmsir district of Helmand Province and had around 800 soldiers operating within it, of which 214 were QDG. Although not the largest BG in terms of man power it covered the largest area in southern Helmand. The district, known as the Snakes Head due to the way it appears when viewing it on a map, is a large area of green zone that is crisscrossed with large irrigation ditches and canals and runs southwards for 65 kilometres.

The QDG BG was a collection of many different cap badges and contains all three services, however the majority of the manpower was provided by the following; HQ, A & C Squadron (Sqn) QDG, B Company (Coy), 1st Battalion The Rifles (1 RIFLES), D Coy 2nd Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles (2 RGR) and 26 Sqn 32 Engineer Regiment. Also attached to the BG was C Coy 1 RIFLES who mentored the Afghan National Army. The QDG and BG HQ were set up in Forward Operating Base (FOB) DELHI which sits on the edge of the Helmand River and Garmsir district centre.

1st Troop (Tp) C Sqn provided the Mastiff element to the BG.  These strong and robust vehicles provided excellent protection to its crew and passengers. The troop were out on the ground almost daily, offering protection to convoys by leading them through routes into the snakes head on which the Taliban try to lay improvised explosive devices (IEDs). They do this to try and disrupt our movement and undermine the ever developing security in the area. However, it didn’t take the crews long to gain a sixth sense in finding IEDs and more often than not they were found in plenty of time and made safe by IED disposal experts. 1st Tp were also used in the offensive role, any deliberate action taken against the Taliban by the BG always involves them and their Mastiffs. Each vehicle is well armed and provides excellent fire support to the dismounted soldiers.

A Sqn QDG were based in FOB DWYER which is a short drive into the desert from FOB DELHI.  They provide reconnaissance for the BG and close support to dismounted troops in the green zone. Half of the Sqn were employed in their usual armoured vehicles of Scimitars and Spartans and the other half were mounted on the new Jackal vehicle. During operations in the green zone the Scimitars and Spartans sat outside in the desert looking into and reporting on likely Taliban positions, using their excellent sighting systems. Having the ability to stand off outside of the green zone also enabled them to use the 30mm cannon to support any friendly force action and assist in getting them out of trouble if needed.

The new Jackal vehicle proved very popular with the A Sqn crews; it is extremely fast across the desert and can be manoeuvred with ease inside the green zone. It has the same weapon systems as a Mastiff and for an open top vehicle it gives a surprising amount of protection. In recent operations it has provided a rapid means of engaging the Taliban and prevented their ability to move freely. The Sqn also engaged a number of Taliban with the Javelin, a missile system normally reserved for destroying tanks but which has proven extremely useful in tackling the hard packed mud compounds the Taliban use as cover.

BGHQ and HQ Sqn were split in three locations Camp BASTION and FOBs DELHI and DWYER. The Quartermaster who was based in BASTION ensured that the FOBs got the support they need, from providing rations and ammunition, spares for vehicles and of course mail. FOB DWYER not only provided A Sqn with a home but also a logistical hub for FOB DELHI and the patrol bases in the snakes head area. As it is a sizable FOB it can store a large amount of supplies, these are then collected and distributed amongst the BG.

FOB DELHI was the home of the BG, where all operations were planned and then executed. However, all of our actions south of the snakes head normally required the command team to deploy forward with the fighting troops. As well as the ground holding companies there were a lot of other elements that made up the BG and without them the success that the BG achieved would have been much less significant. Small groups of soldiers have been thrown together to help guide and mentor the Afghan Police, Border Police and Army. Without their hard work and dedication trying to improve security around the area of Garmsir and the snakes head, the local Afghans would find it that much harder to better their own lives. With help, new roads have been laid, bridges built and check points established all of which contribute to a flourishing community with a busy town centre that was completely deserted last May.

The difference in Garmsir from October last year to April this year has been quite staggering. Warrant Officer Class One, Regimental Sergeant Major, Jerome Tyson said “The Regiment has not been on an operational tour that I can think of where over the space of six months there has been such a dramatic change not only from our gains in fighting the Taliban but also our ability to win the local people over and set the conditions for stability and development in the Garmsir area”.  

Photos: Sgt Anthony Boocock, RLC
     

C Squadron QDG
24 March 2009

The Welsh Cavalry begin to return from Afghanistan

Troops serving with 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards (QDG) have started to return from Afghanistan following their 6 month tour of duty in the country.

Around 100 soldiers from C Squadron were welcomed home by their friends and families as they returned to their barracks in Sennelager, Germany on 23 March, after flying into Paderborn airport.

Sergeant Jason Davies,
1st Troop Sergeant, C Sqn [Left]  

C Squadron deployed on Op HERRICK 9 at the beginning of September and worked predominantly in the Musa Qaleh area, in southern Afghanistan as part of Battle Group North West under the command of 2nd Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles.  Musa Qaleh is about the size of Sennelager in Germany or Ammanford in Wales.  Meanwhile 1st Troop C Squadron had been based with Battle Group South under the Command of the QDG.  The Sennelager cavalrymen deployed to Afghanistan as part of 3 Commando Brigade.            

C Squadron deployed as a Mastiff Group, providing recce, observation posts, flank protection, intimate support for infantry ground troops to assist with their assaults as well as being involved in resupplies.

SSgt Jason Wilcox from Crosshands in South West Wales is Javelin Troop Leader for C Squadron QDG.  He said he saw a “real transformation of the young men of C Squadron during the tour.  It was a fast learning curve for them and they went away as boys and came back as men”.

Jason’s wife Jennifer and Daughter’s Erin (aged 3) and Jessica (aged 2) were there to meet him along with many other families as the buses pulled into Dempsey Barracks, Sennelager, the QDG homebase in Germany. 

On asked his thoughts about being home, Jason added: “The homecoming reception was overwhelming and seeing all the wives, girlfriends and Regiment out to greet us was fantastic.  I have done every tour the Regiment has deployed on in the last 17 years and this has definitely been the best homecoming so far.”

QDG, nicknamed the ‘Welsh Cavalry’, recruit from across Wales and the Border Counties.