Britain's best primed for a taste of combat
Otis Willie
(EXCERPT) Mon Apr 15, 6:12 AM ET
Andrea Stone USA TODAY
BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (news - web sites) -- If there was any
doubt that the war in Afghanistan has entered a new phase, it was
dispelled last week when two bagpipers led a group of elite British
Royal Marines off two C-130 cargo planes.
Those 120 Royal Marines are among 1,700 British combat troops
streaming into this former Soviet base. They could be used to lead a
spring offensive in the guerrilla war that has evolved since March's
American-led offensive, Operation Anaconda, routed a large group of
al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters in eastern Afghanistan.
The effort is the biggest British combat deployment since the 1991
Persian Gulf War (news - web sites) and the first for the Royal
Marines since Great Britain drove invading Argentine forces from the
Falkland Islands 20 years ago.
Americans still account for 10,000 of the 12,000 coalition forces
fighting terrorists in Afghanistan, including 3,000 paratroopers from
the 101st Airborne Division in Fort Campbell, Ky. But with the return
of the Army's 10th Mountain Division to its home at Fort Drum, N.Y.,
the momentum has shifted to ''Camp Gibraltar,'' the nascent British
tent city springing up at the end of the runway here.
A Royal Marine spokesman, Lt. Col. Paul Harradine, chafes at the
notion that the British are replacing or taking the lead from U.S.
troops. ''This remains an American-led coalition,'' he says.
Until now, the British have limited their fighting role. British
special operations forces took part in a major battle near Tora Bora,
in eastern Afghanistan, in December. But they are not believed to have
contributed troops to Anaconda last month. About 200 Royal Marines
have been at Bagram since November to provide base security. They
recently joined U.S. soldiers searching caves in eastern Afghanistan
as part of another operation, dubbed Mountain Lion.
But the new Royal Marine deployment marks a turning point for the
British military in Afghanistan. It comes just as the British prepare
to hand over command of the international peacekeeping force in Kabul
to Turkey.
The contingent is being led by 650 Royal Marines from the elite ''45
Commando'' battalion off the HMS Ocean in the Arabian Sea. The outfit,
which will be ready for action this month, is specially trained in
mountain and cold-weather fighting. That remains relevant because,
although the leaves have turned green here at the base, there is still
snow in the mountains where al-Qaeda renegades are believed to be
hiding.
''This theater suits us extremely well,'' Harradine says. ''It's cold
above the snow line. It's rugged. We think we can bring something to
the party in that terrain.''
Since Anaconda, al-Qaeda ''has changed tactics. This is almost a
guerrilla war,'' Harradine says.
The Royal Marines have a reputation as some of the toughest warriors
in the world. Those who earn the Royal Marine green beret have made it
through a 30-week infantry course, compared with 17 weeks for U.S.
Marines. The rigorous course ends in a ''Tarzan and Assault'' test
that includes climbing across treetops, crawling through flooded
tunnels, speed-marching 9 miles and, finally, slogging 30 miles in
eight hours while carrying a 50-pound pack.
Future clashes are expected to resemble terrorist attacks more than
conventional military battles. Cpl. Sam Wear, 31, says he and other
Royal Marines are ready. ''The commando (knows) guerrilla tactics,''
he says. ''You have to be one step ahead all the time.''
Nearly a third of Britain's 6,500 Royal Marines are here or on their
way to Bagram. And unlike the Americans down the runway, they are
wasting no time making themselves as comfortable as possible.
Both forces have had to clear away mines, unexploded bombs and all
manner of Soviet debris, including the carcasses of MiG fighter jets.
But while U.S. soldiers sleep in tents pitched at odd angles amid
overturned trucks and bombed-out mud houses, British engineers have
cleared a smooth patch for tidy rows of tents. Five months after
arriving, the Americans still eat precooked rations heated in boiling
water. The newly disembarked British are serving fresh food, including
Cornish pasties (stuffed turnovers) and chips (fries).
If the dust is thick in both camps, the anticipation is keener on the
British side.
Payback is part of the motivation for the Royal Marines of 45
Commando. But so is a chance to see action for the first time since
their unit battled in the harsh terrain of the Falklands in 1982.
''It's been a long time coming, and I think everyone's going to make
the most of it,'' says Marine Alan Sullivan, a combat air controller
who, at 20, has been alive as long as the commandos have been waiting
for another fight.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/usatoday/20020415/ts_usatoday/4026767
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Otis Willie
Associate Librarian
The American War Library
http://www.americanwarlibrary.com
Stoney
--
***All views expressed here are my own personal thoughts. No offence is
implied or sought. Everyone is entitled to their own views and freedom of
speech.***
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