SOLDIER'S DIARY/LIEUT PADDY BURY:Last week Irishman Paddy Bury explained why he joined the British army's Royal Irish Regiment. Here he writes about predeployment training
AS TEMPERATURES touched 50 degrees in the midday sun, Ranger Company, 1st Battalion, the Royal Irish Regiment, prepared to make its final assault.
As 7 Platoon moved through a myriad of dried-up riverbeds towards our line of departure, all eyes were focused on the granite mountain that towered over the surrounding plateau of bush.
There could be no doubt as to where our objective was. It was the steepest, rockiest feature for miles around and the platoon would have to shake out and assault straight up it.
As our mortars crashed on to the hill we waited nervously in the wadi for the command to attack.
Our combat uniforms stuck tight to us, soaked through with sweat and sealed heat from our body armour. Up to 30kg of water, ammunition, radios, gun sights, spare barrels, medical kits, cleaning kits and rations hung, defying gravity, from our shoulders; and that was light.
We had already travelled through the night and over a mountain to drop off heavy ammunition to the machine guns that would afford us covering fire during the attack. The mortars lifted. The platoon let out a collective groan as calf muscles strained to pull each soldier to his feet.
Like staggering drunks, the platoon swayed into position and the sections moved forward to close with the enemy.
Ranger Company is manning a Forward Operating Base (Fob). Of the 120 or so men in the company, many are manning the strong points that defend the base. An equal number are out on patrol in the area, supported by dog handlers, interpreters, forward air controllers, snipers and even Apache helicopters. The operations room buzzes as the boss monitors the patrol's progress. A Quick Reaction Force sits ready to deploy at a moment's notice should anything happen. Further lucky men are asleep in the shelters.
Then there is the distinctive crump of a mortar firing. The alarm wails. Everyone runs for cover, bar those in key defensive posts who can only hope for the best.
Huge blasts sound within the camp, then silence. Someone screams. The stretcher party is confronted with an amputee squirming in his own blood. There is shock on their faces, but they quickly get stuck in. Over the net, the patrol says it has been fired on by the enemy and is looking to call in the Apaches. Suddenly, a a suspect vehicle is reported moving at speed towards his location.
Although anyone could be forgiven that the above incidents took place in Afghanistan, where the Irishmen of 1st Battalion, The Royal Irish Regiment are deployed to at present, they did not.
The Ranger Company attack was part of a live-firing exercise conducted in Kenya last October, while the events in the Forward Operating Base took place during an English winter near Norwich. Both were part of the pre-operational training and testing to which we were all subjected to prove that we were ready to go to Afghanistan.
The company was tested in the most realistic conditions possible, with the same stresses and frictions of war present that exist in Afghanistan today.
Moreover, training with all the attachments to the company allows everyone to familiarise themselves with how each other operates and what specialities they have.
In the build-up to operations, the training intensifies markedly, with new tactics and techniques to be learnt, theatre-specific information to digest and courses to be completed. In the oldest of military traditions, the hard-learnt lessons by those who have just returned from Afghanistan are passed on to those about to go, along with best wishes for a safe tour.
This training takes place amid an uncertainty that is characterised by the nature of military operations. Rumours abound. Soldiers gossip. We are going to Musa Qaleh. Or Sangin. On the 12th. Or the first.
And once things are confirmed for the last time, they inevitably change as the situation on the ground changes. Insurance policies are increased. Wills completed. A last period of leave taken with families. A St Patrick's Day parade before we go. And we're off.
Lieut Bury is from Wicklow. He is with his unit in Helmand province, Afghanistan