Inside this issue:Welcome 238 Hq & Sp Sqn Groundhog Day LA D 3468 AESIt’s a Spr’s Life 8930 AESMedia Day 111233 AES7 Tp PB RahimBuild up 1516171825 Fd Sqn A Spr’s perspectiveWise Words(Available on ArmyNet)Beetle Juice 19Issue 1Page 1Commanding Oficer’s Foreword(Lt Col J H Ridge)SCARAB TELEGRAPHEDITION 1 XXVI Well I see no need for a lengthy introducon so I will keep this foreword short and sweet. The idea of the Scarab Telegraph is to give the soldiers of the Task Force Hel- mand Engineer Group the chance to explain what they are up to. I have read through this rst edion, and it does just that. The arcles are penned by everyone in the Group, from Sapper to Major and I hope that we have managed to refrain from using too much Army phraseology or, wors e sll, 3 leer abbreviaons. With luck you will nd it in plain English. I also hope that you nd the arcles relevant. If they are not, please get in contact. We are happy to change the format to cover what you are interested in he aring about. The only real constraint is operaonal security. You will not nd anything in here about what operaons we are about to conduct, only reecons of what we have already done. I suspect over me , the number of amusing photos and mickey taking will also increase.Finally, can I echo the senments of later authors by thanking you all for your s upport. I know it is dicult to have husbands, wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, sons, daughters et- cetera away. I will do everything I can to look aer them.
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Here it is, Edition 1 of the Scarab Telegraph; a irst copy collector’s item! After a
slightly longer trip than most of us expected, the deployed elements of 38 HQ and Sp Sqn now have a
irm base in Camp Bastion. Having been through an extensive training package in the UK, RSOI con-
irmed the skills we’d developed and we are ready to meet the challenges ahead. We’ll be busy – weknow the diverse range of specialist capabilities we have can be pulled across the whole of Task
Force Helmand. We also know our support to the Field Squadrons will directly inluence their ability
to help transition. So it’s going to be busy, but that’s a good thing! The hand over from 44 HQ & Sp
Sqn went well; the outgoing Sqn looking after us through the changeover. So here we are, on task.
However, no irst edition would be complete without a mention for the families and support back
home; thank you, I know you’ll be with us every moment of the tour.
As I write this the sun is shining and the heat is bearable but a few days ago we were deluged by a
sandstorm for over 24 hours. Tents were blown and everything was covered. The Afghans tell me
that they have rarely experienced such an event in their life-time and found it as challenging as we
did.
I’m sure the sand blasting did little for my smooth skinned complexion nor my ability to see
any distance at all. Sand found it’s way into every ‘nook and cranny’ and we will, no doubt, be wash-ing the dirt out of our noses and ears for the next few weeks!
It was a good piece of advice that Jesus (yep!—you knew I would mention him) gave when he
warned that it was only the ’foolish’ person who builds his house on such an inconsistent and
changeable surface as sand. Of course the R.E. know this full well and their professional expertise
prevents the many new buildings in Helmand from just falling over. Right here’s the moral of the
story— we need to build our lives on a irm foundation such as our, FAITH, LOVE and PURPOSE oth-
erwise it’s like being in a permanent sand storm where we’re knocked about all over the place and
have limited vision.
Donkey Raise—straight leg Donkey Raise—soleus raise
XXVI
Page 7
SCARAB TELEGRAPH
EDITION 1
Q Muscles Top Tip for Training
Each month WO2 Richards will give us his top tip for training. This is aimed at the guys out in the re-
mote locations that have little or no itness equipment to train with. This doesn’t mean that you guys
at home can’t give it a go too.
Donkey raises, straight leg—Get one of the boys on your back and use a raised platform to stand on.
With straight legs raise on the toes and return back down lowering the heels.
Soleus raise—As per straight leg ex but bend the knees to work the soleus which is the muscle group
Looking at the Regiment in a simplified way, 26 Engineer Regiment provides the entire engineer support to the Bri-
gade across the whole of Helmand Province. The Regiment is split down into Squadrons of approximately 100 peo-
ple with each Field Squadron attached to a Battle Group, about 1000 people, operating within a set district or area.
Each Squadron is then split down further into Troops of around 25 Soldiers who are then usually based with an in-
fantry Company which is comparable in size to our Squadrons. The Troop can then be split down further into 3 Sec-
tions of 8 to physically complete tasks on the ground. The only exception to this are 25 Field Squadron who are the
TALISMAN Squadron for the Regiment. TALISMAN are tasked to do route proving and clearing as required across
the area. To achieve this they use an impressive array of vehicles that each has a role in ensuring a route is clear
of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).
The real emphasis for 26 Engineer Regiment at the moment is focused on developing a sustainable Afghan National
Security Forces (ANSF) Engineering capability, including construction and route clearance. This work is done by
members of 38 HQ and Support Squadron attached to the Brigade Advisory Group. Therefore much of our work is
involved in working with the ANSF to construct and maintain checkpoints so they have secure and stable base loca-
tions to live and work from. Equally, the ANSF engineering capability is now at a level where they can conduct
many tasks without the support of ISAF Engineers; however their main limiting factor is the number of engineers
they have. With our help and support they can increase the speed of construction and ultimately the speed with
which they can take back responsibility for their own country.
Royal Engineers are a real asset on the ground as each Sapper is triple traded; this means that each one of them is
a trained Soldier, Combat Engineer and Tradesman. With 18 trades ranging from Electricians and Carpenters to
Plant operators and Surveyors, each Soldier brings their own skills and abilities to their Troop and Squadron ena-
bling us to complete a vast array of combat (military engineering) and artisan (trade related) tasks.
The day to day Engineer work that we do in Afghanistan is covered broadly by two concepts, Mobility Support and
Survivability, or in simple terms that is building roads and bridges or building protected locations for people to live
and work from.
Mobility support is focused on enabling the movement of personnel and or stores from one place to another. This
includes the local population and contractors moving to their markets and work, along with allowing ANSF, support-
ed by ISAF, to increase security for the people of Helmand Province.
Mobility Support is focused on getting anything through, be it the local population and contractors to their markets
and work, to allowing ANSF and ISAF to dominate and hold areas of ground to increase security and disrupt the
insurgents. Mobility Support is upgrading and securing routes, it includes bridging and route clearance, it also in-
volves all types of explosive entry, although this is being used less and less and only as a last resort, for example; to
quickly clear a route for evacuating a casualty. There are also specific engineer units solely trained for route clear-
ance, predominantly the Talisman team whose primary role is to go out in the front of combat logistic patrols to en-
sure the routes are safe and cleared of IEDs. There are also specific Engineer counter IED and search teams that
find and dispose of IEDs. The primary role in mobility support for a Field Troop is bridging using either military
equipment or bespoke non military equipment bridges (constructed from local materials) along with upgrading roads,
i.e. the construction of culverts along with the filling of holes etc.
Survivability, for the most part includes force protection and water supply which enables a secure and sanitised area
where both ANSF and ISAF can live and prepare for future tasks. The focus for the Field Troops will be on the con-
struction, renovation and deconstruction of these bases. They will assist the ANSF in constructing vehicle check-
points and small patrol bases although as mentioned already, the improved Afghan Military Engineering capabilityallows them to conduct many tasks now independently, or with little ISAF direction.
So here we are the start of 7 Troop’s tour of OP HERRICK 16. The touchdown at camp bason was a smooth one for most peo-
ple, but looking at the wide eyes of
the younger less experienced lads it
was a bit unnerving. We seled in to
our RSOI accommodaon at around
0400 hrs, ready for our day zero. The
room was full of bunk beds, dust and
anxiety. Most people stayed up for
breakfast even though we had been
over fed throughout our journey to
Camp Bason, but we certainly were
very red. So with day zero we were
treated to a welcome lie in, a chance
to sort out our kit and use the welfare
facilies. Aer a good few hours of
sleep we were moved to a more per-manent accommodaon area.
RSOI began with an early but very
slow start. We were introduced to a
varied array of briefs, ranging from
ones that were aimed at junior sol-
diers right through to the more senior ocers. So by the end of the day there were many nodding heads. The following few
days of RSOI were early starts and a rushed breakfast. The acvies varied from a walk to the ranges followed by some zeroing
of our weapons, to honing our basic skills and drills. Aer our 6 days of RSOI it was me for the Troop to focus on our rst
tasks. Some were o to do gunnery and driving courses, while most of the troop were preparing for our rst bridge build. For
this task we spent 2 days doing rehearsals and making sure all the stores were accounted for. We also built most of the bridgeto refresh ourselves and make the build a lot easier. It was then me for us to move out of camp bason by helicopter, and
into what was to be our new home for the next month. We hit the ground running with our rst task beginning the following
On the build up to deployment the Sqn under took various training packages and exercises to pre-
pare us for our forth coming tour of Afghanistan: Op HERRICK 16. After a long journey from the UK
we arrived at our destination CAMP BASTION. After we had received a welcome brief we headed for
bed.
Before anyone can deploy onto you have to complete the RSOI package over a 6 day period consist-
ing of a wide ranging subjects from zeroing your rile, ground sign awareness to detainee handling.It was a useful refresher for many. On completion of the RSOI we had 2 days of Engineer speciic
training covering the sort of tasks we may undertake in the coming months.
After 8 long days and many months of pre-deployment training the troop were inally ready to de-
ploy onto the ground. We reached our Patrol Base, settled in quickly and morale was very high. We
took over the vehicles and equipment from the guys who were leaving for home.
After only being in theatre just over two weeks and already completing a couple of task’s the morale
of The Mighty 9 Troop keeps rising. The troop commander is carrying out RECCE’s for future tasks
and we are very keen on to move onto our next AO and carry on the high standard that is exceptedof The Mighty 9 Troop,
Large lat packed containers made of thick strong wire containing a large sandbag. Thesandbag is illed with sand to produce a large protective brick. The individual HESCO blocks are then
used like giant bricks to produce a protective wall for our bases.
HLS - Helicopter Landing Site
Barma - Our drill used to ind Improvised Explosive Devices with a hand held metal detector.
Equipment MASTIFF - Large armoured truck with a with a heavy machine gun for protection.
TALISMAN - A series of vehicles used to clear a route of improvised explosive devices.
HUSKY - Another type of large armoured vehicle.
MWT - Medium wheeled tractor (dump truck).
SLDT(P) - Self Loading Dump Truck (Protected) - A small dump truck.
Apache - Ugly looking attack helicopter.
Chinook - Large helicopter featured in the ilm Big Friendly Giant.
Sea-king - Royal Navy helicopter used as search and rescue in the UK.
Merlin-
Medium to large Royal Air Force and Navy helicopter used to move Troops around from