The Blue Hackle - Edition 7

8/13/2019 The Blue Hackle - Edition 7

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SCOTSThe Blue Hackle

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Disciplined and Ready

Commanding Officers Foreword

I want to pay tribute in this forward to the excellent work being done by the Rear OperationsGroup. Major MacGregor, Captain Franklin, Captain Steel and Captain Mclaren are workingexceptionally hard to keep the show on the road back in Fallingbostel. Their efforts have beenextraordinary whether it be welcoming home soldiers or deploying them. They approach eachevent with a professionalism and sense of purpose which reduces our workload in Afghanistan.They cope with the fastballs and short notice requests very well and still have time to plan achallenging and exciting programme for those soldiers and the families remaining in Germany. Forall their hard work, I thank them and know you do to.

The weather played its joker in Central Helmand over the last month and there was an unexpectedreturn to the arctic conditions we experienced over Christmas, but this time with the first snow for a

good number of years. However, it was not all bad as the pictures from the excellent and muchtalked about SUPERSTARS event show. As we crossed the half-way point in this long tour manytook their RnR this month and so have returned refreshed and ready for the final months.Elsewhere, Assaye Company deployed to Jordan, we wish them well and look forward to theirreport from this fascinating part of the world in up-coming editions. So, enjoy the latest BlueHackle and keep dry and warm in these final months of winter.

Commanding Officer 4 SCOTS: Lt Col J C Roddis MBE


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Manoeuvre Battlegroup Superstars

This month saw Captain Euan Philbin

and RSM Scott McQuillan organise a

Superstars style fitness competition.

Officers and soldiers from 4 nations

took part in what turned out to be anextremely gruelling test of strength

and determination to see which nation

really is the fittest.

120 officers and soldiers from Great

Britain, Denmark, Estonia and

Afghanistan formed 30 teams to

compete in the Superstars style

competition in Camp Bastion. Male

and female teams completed 8

gruelling exercises against the clock

The 4 SCOTS team Spartan put in an excellent performance; narrowly missing out on victory.

Rambo was the Afghan representation in the RCBSteam.


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in an attempt to be crowned the Superstars ofHelmand.

The Superstars competition required teams

to perform a series of physical tests;

challenging their strength and cardiovascular

fitness, against the clock. Each male team

had to complete a 2000m row, 160 x 50kg

bench press, 40 x 80kg deadlifts, 40 x 40m

farmers walk, 40 x tyre flips, 200 x box

jumps, 200 x squat thrusts and 4 x 400m run.

The events organiser andmale competition

runner-up, Captain Euan Philbin said

Maintaining a good level of physical fitness

while deployed on operations is important

and I wanted Superstars to be a fun and

competitive event that everyone could train

for in a team environment, adding Hopefully

the mixture of moving heavy weights and the

high intensity cardio-vascular exercises will

appeal to everyone; both those on Op

Massive and the racing snakes.

Despite fierce competition, it was the Danish

team The Little Mermaids who took

the top spot, narrowly beating the

Spartans from 4 SCOTS. Captain

Rune Kayser, the Danish team

Captain, said It was an excellent

competition that was very wellorganised and fun to be a part of. We

have been training for some time now

and it was good to see the benefits

today, adding We work with the jocks

on a daily basis in the Manoeuvre

Battlegroup, but it is good to be able to

beat them every now and again.

The female competition was also well

represented, but this time the resultswere reversed and saw the Danish team narrowly miss out on victory; a title claimed by the British

female officers of team Nice Apps.

The Danish female team seemed to attract thelargest crowds of the day.

The COs team still managed to smile 40 minutes laterat the finish line.


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Farewell to Danish Team 16

This month saw the departure of Danish Team 16 from Afghanistan. They have been an integralpart of the 4 SCOTS team for the past year; initially joining us on a cold spring morning inSennelager to begin Mission Specific Training (MST). They have worked as part of the ManoeuvreBattlegroup since that day, but having completed 4 months in Afghanistan it was time for them topass the baton onto Danish Team 17.

To mark the occasion, bidding farewell to Team 16 and welcoming Team 17, an afternoon ofcompetitive sports and a BBQ at Camp Viking was arranged. With the weather at the end ofJanuary seeing clear blue skies and daytime temperature in excess of 20 degrees, it was set to bean excellent event.

However, overthe course of 36hours, the

weatherchanged sodramatically thatwe were left

standing intemperatures aslow as minus 6and two inchesof snow. The

meteorologistsconfirmed thatthis suddenchange inweather, andsignificant

snowfall, issomething not witnessed in Helmand in the past 12 years. It also ruins plans for a Volleyballmatch!

The Danish relaxed in their famous YMCA, while the LiaisonOfficer found time for one last meeting.

What a difference a day makes


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With the Volleyballtournament cancelled,the farewell/welcomecelebrations cutstraight to the BBQ.

And yes, you can havea BBQ in sub-zerotemperatures. Underthe watchful eye of SgtMilne, the KBR chefsproduced a fine spreadfor the event and it was

a great opportunity formembers of theBattlegroup, from allnations, to cometogether in a socialenvironment; if only foran hour or so.

With Team 16 now safely back at home inDenmark, Team 17 are firmly in The Hot-seatand we look forward to working with them for

the remainder of Herrick 19.

Despite the cold, the BBQ was a great social occasion.

Sgt Milne cashes in on another free meal.


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Assaye Company

After returning from Camp Bastion in mid-November, A Company merged with B Company to formAssaye Company. Each platoon has taken the name of one of the Battalions antecedent

regiments; Dargai, Kandahar, Waterloo, Gordons, Camerons and Seaforths. The Jocks haveenjoyed a well-earned Christmas leave period and willnow switch their focus in the New Year to prepare forEx OLIVE GROVE, an overseas exercise in Jordan.The company will deploy in mid-February for a

month to take part in a joint exercise with theJordanian Army. There will also be time to visit someof the country's famous landmarks such as Petra andthe Wadi Rum as well as taking time to make themost of the excellent Adventurous Trainingopportunities available.

Aside from continuing to develop the Jocks soldieringabilities, Assaye Company has also provided themajority of the 4 SCOTS Nordic and Alpine skiingteams. During the first two weeks of December, LtBuchan took a team of seven Jocks to Sjusjoen inNorway to take part in a two week Nordic Skiingtraining camp. The Jocks were in for a bit of a shockto the system after assuming that 'skiing' mostlyinvolved going downhill and drinking into the earlyhours. They couldn't have been farther from thereality. A minimum of 4 hours of skiing every day,mostly going uphill soon abolished any hope of aneasy few weeks. But as with most who practice thesport, the Jocks soon developed a perverseenjoyment for beasting themselves every day of the

The Highlanders Nordic Biathlon Ski Team.

Hldr Wishart finishing strong for 11place in the 10km Biathlon Sprint.


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week. Having spent the summer training withthe National Development Squad, HldrWishart proved invaluable in teaching the restof the team the minute details of waxing skisand wearing Lycra suits in their tightestfashion. Hldr's Matthews and Townsendspent any time not on skis getting their headsdown, whilst Hldr Bremner ate the localsupermarket's supply of Weetabix. After awell-earned Christmas leave period, the teamsuccessfully qualified from the DivisionalCompetition in Les Contamines, France to

attend the British National, Inter Service andArmy Championships in Ruhpolding,Germany.

On the Alpine Skiing front Lt McCauley hasbeen in Val DIsere since November with a 6man squad. This exercise has consisted of a mixture of training and competitions as well as asmall amount of aprs-ski activities in one of the most popular Ski resorts in the Alps. So far HldrBlair, 6 SCOTS, has claimed third place in the junior category and the B team managed to comethird overall in the competition. The team has since switched their focus to the Divisionalcompetition before then progressing onto further training in preparation for a planned expedition in

April.

On top of all this the Company has continued to support operations in Afghanistan, deploying 50

further soldiers to theatre during the Battalions mid-tour rotation. This has included support to ACompanys Kandahar Force Protection Platoon and Bastion Force Protection Platoon and BCompanys RCBS element in Camp Leatherneck.

Hldr Bremner finishing the 7.5km Biathlon inNorway.

Everyone seems to like their retro Adidas Lycra.


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B Company

Following a small amount of respite over the Christmas period, January has seen the RCBSAdvisor Team back into the full swing of things. The Battle School has been effectively stood up,with ANA instructors teaching every course and the Advisor Team has changed its emphasis fromconducting the training to an oversight role.

There was a hope that the weather had turnedand that we would be sunbathing again beforelong. But a cold wind from the North broughtsome Russian weather to Helmand, and wewere once again wearing all of our warm kit in

the classrooms. The conditions provide anextra element of complexity to the mission; the

ANA having little in the way of heating, andeasily combustible items can mysteriouslydisappear in the night. While the Advisors haveto work harder to motivate students in theseconditions, the ANA continue to make significantprogress in their ability to plan and execute thetraining themselvesas long as the generatorsare working.

CSM Ingram has finally decided to dust off hisboots and join the company, replacing RSMPayne as the RCBS Sergeant Major. We wish the RSM all the best for his next job in the US andsuggest that everyone sell their shares in NAAFIbefore he leaves theatre. We have also been

joined by Captain Will Carter and his D30 trainingteam, who will spend the next four monthstraining an ANA Artillery Training Platoon.Captain Gordon Law has finally left for his R&Rafter five-and-a-half months, and both theaverage age and the level of grumpiness in theoffice have reduced significantly. In addition, with

the wet weather turning the desert into sludge,Major Kelmanson has taken a very strongposition on car washing, ensuring that the Tatavehicles used by the team are spotless for atleast 10 minutes a week.

Once the ANA instructors graduated, the RCBSonce again took on new recruits for Phase 2training. There are now record numbers ofstudents undergoing courses, who will allcomplete their training in time to join their units and provide security for the upcoming elections.With less than 3 months left to go, everyone is putting a huge amount of effort into this final big

training event, and beginning the preparation to hand over to the QDG in April.

Company scribe: Captain Marcus Pemberton

It is the first time that ANA Warriors have

returned for refresher training.

A proud ANA Warrior.


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Patrol Base Lashkar Gah Durai

This month has been a busy one for the Mortar Platoon in Lashkar Gah Durai. Shortly after NewYear an influx of new personnel arrived into theatre and flew to Durai to join their peers. Followinga few days hand over, and last minute sunbathing for those going home, a number of the jocks flew

back to their loved ones inGermany for some well-earned post-tour leave.Shortly after their departure,the weather respondedaccordingly and

temperatures plummeted,rain fell and those who hadthe forethought to keep theirwellies were permanentlyliving in them. A fewentertaining hours werespent trying to ensure thatthe accommodation tentswere actually waterproof, aswell as trying to bail theever rising water out of theoperations room.

We also had Major Tait, the Patrol Base Line-BRACer, arrive in Patrol Base Lashkar Gah Durai tooversee how the preparations for the Base Redeployment And Closure (BRAC) were progressing.Upon providing a few choice words to the occupants of the base, BRACtivity has since taken off inearnest. The accommodation isbeing stripped to its bare-bones andthe camp has the feel of a buildingsite; with anything that is leftunattended for more than a fewminutes migrating to the burns pit.

As the snow began to fall and settle,

CSgt Jardine (BRAC SNCO) hasbeen ensuring that the burns pit isthe only place to remain warm anddry, burning everything in his sight toearn himself a jolly good BRAC onthe back. Those based in Durai arelooking forward to returning to therelative comforts of Bastion in thefuture and are hoping that theweather improves soon. In themeantime, everyone in Durai iscontinuing to BRAC to the future.

Officer Commanding Mortars Platoon: Captain Pete Brownjohn

It was blazing sunshine and 21 degree 36 hours ago.

At least I managed to hang my washing out to drybefore the bad weather arrived.


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Recce PlatoonCP STERGA 2

Time continues to fly by, as we have already reachedthe second month of 2014. It is business as usual atSterga 2, but with the additional preparations to takeon greater responsibility during the drawdown fromCentral Helmand. Sterga 2 has had a changing ofthe guard this month, consisting of soldiers whohave completed 4 months and are replaced bycomrades from Fallingbostel. All the new arrivalshave been quick to get into the swing of duties.

With the end of January being one of the hottest onrecord, a week of snow in February was the lastthing we expected! The warm jackets came backout and the volleyball court neglected. Fortunately,we were able to complete the Sterga 2 VolleyballChampionships prior to the snows arrival;where theresident engineers were crowned champions aftersome hard fought matches.

Commander RC(SW) visited the base thismonth and showed particular interest in the

force protection of Sterga 2. Everyonemaintained the usual high standards and heseemed to be most impressed by the drills inplace. Captain Anderson proved himself to bethe hostess with the mostest during the visitdue to Captain Challis being back in Bastionon important business.

As the bad weather closed in, the competitiveedge was not lost. LCpl Holroyd organised atTable Football competition, which saw somemore nail biting fixtures. After many a hard

fought match, a 4 SCOTS dominated final washad in both the singles and doublescompetitions. The eventual winners beingHldr Magee (Singles and doubles) and HldrPenn.

Recognition and congratulations must also bepaid to Colour Sergeant Campbell this month, who has been selected for promotion to WO2. Iknow the thought of not having longer in the CQMS role will devastate him, but I am confident hewill soldier on.

Officer Commanding Sterga 2: Captain Edward Challis

Practice makes perfect.

A daily sight in the Patrol Base to keepeverything clean and properly maintained.


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Delta Company, The Clan

The Company returned from Christmas leave and went straight back into training in preparation forour imminent deployment. The main events of the month have been a range week in Sennelager,

primarily to qualify people on secondary weapon systems; and Exercise PASHTUN PANTHER inNorfolk, a re-run of the excellent Afghanistan specific exercise that we conducted in July.Concurrently we have had a constant flow of individuals travelling out to Afghanistan for 10 dayperiods to conduct Reception Staging and Onward Integration (RSOI) and MASTIFF Training.

The Exercise was a great

opportunity for the Company toshake out and re-confirm the skillsrequired for Afghanistan.Platoons were put throughnumerous scenarios which wemay face over the next fourmonths in theatre. It was a hard,but worthwhile and rewardingweek.

Hldr Wilson and McCaig on sangar duty during Company training in Sennelager, while HldrMacEachern guards the gate of EPB Dundee on Exercise PASHTUN PANTHER.

The CSM is deployed to quell thelocals as the Coy prepare to

extract from EPB Dundee on ExPASHTUN PANTHER.


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LCpl Richardson and Hldr Doran treat Hldr Barron during Company Training in Sennelager.

The first wave of 24 people from Delta Company reportedto Brize Norton just a few hours after the end of Ex

PASHTUN PANTHER, with just about enough time to getthe dhobi done in Gateway House! Over the next fewweeks the remainder of the Company will follow. Finally,after 14 months of training, The Clan will be deployed onOp HERRICK 19!

On a more personal note, congratulations are due to SgtRobertson who became a Granddad on 26thJanuary.

Officer Commanding Delta Company: Major Will ColquhounHldr Singh demonstrates DeltaCompanys contingency plan for

no MASTIFF.


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Rear Operations Group (ROG)

With the Christmas leave period now a distant memory, the traditional ice cold German winter hashit Fallingbostel. Although the Battalion has now been deployed for over 4 months the pace of liferemains fast and furious for all those supporting the many moving parts of 4 SCOTS. This includesthe deployed elements, those due to deploy (D Coy), those deploying to Jordan for a month longexercise (Ex OLIVE GROVE), the constant rotation of soldiers and the 4 SCOTS families thatremain in Fallingbostel.

A quiet reminder that life must go on is the fact that the Battalions departments are still subjectedto audits throughout the period of deployment. During a recent Equipment Care Inspection (ECI) inJanuary the Battalion were awarded a green; the best result possible. This is an enormous feat for

a small but hard working QMs department under Captain Angus Steele, the QM(T). Further praisemust be given to our significantly undermanned and committed AGC department lead by CaptainJune Franklin for narrowly missing out on a green pass during a recent SPS Health Check. Thiswas particularly hard to prepare for due to the constant churn of soldiers in and out of Afghanistanand the huge administrative support that it requires. Both results are significant for the Battalion asa whole and provide reassurance that our reputation within the Brigade remains high.

The Battalion Cross Country team has also been maintaining its reputation within the BF(G) CrossCountry league, comfortably sitting in third place behind 5 Rifles and 1 PWRR it must behighlighted that both these Units that are not committed to HERRICK 19. For the last month theBattalion team has turned its focus to the Army Cross Country Championships at the Royal Military

Academy Sandhurst on 5

th

Feb. This will not only be a chance to compete against some of thefittest people in the Army at one of the greatest military institutions in the world, but also a greatexperience and surroundings that will be new to some of our soldiers.

On 24thJanuary we said a sad farewell and heart felt thank you to WO2 Martin MacDonald whowas departing as the ROG CSM. He has now moved on to the Piping School of Music inEdinburgh as the RSM. However, it was with open arms that the ROG welcomed WO2 SmudgeSmith as the new ROG CSMa job that he is growing to love!

On 29thJanuary the 7thArmoured Brigade Commander, whilst on R&R, took some time to visit 4SCOTS and talk to the families of our soldiers and some of the soldiers that have been workinghard in the ROG and FE@R. This is only one of many high profile visits to 4 SCOTS and its

families that are expected over the coming months.

Officer Commanding ROG: Major Nigel MacGregor


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HECTORS

Now that Christmas and New Year have passed, we are focusing on a year of activities and eventsfor everyone to enjoy.

The Wives Brief held on 8 Jan had a great turnout with the focus on the move next year toCatterick. Teeny Tots is still continuing to grow in strength and special thanks goes to HelenRoddis and Jennifer Bailey for all theirhard work in making this event a major

success. It is also pleasing to see thatthe wives coffee mornings are still wellattended; with each Companys wivesgroup taking it in turns to feed all thatcome with delicious cakes and biscuits.

The Welfare team also invite outsideagencies such as Homestart, the HIVEand the RMP to give regular updates onactivities, provide information on safety,volunteer helpers and answer anyquestions people may have about the

recent burglaries.

We also had Mrs Agnew from ForcesFinancial discussing the new initiativeabout a safety wristband that is ideal for children or adults who like to train outdoors alone.

Keys events in Jan also included ateenagers trip to the Snow dome on Sun26 Jan. With Sergeant Ginge McKay atthe helm of the Battle Bus, off we went.The event was greatly appreciated bythose attending and proved a greatsuccess. All the teenagers that attendedseemed to go home knackered, havinghad SSgt Robbie Bain and his wife Kirsty

The Wives Brief from the Brigade Commander was well attended.

SSgt Bain receives his Brigade Commanders Coinfrom Brigadier Woodham.


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put them all through their paces. For an award for their hard work they were all treated to aMcDonalds; this is where the next trip was planned for some time next month.

Hectors hosted the Brigade Commanders familys forum visitbefore he headed back to theatre. After the grilling that hetook, it was said by a wife I bet he would rather face theTaliban than face us again. The questions that were askedwere thought through and gave the Commander some food forthought.

Unit Welfare Officer: Captain Billy McLaren

A trip to the Snow Dome proved to be a greatsuccess with the Teenagers.


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4 SCOTS in the Media

The Superstars competition that was held in Camp Bastion on 14 January received widespreadcoverage on social media, with the Royal Regiment of Scotlands Facebook page being just one ofthe outlets through which it can be viewed.

Helmand Superstars on Facebook

The first week of February saw an unprecedented change in the weather; seeing 21 degrees andsunny change to sub-zero temperatures and snow in just 36hrs. See members of B Companycomment of the change in climate as part of a BFBS Report

Snow in Camp Bastion

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the snow, members of the 4 SCOTS skiing teams have been participatingin Exercise Pipedown, the Divisional Championship held in Les Contamines, France. One of thesuccessful participants is Hldr Wishart, who comments on how his Nordic skiing experience began.

Highlander Wishart talks to BFBS about Nordic Skiing.

The success of the RCBS and the ANAs abilities to train their future warriors also continues this month. For the first time in the Afghan Security Forces history, warriors from the Army and Police

have returned to the school in order to receive Refresher Training.

RCBS Refresher training on BFBS

Finally, the successes of the Manoeuvre Battlegroups support to the Northern Retrograde and BCompanys support to the RCBS has been picked up in the National press, with cuts of the doublepage spread being displayed on the following pages.

To keep fully up to date with all thats happening in theatre follow us on Hectors WelfareFacebook page,The Royal Regiment of Scotland Facebook page and the 4 SCOTSJustGivingsite.

All links must be accessed through open source internet. They will not work on Dii, RLI or MS.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.240406879464868.1073741853.202386936600196&type=1http://web202.ssvc.com/news/articles/army/2132http://web202.ssvc.com/news/articles/army/2031http://web202.ssvc.com/news/articles/army/2086https://www.facebook.com/hectors.welfarestaff?fref=tshttps://www.facebook.com/royalregimentofscotland?ref=ts&fref=tshttps://www.facebook.com/royalregimentofscotland?ref=ts&fref=tshttp://www.justgiving.com/4scotshttp://www.justgiving.com/4scotshttp://www.justgiving.com/4scotshttp://www.justgiving.com/4scotshttps://www.facebook.com/royalregimentofscotland?ref=ts&fref=tshttps://www.facebook.com/hectors.welfarestaff?fref=tshttp://web202.ssvc.com/news/articles/army/2086http://web202.ssvc.com/news/articles/army/2031http://web202.ssvc.com/news/articles/army/2132https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.240406879464868.1073741853.202386936600196&type=1


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Other Photographs This Month


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The Blue Hackle - Edition 7

Documents

Transcript of The Blue Hackle - Edition 7