An Irish Affair Ch3

CHAPTER 3.

After a couple of weeks well; earned R and R, I returned to Aldershot, to prepare for my first bout of Northern Ireland training. In preparation of a six month tour of west Belfast. I was told that this training would be completely different and harder than any other form of training I had received so far. It was also the first time thoughts of David manifested themselves with any kind of intensity, since I had enlisted over a year ago.

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We arrived in coaches at a place near Dover, where I would carry out the first half of my training. This is called the the urban training package. The camp is set up to look and feel like a city in Northern Ireland, complete with an RUC police station, nicknamed Tin City, because of the high metal fence, surrounding it. It reminded me of the pictures I’d seen on TV, of Universal film studios in Hollywood. Everything laid out as it would be over there. With tight twisting streets, and buildings that dated back to the eighteenth century. Old terraced back to backs, with yards rather than gardens. Nothing is left out, some of the houses in the aptly named streets had occupants in them, who had Irish names, and spoke with Irish accents. They also acted and treated all the soldiers the same way as they do over there, (with contempt, they spit at you and taunt you every chance they get..) It feels so realistic that I quickly got into the swing of the training, and soon forgot about my surroundings outside of the training facility. I began to feel the anticipation and the nerves of going out on my first street patrol. The butterflies in the pit of my stomach, the tingling spine, the hairs standing up on the back of my neck, It took me back to the feeling I had once before, when I stood in the C130 aircraft, about to carry out my first ever parachute jump, literally sick to my stomach.

I acted out every given scenario imaginable, based on actual events that have happened during the long troubles in Northern Ireland. Nothing is left out, from getting bricks and petrol bombs thrown at me during a riot, which builds the anger up inside to almost boiling point, as they’re using real petrol bombs and don’t hold back. Theres nothing like real flames shooting up the inside of your riot shield, and wooden blocks bouncing off the top of your helmet, to get you all riled up. Then being shot at from an open window and being blown up by a car bomb. I’m constantly left not knowing whether I’m coming or going. Also, because of the time frame and the amount of training needed to squeeze in, there’s not much time devoted to rest and sleep. All of which, adds to the tension and makes it all that more intense. Because, when we are really tired mistakes are made. Unfortunately, what we are training for meant any mistakes could mean someone’s life. A teammate, innocent civilian, or worse . . . mine.

After three days in Tin City, and then a few days on the shooting ranges, I was again boarding the coaches and moving to a place called Stanford. To start the rural training package. My head was still swimming with all the information from the urban training. Now I had to put that aside, and start training for the countryside of south Armagh.

This time no RUC police stations. But a typical army camp in the countryside, in the middle of nowhere.
This seemed more like the conventional training I had received in Aldershot over a year ago. Where the urban package was designed to prepare me for the realities of working in an inner city like west Belfast. The rural package was designed with scenarios to prepare me for the ardors and rigors of working in the open countryside like south Armagh, which was about to strike a nerve, deeply with me.

They introduced me to all kinds of electronic devices, which are designed to either counteract terrorist devices, or assist in the detection of these same devices. These devices are not found or used anywhere else but Northern Ireland, and have assisted in saving a good many lives over the years. I also covered many different scenarios, from reacting to IVCPs (Illegal Vehicle Check Points), (These are where vehicles are stopped and the occupants checked. The same as we the armed forces do. Except, these are carried out by Pira, to see if the occupants are British, Police, or soldiers in plain clothes.) To the detection of terrorist devices, and long-range shoots (which included the SNIPER shoot). This scenario was going to be of great interest to me, and I couldn’t wait for it to begin.

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I was sat in a clearing on the edge of a gravel car park surrounded by tall trees, on a warm summer’s day. Anxiously waiting for our team to go through the long-range shoot scenario, I could hear the rest of the team talking amongst themselves. Trying to pre-empt how the scenario was going to pan out, trying to cover every angle. What if the sniper does this? What if the sniper does that? Then from beyond my deep thoughts, I heard a voice.

“Well, Rob, what do you think?”

I broke from my train of thought for a moment only to say, “What?”

“The sniper, how do you think it is going to go?”

“How the hell should I know” I replied annoyingly, “What will be, will be?”

“Well, you’re a font of fucking information aren’t you?”

I ignored the comment, and quickly slid back into my thoughts. I found myself playing out only one scenario.

One that happened on a day not so different from this. I often wonder, what was going through David’s mind that day, when he was dropped off by helicopter, to carry out one of many routine two-hour rural patrols. My thoughts now, were very different from the thoughts I had when I was fourteen. Then, it was a case of, why wasn’t the rest of the team able to see the sniper, and why weren’t they able to catch him.
Now, as a soldier, I found myself asking a very different set of questions.
While David was carrying out a car check the rest of team should have been in all round defense, looking out. While the two other teams, should have been conducting satellite patrols along the high ground, circling the primary team in the center. So how was it possible the sniper was never detected? Moving into his firing position, or at least, after the shot was fired, and was making his getaway.
Was it, because one of my brother’s team was not looking out correctly? Or, a case that, one of the satellite teams just sat down and had a smoke break, which wasn’t unheard of. I was hoping, the scenario I was about to go through myself, would at least answer a good many of these questions.

“Okay multiple commander (A multiple consisted of three teams of four men,) get your teams together you’re up next.” The DS, said. (Directing Staff).

“Okay teams get your shit together, were on”, said the commander.

We were patrolling along the valley. The heat of the day was beating down on us. I hadn’t even noticed what the time was, but the sun was high in the sky. So I guessed it must be close to noon. The only sound I could hear was birds singing. We had been patrolling for what seemed like twenty minutes. The commander’s team was up front and in the centre and the two other teams were on either side covering the high ground. Then, there it was. The sound of one single shot rang out, echoing across the valley. Instinctively we all hit the deck and moved into cover. Then the calls started coming in, over the radio and from shouts to each other.

“ANYONE SEE WHERE IT CAME FROM?” Shouted the Commander

Then came the replies, “Didn’t see a thing”.

I searched all around using the scope on my rifle, but could see nothing. Then came the commander’s voice again.

“WELL SOME FUCKER MUST HAVE SEEN SOME THING, FOR GODS SAKE”.

Every one confused and still searching, for what seemed like hours and not minutes. “No nothing.”

Then through all the confusion came the voice of the DS. “STOP! “Okay listen in team commanders. Ensure your teams weapons are made safe and move your teams into me. “Well multiple commander, how do you think that went?”

“Fucking shit,” came his reply.

“And why is that.”

“Well, its pretty damn obvious. No one managed to locate the sniper.”

“Well, don’t be too hard on yourself, or your men Sir. You aren’t the only ones unable to locate him. In fact, only one multiple managed to see him, but still weren’t able to capture him. Even after a good follow up. The distance was just too far.”

He went on to say. “I’m sure by now. You are all aware that there has been a sniper working quite successfully for some time now in the south Armagh area.” I wanted to butt in there and then and rip into him, but I managed to hold my ground.“Well we know a great deal more about this sniper since he began. We know there are two people, and that he uses a .50mm Barrett sniper rifle. Also, he uses a converted estate car as a firing platform, with the back seat removed. Firing through a small hole in the rear door. So, after he has fired his shot and you are all scrambling for cover. The driver is already heading for the border. That’s why, even if he is seen; any follow up is a waste of time. Except to preserve what little evidence they may have left behind at the crime scene. Tire tracks, spent ammunition cases, etc.”

I stood there, hanging on his every word. Running David’s incident through my head, as he spoke. When I got back to the car park, the guys were still arguing over who was to blame, for not seeing the sniper. I myself was in my own train of thought, and it had nothing to with our scenario. When he had finished, I was finally able to understand, why David was chose as the target, and how helpless and frustrated the rest of the teams must have felt at the time.
While he carried out the car check. David, was the only member of the team who was exposed. The remainder of his team was in cover as they should be. The other two teams were constantly moving while carrying out their satellite patrols, just as they are taught. As for the follow up, I know now, even if they had seen the sniper, this would never have resulted in his capture. At that time, they hadn’t yet discovered he was using a car to fire from. No one was to blame; it was just an unfortunate twist of fate. At least now I could lay my ghost to rest over this incident. However, it would not rid me of the hatred and contempt I still held toward the Irish, for killing David.

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The flight over to Aldergrove airport was for me fraught with a mixture of anticipation and anxiety. For the older guys it was just another unwanted tour. The parachute regiment had done more tours in the province than any other regiment in the British army, bar one. The SAS.
On arrival it was the normal pandemonium of soldiers trying to sort out their own baggage amongst a mass of six hundred other guys. “Hay, that’s mine,” I said. Scrambling through a mass of kit-bags, and suitcases. It took me nearly twenty minutes to find just three pieces of luggage. After what seemed like most of the afternoon I finally boarded a blue painted army coach. With my baggage traveling in a blue painted army truck. This was suppose to make the coaches and trucks look more civilian like. Well this is really convincing. I thought, as we pulled away. We also had an escort of two armored Land rovers, with two armed soldiers sticking out of the roof, and two Saxon armored troop carriers. Which only confirmed that the coaches and trucks were no more civilian, than I was.

On arrival at the camp I was met by the OC (Officer Commanding) of the company, the CSM, and the Colour Sergeant. The Colour Sergeant allocate me my room and issued me with the equipment I would need for every day operations. I could see the very happy faces of the soldiers from the regiment I was taking over from.

“Stag on boys” came a voice from amongst the smiling faces. (Stag on means to Stand Post).

“Yeah, yeah, that’s original”. Said one of our guys.

It would be six months before I would understand the elation these guys were feeling right now.

West Belfast is broken up into areas, which are depicted by the jurisdiction of the local Police stations. After getting settled in I was taken to the briefing room for a briefing by the intelligence cell. On the ins and outs of what would be our AOR (Area Of Responsibility), for the next six months. The protestant areas, catholic areas, the known flash points, and the local players. (suspected terrorists). Faces, that I would be shown over and over until they were engraved into my memory. My first patrol wasn’t until tomorrow, so I had some time to sort out my shit, and a chance to go to the Naafi shop. (Navy, Army, Air force Institute).

The camp was very similar to the one I stayed in during the training I had done near Dover. It consisted of a Police station with an army annex all held within a high walled compound. My first patrol briefing was at 8am, but first I had to carry out suspect recognition (Photo slide show of the local players) for half an hour beforehand. I was told, this would continue to happen before every patrol, through-out the rest of the tour.

The briefing was very informative and consisted of, the routes each team would be taking, every VCP that would be carried out, and where each team would be during the execution of these VCP’s. Also any house calls that the Police officer may have to make. Nothing is left to chance, and every eventuality is talked through, any reactions that we may be required to carry out during any given incident. So no one is left in any doubt, as to what there responsibilities are through-out the whole of the patrol, and how to react should the need arise.

I left the compound on my first real patrol, the adrenalin was pumping through my veins and my eyeballs felt like they were on stalks. I was convinced there was a terrorist around every corner. I had flashes of the photo slide show I had been shown earlier flying through my head, and was trying to fit them to everyone I saw walking the streets. My anxiety was broken when the team commander said, “hey spot the fucking Crow.” I looked over to him, “yeah, yeah, cheers for that.”
I found I was continually looking and waiting for an incident to happen. The problem with the training I was given earlier was, there’s always some kind of incident on every patrol, in order for me to learn every given scenario. However, this is real life, not the wild wild west, people just don’t go around shooting each other on every street, and there isn’t a bomb around every corner. It took a good hour into the patrol, before I managed to calm down and begin to realize. That ninety nine percent of the population are normal civilians just going about their normal daily business.

When we returned to camp the team commander took me to one side. “Hey Williams, now you have come back down to earth, and got your first patrol out of the way, remember ninety percent of the patrols we do out here are just like this one. However, that is not an excuse to become too comfortable, or complacent ok? That’s just what these bastards are waiting for, and will leap at the chance to have a go if they feel they can get away with it. So, no matter how mundane it may become, always treat every patrol with the thought, that this could be the one, Okay, son? Always stay alert.”

“Yes Corporal.” I replied.

“Now get your arse up to the briefing room for the debriefing.”

The debriefing was just as intense as the briefing, and just as informative. It covered what went wrong, and how we could improve on those mistakes.

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For four months the tour went swimmingly, without any incident. Then, on one patrol, unfortunately not one of mine, another multiple got hit with a coffee jar bomb. This is a very small amount of explosive, with a trigger switch, wrapped in nails, bolts and nuts, all squeezed into a coffee jar, and detonated on impact when the glass broke. This sent the nails etc flying through the air at a rapid rate of knots, slicing through flesh and bone like cutting through butter. Luckily for us, only one guy got hurt. Catching just the outskirts of the explosion, he received minor cuts to one arm and a leg.
Although the team involved did carryout a follow up. By the time they got to where it was thrown from, the bastard had legged it. Into one of many houses on a large estate, and there was no way of knowing which one. As it was a catholic estate, who ever was shielding him, was not about to give him up.

Due to the lack of incidents throughout this tour. It made me think. What was all the fuss David use to go on about, with these Northern Ireland tours. It seemed like a piece of cake to me . . . This obviously isn’t the case. I thought.

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My first tour behind me. It was great to be back on home soil again. At least now having done a tour, I didn’t feel too much like a Crow any more. All I wanted now was to concentrate on my conventional soldiering, and start to build my career within the regiment. I looked toward doing some courses that would help me in the future, and go towards my promotional prospects. I didn’t want to stay a TOM (Private soldier) all my life.

I started by doing a course called Drill & Duties. Which basically covered parade duties, lots of screaming at each other on the drill square, minor tactics, and all the responsibilities that come with being an NCO (Non Commissioned Officer). This if I passed and got elected by my OC, could lead to my first promotion to L/cpl (Lance Corporal). The hardest part is always trying to get onto the first rung of the ladder. This was my goal, and for the time being. I put thoughts of David to the back of my mind.