AVIATION ASSAULT

At 4:00 am in the morning on 13 February 2010 the dark skies of central Helmand were filled with the noise of thudding rotor blades as 45 helicopters carrying Combined Force 31, spearheaded by the 1st Battalion The partnered with troops from the landed in the heart of an area the regarded as their own. OPERATION MOSHTARAK had begun to take back control of this territory. Given unprecedented access to those in command and those who took part on the ground, Mark Khan takes a look at how this Operation, was planned and executed and provides a fascinating insight into how operations are conducted in Afghanistan.

Aviation Assault - © Mark Khan 2015 As a result of the US presidential elections To allow larger operations to be conduct- The British contribution to the oper- In January 2009, the new US President ed under much more favourable condi- ation would be performed by 11 Barack Obama fulfilled his commitment, tions, preparatory work would be Light Brigade commanded by Briga- to significantly increase troop densities in carried out to “shape” the environment. dier James Cowan and would focus Afghanistan. This combined with the When conditions were then suitable, the on the central Helmand area. Two appointment of Lt Gen Stanley “clear” phase would take place with signif- specific insurgent strongholds were McChrystal, as the head of the icant military operations to push the in- chosen for the assault. international Security Assistance Force surgenOnce this phase had been These were known as “The Cha e (ISAF) in Afghanistan, led to a significant completed, the “hold” phase would take Angir Triangle” (a triangular area of change in strategy. Due to a lack of place to provide ongoing security, to land located in Northern Nad e Ali resources, the situation in Afghanistan in prevent insurgent re-infiltration, govern- district) and an area called “The the summer of 2009 existed, where ment authority to be put in place and Babaji Pear” (a pear shaped area of certain areas of Central Helmand, reconstruction (BUILD) to commence. land in the South Western part o consisted of some un-governed spaces The focus for the impending operations Babaji district). and some virtual “no go” areas. In these in Helmand Province, were to be the The plan was carefully worked out areas the Insurgents were exploiting the district of in the south, and parts in partnership with the Afghan local population for their own purposes of the districts of Nad e Ali and Babaji in government. For counter and using the territory for the purpose of central Helmand. The Operation would insurgency operations to succeed, furthering the insurgency. Led by General be called MOSHTARAK meaning “togeth- the will of the local people had to Mchrystal with his significant special er” in both Dari & Pashtun languages. It be carefully considered. A strategic forces and counter insurgency experience would be an operation conducted very emphasis was placed on how the and with the extra resources now availa- much in partnership with the Afghans situation should look on the ground ble, a strategy of SHAPE, CLEAR,HOLD & and would include significant resources after the operation had been BUILD was developed, to allow these from the Afghan army and security forc- concluded. This focused very much areas to be cleared of insurgents. Out es, on holding the territory after it was taking place. partnering with ISAF forces. taken from the insurgents and then The focus for the American forces taking allowing reconstruction to take part would be in Marjah. place and normal life to return to these areas.

Main Picture: 1st BATTALION, ROYAL WELSH - OPERATION MOSHTARAK - Commissioned by 1st Battalion, The Royal Welsh and painted by Stuart Brown. This atmospheric painting captures the dramatic moment as the troops of Combined Force 31 land on one of the 12 Landing grounds on 13 Feb 2010. For more information, or to order a print of this painting, please visit Stuart’s Website : WWW.SKIPPERPRESS.COM or call: +44 (0)23 8032 2705 To enable this, dialogue with local Elders under much more favourable No 1 Company of the 1st Battalion The and with the local population was carried conditions, a series of shaping , were one of the out to prepare them for what was going operations were planned as precursors units involved in the shaping opera- to happen. A proper Afghan government to the main operation. tions. The village of WALIZI was a administration was to be put in, schools These were designed to test, put dense group of compounds to the would be delivered, the Health System pressure and confuse the insurgents west of the Babaji Pear. No 1 Compa- improved, there would be benefits to ag- prior to the execution of the main op- ny’s task was to secure this riculture, roads would be improved and eration. The perceptions of the local village. Company Commander, Major the population would be free to conduct people also needed to be set. A clear Toby Till describes how these their normal lives, no longer oppressed message was sent to both the local operations were conducted: “Three by the will of the insurgents. inhabitants and also to the insurgents – main Company operations were Whilst the operation had a clear vision in “We are coming in force and we are conducted prior to D Day on 13 Feb relation to the picture after the territory going to stay”. This was part of a 2010.The first was our first outing had been re-taken, clearly a significant deliberate plan to destabilise and con- with our new ANA company and was military operation was required to take fuse the insurgents. An operation as an operation to dominate the ground the ground in the first place. large as this was going to be, could not to the west of WALIZI and disrupt To set the scene and to allow the clear be conducted with complete surprise phase of the operation to be conducted and the message needed to be put across that it was not going to be just another operation, this was going to be very different.

Main Picture: Feeling the downdraft from another helicopter taking off, soldiers from the 1st Battalion the Royal Welsh wait for embarkation at the start of Operation Moshtarak. The heavy loads the troops required to carry on the initial insertion can be seen here. One of those who took part in the Operation - Lance Corporal Paul Balzaretti , describes the challenge of carrying so much kit “As soon as you get out there, you are up off the chopper and even to stand up is hard because of the weight... no matter how much train- ing you have the weight is unbelievable”.(Courtesy of the MOD) insurgent activity whilst understanding In Nad e Ali, Lt Colonel Roly Walker, units and stabilising the areas secured. the terrain and people better. This took the Commanding Officer of the 1st Bat- This was a significant operation (OPER- place in late Jan. This was a foot infiltra- talion battle group, ATION TOR SHPA’H) lasting 4 weeks. tion with up to 80 soldiers and a mix of operating to the south of the Cha-e With the shaping operations completed, ANA and 1 Coy. We moved early and Angir Triangle, recognised that the the scene was now set for the major caught the insurgents off balance and assault into here, when OPERATION operation. Major General Nick Carter, were able to dominate some decent MOSHTARAK took place would lead to the Commander of compounds prior to the insurgents get- an inevitable displacement of insur- Regional Command South and the ting organised. When they did contact gents into his area of operations. “They officer in overall charge of the us with small arms we were able to use would come south into our area and co-alition operation, describes the snipers to get 4 confirmed kills. The op- therefore there would be an even great- position, “come the second week in eration started at approx 0400 ended at er concentration of insurgents right on February we were ready, with the 2300. The second Operation in late the edge of the District Centre. What I people briefed, and all of the orders at January, was a discrete recce/Sniper needed to do was some preliminary my level were given in Pashtun and operation, infiltrating a small team into operations, in order to clear that sali- Dari, no orders or instructions given at an insurgent area west of WALIZI village ent. I was absolutely sure I wasn’t go- all in English it was very much an to observe and report on ing to leave the back door open for Afghan-led event”. insurgent activity over 24hrs. We them to come in”. A series of plans A significant amount of preparation also built a small Check Point to the were put in place for a deliberate and analysis had been done to East of the village in an area of battlegroup level clearance operation, understand not only the defences with- previous IED laying on the Babaji Rd. to displace the insurgents out northern in the areas being assaulted, but also The ANA occupied this CP. This was of Nad e Ali, push them into the Cha-e how the insurgents traditionally fought. very popular with the locals” Angir Triangle and to establish a clear It was clear that a very linear advance defence line. The Grenadier Guards to contact approach suited the tactics Battlegroup reinforced with a number of the insurgents and this was the way of units including Afghan Army units, they had prepared their defences. To carried out a combined aviation and confuse the insurgents, an aviation as- ground manoeuvre assault, using sault directly in to the target areas aviation to drop units into insurgent would take place. Multiple landing held territory and cut off their with- sites were chosen, with the assault drawal routes, linking up with ISAF planned for the darkest night of the ground year.

Above Right Members of F Company 1 Royal Welsh take Up positions early in the morning of the 1st day of the operation. (Courtesy of the MOD) Below Right: An RAF Tornado GR4 aircraft from 904 Expedi- tionary Air Wing, based at Airfield, makes a fast & low pass. These aircraft played a vital role in Operation MOSHTARAK. (Courte- sy of the MOD) Loy Mandeh

Shaheed Naqilibad KalayShowal Babaji AFGHANISTAN Noorzai Kalay Chah-e Angir BABAJI Moshtarak Chah-e Mirza Triangle The Pear Operation Area

Helmand Shin Kalay Nad-e Ali Province Basharan 3 0 Kushal Kalay NAD-e ALI 34 Route 601 Route 603 Bolan Lashkar Gah BADULA QULP KARIZ-e SAYDI OPERATION MOSHTARAK OP HERRICK 11

11 Light Brigade

00 0

MARJAH 64 31030 February 2010

Scale 5 Km’s

A key part of OPERATION MOSHTARAK was A key responsibility was also that of population movement over a provided by the RAF. Not only was the surveillance and reconnaissance. massive area and scan and spot operation a huge logistical challenge in A vital tool for this was the RAPTOR abnormal patterns. As well as relation to the air insertion of the (Reconnaissance Airborne Pod for monitoring, where situations require assaulting force, but also required the use Tornado) fitted to the RAF’s Tornado direct intervention using MQ-9 of the four primary roles of airpower: GR4 aircraft .This is an externally Reaper, RAF Tornado, or other control the air, attack, air mobility and mounted pod that provides an infrared, co-alition air assets can be tasked to ntelligence/situational awareness. All were long-range oblique-photography provide an air strike. The MQ-9 vital to the success of OPERATION capability to transmit and download Reaper is a remotely piloted air MOSHTARAK. RAF support was provided by data in real time). Possible helicopter system (RPAS), often described as a 903 and 904 Expeditionary Air Wings landing sites were identified and UAV. These aircraft are operated Located at Camp Bastion, which was to be watched for weeks prior to the locally but flown by RAF pilots of 39 the launch pad for the air operations within operation. During the helicopter Squadron remotely from Creech Air Afghanistan. Many supporting roles were assault phase of the operation, every Force Base in Nevada 8000 miles also provided out of theatre such as C-130 landing site had a targeting pod away. Hercules flying from the UK, air to air looking down on it and providing real The battleground where operations refuelling aircraft operating from The Gulf time, infra red pictures before the take place today is better named as and command and control co-ordinated troops landed, whilst they were of- “the battlespace”. This provides a from Al Udeid in Qatar. floading and supporting them after- more descriptive term, as the battle wards. takes place not only on the ground, Not only does traditionally understood but in the air as well. The air above reconnaissance take place. Flying high an operational above Afghanistan the RAF’s Sentinel R1 aircraft monitored radio traffic and Above A map showing the area relating to ground movement patterns. By moni- The operation.(Author) toring these movement patterns using Below Left: a ground moving target indicator, it is An Army Air Corps Apache WAH 64 Longbow possible to identify normal patterns of APACHE wheels overhead providing close Air support.(Author) Above Left area requires intricate management. “I remember being in a queue in the Members of B Company 1 Royal Welsh on Controllers are not only required to cookhouse in Bastion and it was Patrol. (Courtesy of the MOD) integrate freedom manoeuvre for aircraft, blaring out on the telly, one of my sol- Above Right: but also the ability to bring fire down on diers who was behind me said “Do you A well armed member of F Company 1 Royal insurgents. This needs to be done safely, Welsh keep a sharp lookout for know what sir, you might as well have insurgents.(Courtesy of the MOD) by day as well as at night. The your O group on telly they know you Below: battlespace is a busy place, not only will are coming anyway”. Many of those Two members of the Afghan National Army fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft be taking part in the operation were raising the Afghan flag in an area once held operating in the same locale, but artillery, aware of its size and significance. Com- by insurgents.(Courtesy of the MOD) GMLRS (guided multiple launch rocket parisons can be made by those that systems) and mortar fire needs to be took part in the operation, to those The largest and most complex safely co-ordinated to fire through the that took part in similar major helicopter insertion that had ever airspace where aircraft are operating. airborne assaults, such as on D-Day been mounted by the , The impending Operation had been and at Arnhem. Lt Colonel Nick Lock was planned to take place, with the heralded deliberately and had been describes the scene as the Operation assaulting force now Collectively widely featured in the media. The aim commenced “lots of preparation renamed Combined Force 31 (the was to inform not only the insurgents beforehand, kit checks, etcetera, lots latitude the area to be assaulted and the local population that ISAF were of banter going on, as you can imagine bordered on). coming, but also the general public in the we then go down to the flight line, UK. The actual date and time however usually at last light or first thing in the were secret. The aim was to achieve to- morning and things would start to go tal tactical surprise when it actually took quiet,the boys, would get their game place. Lt Colonel Nick Lock Commanding face on, focusing on their particular Officer of the 1st Battalion Royal Welsh task then move forward to the recalls aircraft”.

Above: One of the key aspects of the operation was to minimise civilian casual- ties. A doctrine of “courageous restraint” was where the use of ma- noeuvre rather than the application of direct firepower was called for. Effective use was made of snipers to minimise the threat of civilian casualties and make precision attacks on individual insurgents. In one contact the Taliban used civilians as human shields, Snipers were used and during the 5 hour contact ,only 6 shots were fired back, each one of them killing an insurgent 2 of them killing commanders. (courtesy of the MOD) Spearheaded by The Royal Welsh, Loaded with up to 40 troops the Chi- As the helicopters swept into the Combined Force 31 would perform the nooks provided by 3 different nations landing zones, the 105mm Light assault partnered by the Afghan army (The RAF, The Air Force guns of B Battery The 1st and Afghan . They were and The Royal Canadian Air Force) Regiment Royal Horse Artillery (1 also supported by Royal Horse Artillery were packed to capacity, with only RHA) and the Royal Welsh Mortar Fire Support Teams, Royal Engineers room to stand up. Luckily the journey Platoon were engaged in firing a and the Brigade Reconnaissance Force. was only 20 minutes. Well trained and complex fireplan to provide Infra French paratroopers, marines and disciplined, there was a level of quiet red illumination of the landing Legionnaires operating as mentors confidence amongst the Royal Welsh. zones. With the air full of helicop- to the Afghans would also be taking It was a huge operation and they were ters, the Infra Red illuminating part, along with an Estonian Infantry going in with overwhelming force. The flares, descening on parachutes (on- company. armada of helicopters around them ly visible to the naked eye as a In the early hours of Saturday 13 Feb also instilling a huge level of confi- slight glow) had to be carefully fired 2010, the mass of helicopters lifted off dence. to provide continuing illumination into the freezing Afghan winter night. Lance Corporal Gareth Bowden serving and not interfere or become a dan- They initially flew north away from with A Company describes the flight in ger to the numerous helicopters in Camp Bastion and the assault areas, to “there was a lot of waving around in the the air. confuse any enemy watching from the helicopter everyone was getting Lt Col Nick Lock describes the land- ground, then swung round in a big arc thrown around like rag dolls that kind ing “when we landed on, in most heading for the landing zones. of hit home then, we are going in and places the Taliban had already gone Lt Col Nick Lock describes the moment the Taliban are out there” to ground , certainly they were still before landing “About 2 minutes out At 4:00am, the helicopters carrying the there, but most of them just thinned we’d drop down to the infil point and 1200 troops of Combined Force 31 out. B Company had to fight for you knew you were there because this swept into the 12 different landing their objective, it was a fairly short waft of Afghanistan would come zones. sharp engagement and so we got through the doors of the chopper and Fusilier Darren Owen describes the forward” you knew you were flying literally at feelings of some of those onboard the The preparation had paid dividends. the top of the trees on the way in and Chinooks “nervousness of not knowing The insurgents had failed to present had about 2 or 3 minutes to go, but of what to expect as soon as we hit the an organised defence; most of the course that is the most vulnerable ground because the time was about 4 insurgent commanders and foreign point of the operation and every fibre o’clock in the morning when we got fighters had fled. The local Taliban of your body is saying get me out of dropped off, so we had heads up that just melted away as a result of the this aircraft” they’d seen movement in the massive show of force. compounds

Above: A platoon sergeant briefs a patrol from B Company 1 Royal Welsh, taking part in a mission rehearsal During Exercise PASTHUN DAWN on Salisbury Plain in February 2012. 1 Royal Welsh are currently deployed in Afghanistan on OP HERRICK 16. The train- ing cycle for operations in Afghanistan is extremely thorough and takes months to prepare for deployment. The concentra- tion shown by the soldiers above is evident. Whilst on still on exercise , they all realise they will be doing it for real in a few weeks time. The level of experience in the Army is very high, a high percentage of soldiers deploying with the B Company will be taking part in their fourth tour of Afghanistan. (Author) The landing zones secured, the troops moved An Afghan soldier shinned up the to the OPERATION MOSHTARAK has out to their objectives. The task now was about top of the crane and symbolically discard- been recognised as a notable getting out and engaging with the locals. ed the success in Central Shura’s were held with local leaders, with The Taliban Flag and replaced it with an Helmand.Today good progress Afghan Army Kandak commander & Afghan Afghan Flag. A clear message to the local is being made with reconstruc- special forces commander playing vital roles. people, that the situation had now dra- tion. This comes at a price how- The troops of combined Force 31 began matically changed. ever, with 11 Light Brigade patrolling day and night to secure the area and Much work was still required to be done. losing soldiers killed and injured dominate the ground. They had landed with A large number of IED’s were required to during its sufficient supplies for 72 hours and this required be cleared from the area and significant deployment. Maj General Nick carrying an incredible weight of equipment. finds of IED equipment were captured Carter summarises the Food, Ammunition, water and batteries all had preventing them from being used. importance of OPERATION to be carried on foot. Lt Colonel Nick Lock de- The insurgents would eventually MOSHTARAK. “ I personally scribes the loads that were carried “40 kilo- reorganise and start to start to probe back believe that in terms of grams is average battle weight for a normal in to these areas. This was met with regaining the initiative in patrol , but when we go off on a helicopter at robust and dedicated patrolling day and Southern Afghanistan, this was the start of an operation, 80 kilograms was night to counter and prevent this threat. the defining moment. I think probably a normal load.... I take my hat off to from the 13th of February 2010 these guys 18/19 year olds”.Later in the first onwards, the tide turned against day of the operation, insurgency, this was the mo- The Royal Welsh were able to link up with ment, the decisive moment of in ground units including the Coldstream terms of regaining the Guards. For them to, the overwhelming initiative in southern force used across central Helmand Afghanistan”. It is without ensured that the insurgents did not doubt, the demanding and make much of an appearance. In one challenging work being carried Action they engaged and killed one low out today by our armed forces Level commander with a Javelin Missile in Afghanistan, along with the early on in the day. The hard work of contribution made by those securing the territory now began, to who took part in OPERATION implement the hold phase of the MOSHTARAK, have made and operation. continue to make a A long-term symbol of the Taliban significant contribution to a dominance of the area was removed in more peaceful and stable the village of Showal. The white flag of Afghanistan. the Taliban had flown from the top of a large disused crane for some time.

Main Picture: An Afghan Army Com- mander of 205 Corps Af- ghan Nation Army. The ANA played a key role in Operation Moshtarak, partnering with UK and other ISAF forces. (Courte- sy of the MOD)

The author would like to express his thanks to the following people for permission help and Help in writing and producing this article. Colonel Huw Lloyd-Jones - Colonel Public Relations(Army), Lynne Gammond (Senior Press Officer - Army Media And communications), Major General Nick Carter CBE DSO, Air Vice Marshal Stu Atha DSO MA Bsc, Lt Col Toby Gray- 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, Lt Col Nick Lock OBE MA – 1st Battalion Royal Welsh, Lt Colonel Roly Walker DSO – 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, Major Toby Till – 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, Lt An- drew Young and all the members of the 1st Battalion 1 Royal Welsh interviewed during their pre-deployment training for OP HERRICK 16.