Interview: Lieutenant-Colonel Stephen Cartwright, Black Watch commander

Published on Sunday 1 November 2009 21:13

AS Black Watch troops prepare to return home from Afghanistan, their commander speaks to Stephen McGinty about the regiment's experiences

IN A corner of Kandahar airfield, amid the whop-whop-whop of Chinook helicopter rotors and the roar of the engines of Hercules transport planes, sits the headquarters of the Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland. It is a wooden hut and when temperatures at the base, Camp Roberts, reach their highs of about 55C, the building is lost amid the shimmer of a heat haze.

For the past seven months this has been home to the battalion's commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Stephen Cartwright, from where he has planned mission after mission in the districts of Babaji, Zhari and Nahr-E-Saraj, exotic place names now as familiar to his soldiers, from Perth, Dundee and Inverness, as the names of their own towns.

But today the maps, once pinned to the walls of the planning room next door, are gone, the computers have been removed and the battalion is preparing to return home this week after a long, hot summer in which it participated in the bloodiest fighting for a generation. The troops have fought by the bodies of comrades killed in action and heard IEDs explode in the distance then listened to the radio crackle as medics try in vain to save a fellow soldier. They have hung to canvas straps inside Chinooks and flown through the Afghan night as part of the largest aviation assault in recent British history, and fixed bayonets in readiness for close-quarters combat. Along the way, a Black Watch sniper applied "the lead sleeping tablet" to a Taleban insurgent from a distance of 1.2 miles, and so claimed a macabre record.

"It has been an honour to lead these men," says Lt-Col Cartwright. "I am incredibly proud of their achievements."

FOR the public back home, Afghanistan is a disaster from which the majority (56 per cent) wish to make a swift retreat. To them the country conjures up only the image of coffins draped in the Union Flag in procession through Wootton Bassett after their return to nearby RAF Lyneham. This year alone more than 80 coffins have made the journey, including the remains of five men under Lt-Col Cartwright's command. The death toll now stands at 224 in an eight-year-old war which is no nearer victory than when it began. It was recently described by US General Stanley McChrystal, commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, as "likely to result in failure" unless yet more troops were sent. The overall situation, he said in a recent confidential report to US president Barack Obama, was "deteriorating".

It is worth reminding ourselves why Scots soldiers are in Afghanistan. British forces have been deployed as part of the ISAF, created by Nato, and it has the complete support of the Afghan government. British forces are responsible for security for the province of Helmand, which rises like a crooked finger from the border with Pakistan and into the heart of Afghanistan, but their role there is more complex than that bland statement.

In military jargon, their task is divided between "kinetic" and "non-kinetic" elements. The principal task – the kinetic part – is to track down and destroy Taleban and al-Qaeda fighters intent on the overthrow of the elected government. The non- kinetic element is assisting in the reconstruction of the fourth poorest country on the planet by helping to train the new Afghan army and police forces. Then there is the issue of poppy production for the heroin trade, which has grown in recent years and funds the insurgency.

So where does the Black Watch fit into the country's complex equation? Operation Herrick, the code-name for Britain's military role, consists of about 9,000 military personnel from a rotating group of battalions and brigades who each fulfil a seven-month tour of duty. When 52 Infantry Brigade, based at Edinburgh Castle, went out in the autumn of 2007, its role was as its head, with Brigadier Andrew Mackay and his staff controlling the whole of Britain's forces. The role of the Black Watch, 3 Scots, has been as a solid fist.

The 420 members of the Black Watch – plus 30 soldiers of 38 Battery, Royal Artillery as well as detachments of Royal Signals, Intelligence Corps, Royal Engineer, Royal Military Police and Royal Logistics Corps – has formed the Regional Battlegroup (South). Or, to put it simply, "the flying squad". The only battlegroup not responsible for holding a specific area, they have been flown in to trouble spots and charged with completing specific missions, such as disrupting an insurgent stronghold in the Zhari district or destroying a drugs factory in the Upper Sangin valley.

By their tour's end they had completed 21 separate operations, which had lasted from a brief 24 hours to a gruelling ten days.

Among the most memorable missions was Operation Ouba 3, which ran from 31 May to 6 June and involved a force of 380 men dispatched after dark in Chinook helicopters with the task of targeting three Taleban drug areas. "It was a hot landing site," said Lt-Col Cartwright. "You could see the flashes of fire from their weapons and hear them. We had to fight hard from touch-down for the next 24 hours before extraction." Over the next few days they destroyed ten narcotics facilities, including 5.5 tonnes of wet opium – congealed sap from the fruit of the poppies – and seven tonnes of ammonium chloride and sulphur, chemicals key to drug processing. Among the insurgents killed were a number involved in the manufacture of IEDS.

The Black Watch have had a strange double life. Unlike other soldiers, embedded in forward operating posts for weeks on end, after combat the Black Watch troops flew back to Kandahar airfield with its supermarkets, restaurants, coffee shops and the next match for Black Watch FC. Yet they have never been there for long, as the average gap between missions is just three days.

The most arduous was Operation Panther's Claw, which began at midnight on 19 June. During this, 350 Black Watch soldiers, transported in 12 Chinooks, had the task of securing an area the size of the Orkney Islands in Babaji Fasal, north-west of the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah. Over the following few weeks, and despite numerous counter-attacks by the Taleban, they secured three key river crossings. "Panther's Claw was not about getting people to vote," said Lt-Col Cartwright. "In a counter-insurgency campaign we have to provide a state of security. This was a strip of land the size of Isle of Man that had not seen ISAF forces or been protected by ISAF forces for over three years. Now there is a large area with 80,000 people who have access to polling stations closer to home."

WHILE the British public may fret over the Afghan campaign, their fears fed by the pessimistic reports by American generals and a fraudulent election, the troops of the Black Watch see things differently: they are given specific missions and success is measured by those parameters, not on how many Afghans turned out to vote. "The Jocks are not thinking, 'Gosh, I hope 20,000 come out and vote this year'," says Lt-Col Cartwright. "The boys think from the bottom up. We all do. We are out here to perform a task."

The thrill of combat is the reason why many joined up and they have not been disappointed. Major Al Steele, 34, the commander of Bravo Company who is from Edinburgh, talks of the "sustained tussle with insurgents" which lasted for 36 hours during a counter-narcotics strike in early June. Sergeant Danny Buist, 34, from Arbroath considers the "biggest moment" of the tour as when his platoon hit an IED: "The psychological pressure of knowing that the insurgents had put out IEDS all over the place was immense. I think our drills saved us from further casualties."

Yet at times the fear is uncontrollable: when Private Kevin Elliott returned to Scotland on his mid-tour break in July, he sat on the sofa in his friend Barry Delaney's flat in Dundee, drinking, and admitted he was terrified of Afghanistan and the innumerable booby traps. He felt the enemy was strengthening, becoming more deadly with each week and that he would not come back alive if he returned to Helmand. But he returned – and, on 31 August, was killed, alongside Sergeant Gus Millar, in a rocket attack. Delaney kept a vow to his friend and wore a green lurex dress to the funeral.

Six soldiers under Lt-Col Cartwright's command have died: Sergeant Sean Binnie, Delta (Light) Company, on 7 May in Musa Qala; Private Robert McLaren, Alpha (Grenadier) Company on 11 June in Zhari District; Bombardier Craig Hopson, 38 Battery, Royal Artillery, on 25 July in Babaji; Private Kevin Elliott and Sergeant Gus Millar, both Charlie (Fire Support) Company, on 31 August in Babaji, and Corporal Tam Mason, who died in a British hospital on 25 October of wounds sustained in an incident in Zhari District.

Lt-Col Cartwright says: "Death is one of the hardest parts of command. People have died on operations that you have designed. You have put the plan together and you as commander give the orders.

"The hardest bit it is the vigil. When we have lost somebody, we have a small vigil back in camp and I read the lesson. We have a eulogy, which range from the formal and then we get someone who knows them best to speak and this is very, very moving. You have lost one of your own, your military family.

"But it is a micro-pain compared to that of the family you write to. I like to give it a day before I write to the family, you just need to compose yourself as you want to write something that can be re-read in years to come and that their children can read. They have made the ultimate sacrifice."

AND so the Scottish soldier continues to roll forward, ticking off mission after mission in Afghanistan as ordered, yet aware that the war is rolling back. As 3 Scots The Black Watch returns home, so 1 Scots is in preparation to deploy next spring and the cycle continues. Before leaving the "wooden shack" as he refers to his headquarters to make final preparations for his return – "I've a number of reports to write up, brave actions to record" – Lt-Col Cartwright is keen to emphasise the deep pride he has in his men and the tremendous sadness for those lost under his command. He also points out the continued support of the Scottish people, who have sent out thousands of care packs to the troops.

"I believe that there has been and remains in Scotland enormous pride for the young men of the Royal Regiment of Scotland who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan and I have no doubt that continues."

He pauses, then adds: "There is a separate question, which is, 'do they approve of the political direction in which we are going?' And on that I can't possibly comment."

THE BLACK WATCH'S 21 MISSIONS:

1: 11-12 April: Location: Nasser, Kandahar Province. Mission: Disrupt operation.

2: 21-25 April: Location: Band-e-Timor, Kandahar Province. Mission: Disrupt operation to protect Highway 1, the main national ring road. Found part of insurgent logistic network.

3: 5-10 May: Location: Nahr-E-Saraj, Helmand Province. Mission: Disrupt operation, targeting insurgent activity around Highway 1. Closed down potential IED points, and generated intelligence for further operations.

4: 13-15 May: Location: Nahr-E-Saraj, Helmand Province. Mission: as above.

5: 19-23 May: Location: Aynak, Helmand Province. Mission: Protection of Royal Engineers while they built checkpoints.

6: 31 May-6 Jun: Location: Upper Sangin Valley. Mission: Ouba 3 Aviation assault to disrupt drug production and insurgent activity. Ten narcotics facilities were destroyed. Insurgents killed included several IED trainees.

7: 10-15 Jun: Location: Zhari District, Kandahar Province. Mission: Battle group aviation assault into an insurgent stronghold in Western Kandahar to disrupt insurgent activities around on Highway 1.

8: 19-24 Jun: Location: Babaji, Helmand Province. Mission: Operation Panther's Claw: Battle group deployed by aviation and road to secure and control a well-known canal crossing point and drugs bazaar. Insurgent movement in the area was badly disrupted.

9: 24 Jun-4 Jul: Location: Babaji, Helmand Province. Mission: Panther's Claw, continued.

10: 10-15 Jul: Location: Babaji, Helmand Province. Mission: Panther's Claw, continued, including support to other battlegroups.

11: 20-27 Jul: Location: Babaji, Helmand Province. Mission: Panther's Claw air assault and armoured link-up for the final phase.

12: 8-9 Aug: Location: Malmand Chinah, Helmand Province. Mission: Strike on drugs and IED facilities overnight.

13: 14-15 Aug: Location: Panjawi, Kandahar Province. Mission: Disrupt insurgent attacks.

14: 15-29 Aug: Location: Southern Afghanistan. Mission: Battlegroup held on standby for Afghan elections.

15: 29 Aug-4 Sep: Location: Babaji, Helmand Province. Mission: A Coy deployed under command 1st Bn Welsh Guards to protect Royal Engineers while they worked on checkpoints.

16: 5-7 Sep: Location: Upper Sangin Valley, Helmand Province. Mission: Counter IED operation in northern Helmand.

17: 14-19 Sep: Location: Zhari District, Kandahar Province. Mission: Disrupt operation in insurgent stronghold.

18: 28 Sep-3 Oct: Location: Garmsir District, Helmand Province. Mission: Counter IED and narcotic operation focussed on Lakari Bazaar, under command of US Marines' Task Force Leatherneck.

19: 28 Sep-11 Oct: Location: Nar-e-Saraj Province, Helmand Province. Mission: Influence and counter-mobility operation focussed on winning local consent and preventing insurgent exfiltration from Babaji.

20: 8-10 Oct: Location: Upper Sangin Valley, Helmand Province. Mission: Counter IED operation in northern Helmand.

21: 14 Oct: Location: Upper Sangin Valley, Helmand Province. Mission: Deployed to secure and enable the recovery of US helicopter that had made an emergency landing.