Royal Regiment of Scotland sets off for Afghanistan

Published on Tuesday 9 March 2010 21:50

THE first batch of troops from The 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland set off for Afghanistan in the early hours of this morning to begin a six-month tour of duty.

The main task for the 400-strong group will be training and mentoring the Afghan National Army and police in Helmand province, in the south of the country as part of Operation Herrick.

Yesterday soldiers and officers from C Company shared their hopes and fears as they packed their kit after final briefings at the battalion's base at Dreghorn Barracks in Edinburgh.

Those being deployed range from experienced soldiers who have undertaken previous tours in Afghanistan to the youngest, who is shortly to celebrate his 18th birthday.

Private Richard Harvey, 28, from Wester Hailes in Edinburgh, who is beginning his fourth Afghan tour, said he found it difficult saying goodbye to his three daughters, Vikki, 11, Jennifer, 5, and Emma, 4.

Pte Harvey, whose duties will include providing close protection for the company commander, said: "I'm a bit apprehensive, but I've got everything sorted out back home. That's all that's preyed on my mind. The two youngest get clingy when they see the desert combats going on.

"But I don't feel that anything's going to happen to me. If it's going to happen it's going to happen. Two guys from the Royal Scots got killed before we merged and that really hit home."

Shaun Garrett, 17, from Stranraer, a former pupil at Stranraer Academy, whose ambition was to join the army, said: "I'm excited but I don't know what to expect. We've been doing pre-deployment training since November so we're prepared. When you see Afghanistan on television it makes you realise where you're going.

"Some people think it's not a big thing, but it is when you're just about to do it."

Techno musician Keith Robinson, 41, from Duns in the Borders, a rave organiser, a member of Desert Storm Sound System band and a member of the TA, said his first deployment to Afghanistan was his chance to "put his money where his mouth was".

He said: "I quite believe in the cause politically. I feel our way of life and society are under threat from the way the world is, that we're at a bit of a tipping point.

"I've got lots of friends that I've had to justify it to, but it's my life at the end of the day. I feel excited about it. Maybe I'll be worried when I go on the first patrol out the gate. I joined so I could do this tour. I wanted a new challenge.

For 47-year-old TA Sergeant Major Edward Coen , a First ScotRail conductor from Ayr, said his first trip to Afghanistan will let him see first hand the country where his son, a 45 Commando Royal Marine, has completed two tours.

"I'm looking forward to the challenge of it. I want to see the place for myself. Being a parent is harder than being there yourself.

"You don't have a day off when they're out there. You're on total edge for six months.

"I was in the Royal Scots for 25 years and I only joined the TA because they were being deployed."

The soldiers received training from Afghan officers who spent two weeks in Edinburgh training them in the basics of Dari language and culture for the tour.

Company commander Richard Forsyth, 34, from Leven, Fife, said his men had joined the army for "excitement and adventure" and were looking forward to the tour.

"They will live with the Afghan army seven days a week, 24 hours a day," he said.

"The Afghans have fantastic understanding of the culture which brings us a lot of help."

1 Scots already has one company of approximately 110 soldiers in Afghanistan. B Company has been attached to its neighbours at Edinburgh's Redford Barracks, 3rd Battalion The Rifles, for the past five months. These troops will return home over the next few weeks.