Force protection and quick reaction in Kabul
Major Charlie Grant talks about daily life in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul as he works in support of NATO’s Resolute Support Mission
Currently commanding the men and women of the infantry company deployed to Afghanistan is Major Charlie Grant. When we last spoke to Major Grant, he and his team were taking part in their Mission Rehearsal Exercise prior to deployment. Now he is there and doing it for real.
British forces are currently stationed in Kabul, Afghanistan on Operation TORAL. In 2014, combat operations ended and British and NATO Forces continued to commit significant resources to Afghanistan with the aim of helping to rebuild and provide ongoing security in the region.
Please introduce yourself and what you are doing
“I’m major Charlie Grant. I’m Commanding Charlie Company from 2 SCOTS, currently stationed in Kabul on Operation TORAL.
What does an average day look like?
“We have two different jobs out here that we switch back and forth between. Half the time that we’re here we do something called Advisor Force Protection (AFP), where we plan missions to take NATO advisors to different bits of the city, meeting and working with the Afghan forces. When we’re on AFP, our guys prepare their vehicles for their patrols, deliver orders for whatever patrol action they’re going to go out and do and then they go out and do that mission, making sure that afterwards they then feedback any intelligence that’s been learned.
“When we’re not on AFP, we’re on something called Quick Reaction Force (QRF), which is where we are held ready to respond to any incidents that go on around the city. Our daily routine when we’re on QRF starts very much the same. Everything out here revolves around making sure the vehicles are ready to deploy. So, a soldier’s day always starts with looking after their kit and equipment, and for us at the moment, vehicles are a big part of that.
“When we are on QRF, once they’ve prepared their vehicles, we’ve then got to make sure we are waiting, anticipating something might happen, we are always ready for that.”
How did the Mission Rehearsal Exercise prepare you for deployment?
“I think we’ve settled in very well. One of the things that we’ve already learned so far is that the training that we got prior to coming here was exactly what we needed to get us into the right mindset to do the job we’ve got here.
“We had a fantastic handover from the Rifles who were here before us, who set the conditions for us to really make sure that we can deliver our mission here; we’ve been set up very well by all our predecessors.
How has it been operating alongside other nations?
“One of the most significant contributing countries to the Kabul Security Force is the Danish Viking Company. The closest nation that we work within our role is a company of Danish. They do exactly the same job that my company does, and we take it in turns to do those jobs, handing back and forth between the two.
“I’m hugely impressed with the Danish counterparts that we’ve got here, their experience, their professionalism is everything that we would expect from our own soldiers and I’m very happy and proud to stand side-by-side with them in delivering the wider Resolute Support Mission.
How would you assure families back home that everyone is okay and morale is high?
“The first thing I would say to my family at home and the family of all my soldiers is an enormous thank you. We’re over here, supporting an operational campaign that keeps us very busy but we can’t miss the fact that our families at home are fighting their own battles.”
“We look forward to coming home at the end of our operational tour, knowing that we’ve done our very best here and knowing that our families have been brilliantly supporting us back home.”
