Afghan Notes

IN the last seven weeks we have had six of our fellow Riflemen killed in action: Corporal Richard Robinson; Corporal Danny Nield; Lance Corporal Stephen Kingscott; Corporal Tom Gaden; Lance Corporal Paul Upton and Rifleman Jamie Gunn; the latter three dying in the same IED attack on their vehicle. Our thoughts and prayers are with them, their families and their friends.

Normally these affairs start quietly, a report comes over the radio net or a phrase comes up on the computer screen in our operations room. We’re now, very sadly, quite well rehearsed at the reactions required. Their identification numbers are checked, double checked and perhaps further queried if there might be any discrepancy or anomaly between the message sent from the battlefield, roadside or other forsaken patch of ground and our records back in the HQ. Once the Rifleman’s identity is confirmed, the Commanding Officer is advised of the incident if he’s not already there in the ops room, and the whole sorry process unravels.

Information about the individual is sent up to Taskforce Headquarters some 20 miles away where it is then sent further up the chain to the yet further distant HQ in Kandahar and back to the UK ending up in an organisation called the Joint Compassionate Coordination Cell, or JCCC. They direct the process of casualty notification. Not just for deaths but also for injuries whether it is on exercise or operations. A Casualty Notification Officer - CNO - is nominated and assigned to deliver the dreadful news to the unwitting emergency contact (what used to be called the next of kin). Possibly one of the most unenviable tasks in HM Forces, and one that is carried out with a degree of sensitivity that is not normally associated with men of arms.

Back in Camp Shorabak we go about the next part of the procedure, putting a eulogy together. Normally written by the Rifleman’s Company and Team Commanders, it is the public summary of the Rifleman’s life. Friends from his platoon and company are normally quoted, as is the Commanding Officer. There is no set formula and its style depends as much on the character of the Rifleman. In comparison to most of the Army’s written work, this is probably the only piece of service writing that is not bound by strict convention. However there is a style and shape that has evolved and which tends to act as a passable model by which to tell the tale of a young man’s life.

While the administrative functions are carried out, the mechanics of dealing with the soldier’s personal gear and military equipment is started. The Quartermaster and his Staff will gather the Rifleman’s property and carefully divide it between what belongs to the Army and must be disposed of, and those which are his own and must be returned to his family. A painful task; dissecting a man’s life through the division of his possessions, so often uncovering their secrets, hopes and dreams. The Quartermaster and his men go about their business as a doctor treats a naked patient. There is no judgement, there is no embarrassment. It is a service being performed for a fellow Rifleman, handing back his kit for him and packing up what now belongs to his family. Afterwards there are private tears and deeply drawn cigarettes, as well as jokes and “do you remember when he...”.

Sadness hits Shorabak in two waves. The news is broken to our camp’s small community by the Colonel, normally in the cookhouse. He will tell us the details that are known and the situation surrounding the incident, and we are reminded of the need to keep the awful news within the battalion until it has been announced to the public. The next meal in the cookhouse is generally bereft of the normal hubbub as if a blanket has been thrown on normal dealings. For the next few days camp life will return to normal. For most this will be the case until the day of the Vigil and the Repatriation, with the exception of those friends who will be acting as the bearer and guard parties who will be practiced at their drill by the Regimental Serjeant Major and the Provost Serjeant and taken through rehearsals. The Padre will prepare the Vigil Service and friends will make ready with tributes to be read out to those in attendance.

The Vigil Service starts the second wave. Readings from the Colonel and the Company Commander. Tributes from Riflemen who stood by him, the Kohima Epitaph and Binyon’s lines from the RSM. The Last Post from the Buglers and the silence of the parading Riflemen attending to their own reflections on the man and his family and friends.

Friends get one final chance to pay their personal respects to the Rifleman. At the Chapel of Rest in Camp Bastion they say their goodbyes, and occasionally slip a small memento into the coffin. One of our boys was awarded his Sniper badge that night by his mates, the best shot in the team they said. Another, a keen Gloucester RFC fan, had his favourite rugby shirt placed beside him.

Finally we say goodbye to our fellow Rifleman in the middle of night on a desert airstrip. Troops from across the Brigade parade to pay their respects and bid farewell. Letters from the Colonel to parents are handed to the aircrew. The parade is called to attention and our Rifleman is borne on the shoulders of six friends onto the waiting plane, which will take him home to his other family.

Once a Rifleman, always a Rifleman.

Swift and Bold

Jim