British campaign in Iraq comes to official end - Telegraph

The British mission in Iraq is to draw to a formal close with the end of combat operations that have cost 179 lives.

By Damien McElroy in Basra and Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent

Troops have been given the order to pull out, six years after the invasion to topple Saddam Hussein and seize his alleged stockpile of weapons of mass destruction.

As Operation Telic, the official code name for the Iraq operation, comes to an official close the British yesterday claimed they had left Basra calmer than at any time since the destruction of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003.

A memorial service to those killed in Iraq will be held in Basra airbase as command is handed over to the Americans who will secure southern Iraq for their own proposed withdrawal next year.

When the bugler sounds the retreat at the service it will herald the end of a bloody and controversial campaign.

After some of the hardest urban fighting since the Second World War the British say they have left behind a city that can finally look forward to a prosperous future if civil war can be avoided.

A senior military officer said the British Army had fulfilled its mission to depose the Baath party and introduce democracy.

"There is no doubt in my mind that we are leaving Iraq a vastly better place than it was under Saddam," he said.

"We removed a brutal dictator, Iraq is now a democracy. The Iraqi people are generally grateful for what has happened."

However British Forces have been widely criticised, even by American commanders and Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq's prime minister, for failing to stop the Mahdi Army, the radical Shia militia from taking over the city.

Morale plummeted between 2004 and 2008 as British positions, particularly in Basra Palace – were besieged by mortar and rocket fire, mostly supplied by Iran.

Major James Faux, a company commander in 5 Rifles, said: "There's been a lot of blood and sacrifice in Iraq and while I can't speak for those left behind I believe we've done a good job and am satisfied they believed they were doing their best."

In the past year a measure of normality has returned to Basra – markets have reopened and basic services restored – as violence fell to a tenth of levels at the peak.

Much of the credit for the city's change of fortune lies in Mr Maliki's decision to retake the city through Operation Charge of the Knights in March last year.

Baghdad ordered the campaign without consulting British commanders and Mr Maliki later acknowledged it was a humiliating snub.

But a senior British official said Charge of the Knights marked a turning point in the campaign. "It was what we got done in the aftermath that made the difference," said the official.

Over the coming months the remaining 3,700 servicemen will withdraw from the country that at the height of the operation saw 46,000 British troops involved in the 2003 invasion.

The end of the operation comes at a time when the MoD announced yesterday that a further 700 troops will deploy to Afghanistan over the summer to provide extra security for the presidential elections.

Despite the reduction of the force from Iraq the military will still be operating far above its "planning assumptions" with 9,000 troops in Afghanistan putting strain on the overstretched forces.

But it is hoped that the withdrawal will give the Army in particular the opportunity to recuperate after six long years of constant fighting that has seen soldiers quit in droves fed up with constant operations.

British forces handed over military command in Basra to the US Army at the end of March and will complete the withdrawal of combat troops by July 31, leaving behind 400 service personnel mainly involved in training the Iraq navy.

Weston solider recalls Iraq tragedy

WITH British forces preparing to withdraw from Iraq, one Weston soldier is looking forward to returning home - but knows only too well that not all the troops who flew out will be coming back. Lance Corporal Martin Campbell has completed his third tour of duty with the 5th Battallion The Rifles, a company recruited almost entirely from the West Country.

During his time in the troubled country, the 23-year-old has helped protect the Allied forces' operations base at Basra, and assist Iraq Security Forces in the city.Attacks on the base have dropped from 28 per month a year ago to just five in the past eight months, resulting in UK involvement being scaled down - and Martin being cleared to return home to his pregnant wife Louise. But not all British soldiers are so fortunate.

Martin experienced the human cost of the invasion firsthand, when his close friend, Corporal Matt Cornish, was killed during his second tour.Cpl Cornish, 29, was killed in 2006 during a sustained mortar attack on the base in Basra City.

Martin said: "He was in the leading vehicle, I was in the vehicle behind. I thought he was going to make it, but when we got the nod he did pass away, it was hard. You have to just carry on."The hardest thing I ever did was coffin bearer when we loaded him on to the aircraft. It was the hardest thing watching the lads break down."

Martin continued: "My first tour was reasonably quiet, but my second tour was much busier.

"Our camp in the city was hit frequently. Only one or two days went by when we didn't get contacted by the enemy. That's when your training kicks in.

"But Martin believes the latest tour has seen a sea change in attitudes from the local people, and the British withdrawl has come at an appropriate time.

He said: "I look at this tour as a hearts and minds tour, speaking to the locals, helping them out, seeing what they need and what we can do for them. It's a lot quieter.

"You do get a warm feeling when locals are happy to see you. Things like meeting the locals letting them know we're still interested - it makes you realise you're making a difference.

'We've made a big difference'

AS THE conflict in Iraq draws to a close, Plymouth soldiers are counting the days until they will be reunited with their family and friends.

City troops arriving in Basra in 2003 were generally welcomed to the city by locals with open arms, celebrating the imminent downfall of long-standing oppressive president Saddam Hussein.

In the following years, however, many British lives were lost in fierce fighting in the city, as organised insurgent groups such as the Mehdi Army launched a barrage of attacks.

Patrolling soldiers were at best stoned by locals – and at worst forced to engage in frantic firefights. Most of those who have served on four tours speak of missing fallen friends and colleagues.

But the Charge of the Knights operation in March last year, an Iraqi Army-led military operation aimed at rooting out extremists, was a turning point for the country and local lads are now looking forward to leaving Iraq for the final time.

For Whitleigh man Corporal Steven Stringer, the priority is getting back to his five children at his family home near Paderborn, Germany, where his battalion, 5 Rifles, is based.

The 36-year-old has missed numerous birthdays and other milestones since arriving in Basra for his second tour.

"Spending Christmas and New Year away from my family was tough," Cpl Stringer says from the back of a Warrior on the way to a training exercise. "It's been a long old stretch out here and I'm looking forward to getting back."

Rifleman Karl Bennett, from Ivybridge, will be moving into a new house when he touches down on UK soil again in May.

The 23-year-old, a former pupil of Stowford Primary School and St Boniface's Catholic College, is proud at how things have changed in Iraq since he was last there just over two years ago.

"It's improved amazingly," he says. "Compared to what it was like in 2006 it's come on dramatically.

"Things have moved on and it's only getting better. We've done what we came here to do, but I'm looking forward to getting back to Plymouth."

Rfn Bennett is one of dozens of Plymouth soldiers to have lost friends in the war, but he says he's convinced the most important thing is the welfare of the Iraqi people.

"Obviously there have been deaths and without a doubt that's the worst thing for anyone," he reflects.

"The families I feel for still to this day: but, in general, I think the Iraqi public thinks we've done a good job. It's good to see and it's good to leave with a good, positive attitude."

Serjeant Karl Dobson has seen Operation Telic from start to finish.

The 29-year-old, from Saltash, vividly remembers spending two months living off ration packs in the back of a cramped and unbearably hot Warrior armoured vehicle with seven other soldiers during the 2003 invasion.

"I just remember it all being so fast," he recalls.

"When we got here we were greeted with handshakes and open arms – but then Iraq went through its darker periods. They didn't want us here at all.

"There were a few hairy moments: but coming back here you can see the difference that the British have made with regards to the Government, the police, their army – and what a difference six years makes.

"I can confidently stand here and say the police and their army are 100 per cent better than what it was.

"I believe the British have done a good job and it will be good to know that we've started something and we're going to finish it."

Passionate about his job commanding a Warrior, Sjt Dobson is nonetheless looking forward to returning to Saltash to see his mum, dad and brother.

By the time he leaves at the end of May, he will have spent a total of more than two years in Basra.

"I believe we came here for a reason," he adds. "We've done what we came here to do.

"I've seen it from the start, through the bad times, to the end state and it's time to go. We're going home, and I'm happy knowing that."

Young Rifleman Craig Ruff, 19, from the city centre, says he's enjoyed his first tour to Iraq – but is eager to test his skills in Afghanistan.

"At this point, though, I'm really looking forward to going back and seeing my family and friends," he says.

"You train and you want to do what you train for – it's your job – but obviously it's a great thing that the fighting's coming to an end."

Tomorrow: How the Battalion's soldiers have been working with locals in Iraq to help them rebuild their lives.

Bath soldier looks forward to Afghanistan stint

A soldier from Bath says he is looking forward to serving in one of the most inhospitable regimes in the world.

Nineteen-year-old Nicholas Addey is coming to the end of a tour of duty in Basra, where he says his rifle company's stint has been "quiet".

But as he and thousands of British soldiers prepare to lead the drawdown of forces from Iraq, another country is already firmly in the minds and on the lips of men serving in 5th Battalion The Rifles (5 Rifles) - Afghanistan.

Although some of the 600 troops serving with 5 Rifles at Contingency Operating Base (COB) Basra have experienced a total of four tours, in 2003, 2004, 2006 and the present one, for many of the younger troops such as Rifleman Addey, their current deployment is their first.

And perhaps surprisingly, when asked about the future, the men eagerly talk about their hopes, and not fears, of serving in Asia.

The battalion, equipped with the formidable Warrior Armoured Vehicle, has a tour booked in 2011, and although there's no guarantee, the men are fully aware it is more than likely they will be deployed to the war-torn country.

The soldiers are now weeks away from the end of their current stint - with most scheduled to leave early to mid May - after Major General Andy Salmon, head of coalition forces, stood down and handed over military command to the US Army last month.

Maj Gen Salmon's consensus that the British Army is leaving Basra a much safer and optimistic place is shared by the 5 Rifles troops.

Rfn Addey, is out on his first tour, after arriving last December.

Rfn Addey, who will return to the battalion's base in Paderborn in Germany, said: "This has been a quiet first tour. There's been no contact with the enemy."

Rfn Addey, who was recently engaged to Trisha Hazell, 18, said it was the lack of action that has set his mind on fighting in Afghanistan in two years' time.

He said: "I joined because I wanted to fight, I wanted to make people proud, I wanted to be on the front line.

"The training we've done - we've not used it all on this tour. People join the Army for those reasons."

One of 5 Rifles' principle tasks in Basra is to provide protection on the base and assistance to the Iraqi Security Forces in Basra City when required - or as many of them like to dub themselves, they are "the insurance policy".

But they have not been called into the city once on this tour, and indirect fire on the COB is unusual these days - there have been only five attacks in the past eight months, compared to 28 in March 2008.

So proud of Basra troops - army chief - Grantham Journal

A senior commanding officer from Wiltshire has paid tribute to the sacrifices made by soldiers serving in southern Iraq as UK forces prepare to end combat operations in the Middle Eastern country.

With three tours of Iraq to his name, Lieutenant Colonel Edward Chamberlain, Commanding Officer 5th Battalion The Rifles (5 Rifles), was there at the beginning of the invasion in 2003 and will witness the campaign come to an end.

Lt Col Chamberlain and 650 of his 1,000 troops currently based at the Contingency Operating Base (COB) Basra are now weeks away from leaving after Major General Andy Salmon stood down and handed over military command to the US Army last month.

And looking back, Lt Col Chamberlain, originally from Devizes but now based at 5 Rifles' base in Germany, is without doubt the British Army has left a significantly positive mark on Basra City and the surrounding province.

Standing in the COB next to one of the Warrior Armoured Fighting Vehicles he first entered Basra in as a company commander and Major in 2003, he said: "The Basra we entered was a depressed, Middle Eastern city. It was old, it was crumbling, it was dirty. The cars were old, there were no modern vehicles on the road, there weren't any satellite TV dishes. The electricity wasn't functioning, it was a very run down place. The population was very frightened, very subdued and not hugely happy.

"But now it's changed significantly. It's completely different. It's a vibrant place, the population is happy, the middle class has come back, so things are functioning in a way they weren't in 2003.

"It's changed immeasurably, electricity is on, cars are modern, there are satellite dishes on every building, some people have air conditioning, people don't rely on generators in the back yard, it's a proper, viable, functioning Middle Eastern city.

"Yes, there is still a need for new hospitals, there are still more schools required, there is still infrastructure needed. But that work is now happening, and that's the big difference; it wasn't happening in 2003.

"People were not getting what they needed, the middle class were leaving where they could. Now they're here. They're investing in their future," he said. "We have had two elections here, we've got democracy here, people have their say. Children are going to school on proper terms, in a proper education system."

British combat operations in Iraq will end on May 31 and nearly all of the UK's remaining 4,100 troops in the country will be withdrawn by July 31.

Tribute to UK troops in Basra - Press & Journal

Senior officer highlights army’s positive impact on southern Iraq.

By Jamie Grierson

A senior commanding officer has paid tribute to the sacrifices made by soldiers serving in southern Iraq as UK forces prepare to end combat operations in the Middle Eastern country.

With three tours of Iraq to his name, Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Chamberlain, Commanding Officer 5th Battalion, The Rifles (5 Rifles), was there at the beginning of the invasion in 2003 and will witness the campaign come to an end.

Lt Col Chamberlain and 650 of his 1,000 troops based at the Contingency Operating Base (COB) Basra, are now weeks away from leaving after military command was handed to the US Army last month.

Lt Col Chamberlain has no doubt the British Army has left a significantly positive mark on Basra and the surrounding province.

Standing in the COB next to one of the Warrior armoured fighting vehicles he first entered Basra in as a major in 2003, he said: “The Basra we entered was a depressed, Middle Eastern city. It was old, it was crumbling, it was dirty. It was a very rundown place. The population was very frightened, very subdued and not hugely happy.

“But now it’s changed significantly. It’s a vibrant place, the population is happy, the middle class has come back, so things are functioning in a way they weren’t in 2003.”

British combat operations will end on May 31 and nearly all of the UK’s remaining 4,100 troops will be withdrawn by July 31.

Since 2003, 179 British personnel have lost their lives.

Lt Col Chamberlain paid tribute to them, and added that improvements in the country were down to their sacrifices.

He said: “The individual, personal tragedies, for people who have been killed and their families, and those who have been injured and their families, while desperately sad, the overall effect is positive.

“This country is better now than it was in 2003. I think we should be proud of the sacrifices they’ve made for this nation.”

From front-line fighting to charity work in Iraq

From fighting on the frontline to raising money for charity, soldiers from 5th Battalion The Rifles have kept themselves busy during multiple tours in Iraq.

Exactly six years ago, Lieutenant Colonel Edward Chamberlain, Commanding Officer of 5 RIFLES, was leading a company of soldiers across the Kuwaiti border into southern Iraq as part of the invasion to topple Saddam Hussein.

Now his servicemen and women are part of the final rotation of British troops deployed in Iraq, where their work is much less hostile. Daily tasks include securing the British base at Basra airport, training elements of the Iraqi security forces and preparing to transport all their kit home -- a big change from battling enemy forces.

In their free time, soldiers have managed to collect more than 25,000 pounds for Project 65, which backs a number of long-standing military charities that support soldiers and their families.

Among various fund-raising events at the Basra base were a fun run and a ‘Premiership’ football tournament. Twenty teams from the British and Iraqi Armed Forces staged the tournament earlier this month, with each team playing in a strip of a current Premiership squad. The final was between Wigan (Iraqi police) and Sunderland (Royal Air Force). 'Wigan' kicked its way to a 2-0 victory.

An auction was held after the match to sell the football kits, raising 4,300 pounds. The Premier League matched the sum to bring the total to 8,600 pounds for Project 65.

The 5 RIFLES are due to start returning to Britain in the coming months, hopefully in time for three teams of soldiers to take part in a 65-mile money-raising run organised by Project 65 from Dorset to Normandy, an event due to take place between June 4 to 6.

“The aim of the run is two fold: To replicate the Pegasus Bridge operation of D-Day 'man-for-man' and to raise 500,000 pounds for the care and support of wounded armed forces veterans,” according to the web site http://www.project65.net/.

If you fancy sponsoring the 5 Rifles on their latest mission you can go to: http://www.justgiving.com/5rifles.In addition to the run, wives will be jumping out of an aeroplane to represent the gliders who took part on June 6th 1944, by doing tandem freefall jumps.

[Picture by Peter Nicholls: Lieutenant Colonel Edward Chamberlain, Commanding Officer, 5th Battalion, The Rifles.]

Heavy Metal Heroes - Daily Star

ARMED to the teeth, the “heavy metal” infantrymen from The Rifles leap ashore from Combat Assault Boats.

Their target: The insurgents who have dedicated their lives to bringing about the deaths of Our Boys.

The lads from 5th Battalion, The Rifles, have traded in the Warrior armoured vehicles and Challenger 2 main battle tanks in which they usually go into battle for tiny flat-bottomed boats – as they learn new ways to win against the bad guys in Iraq.

Their key task is to stop terrorist teams raining down high explosive rockets on to Basra’s Contingency Operating Base (COB), home to the 4,100 UK troops still here until summer.

Last year Iraqi rocket gangs made our lads’ and lasses’ lives a living hell, with round after round of 107mm rockets crashing down on the base.

Massive and expensive efforts were made to safeguard British troops – cinder block “Baghdad bed” bunks with 4in steel roofs, dinner halls built with 2ft concrete walls and automated machine guns trained to radars to shoot mortars and rockets out of the sky.

But the best answer turned out to be old-fashioned boots on the ground.

The boys live by their old motto – Swift and Bold – touring the waterways and marshlands of southern Iraq in their 30mph Mark Six boats to snuff out the rocket menace.

And they need sharp eyes, too. Rocket gangs patrol these waters disguised as locals, using traditional fishing boats to transport deadly 107mm Katyusha rockets and even more terrifying 240mm anti-ship missiles.

They tee up their evil weapons on sloping ground aimed at the COB, arming them with sophisticated 59-minute timers which were most probably designed in neighbouring Iran.

But now the fight is being taken to the enemy. Our Boys have built Forward Operating Base Oxford – little more than a row of tents on a muddy island but a vital stronghold in the battle to save UK and coalition lives.

The men there live on food-in-a-bag rations, sleep on the floor and go to the toilet in plastic bags.

One of the few leisure options is the collection of weights benches that the lads have put together to work out and build their muscles. They call their home-made gym “Operation Massive”.

Based in the marshlands north of the main base, the lads spend nine days at a time in these very spartan conditions as they patrol the watery countryside, silencing the rockets and mortars.

And their success is measured in one simple statistic – the last major volley of Katyushas hit home six months ago.

Now the enemy, known as the Northern IDF Team – which stands for the up-and-under indirect fire of mortars and rockets – are on the run. And they are the lucky ones.

When asked if any rocketeers had been killed or captured, one source simply told us: “Well, there used to be a Southern IDF Team. But there isn’t one any more.” Lt Mike Foster Vander Elst, 25, told us: “A lot of indirect fire attacks have come from the area to the north, which is pretty sparsely populated.

“We are here to stop that fire happening and we have been very effective."

With Brit forces due to quit the country by the end of July, some of the Rifles have served FOUR tours of duty – starting with the 2003 invasion, through the bad times and now seeing security for ordinary Iraqis improving.

Cpl Mark Calvert, 27, from Durham, said: “This is my third tour here and it does feel a lot different now. It’s a lot
quieter – we haven’t seen any baddies since we’ve been here!”

The boys also work hard to get the locals on side. “Hearts-and-minds patrols” dish out footballs, pens and trendy wristbands to Iraqi children.

We accompanied a patrol to a school where engineers came up with a scheme to bring in water and electricity. If their plan works that’s another 165 six to 14-year-olds with a reason to thank the Brits for coming to Iraq.

And the troops say the cuddly tactics work – villagers’ tip-offs about insurgent activity are now up to 900 a month.
With the British pull-out from Iraq so close, soldiers here are convinced that they have made a difference.

Major General Andy Salmon – the man in charge of UK and US forces in South-East Iraq – told the Daily Star Sunday: “The British people can feel proud of the efforts of everyone out here who stuck it out through thick and thin – even when their friends were killed. They all rolled up their sleeves and got on with it.

“We can see the consequences here of all our work and know that the sacrifices, particularly of the 179 dead and all the wounded, were not in vain.”