1 Royal Tank Regiment return home from Iraq

Music filled the air at the emotional reunion for around 30 soldiers from 1 Royal Tank Regiment who returned home from a six month tour of Iraq last night.

Piper Major Jason Sumner played Highland Laddie as the soldiers who were the last combat troops to leave Iraq, stepped off the coach to be met by their families at their base: RAF Honington in Suffolk.

Around 70 soldiers deployed to Iraq in November where they were in charge of the UK Military Transition Team Group (MiTT) – consisting of over 1000 men across 1000 square kms.

Around 16 MiTTs, were embedded in Iraqi Army units as mentors. Soldiers from 1RTR provided support, advice, training and specialist capabilities. They also helped the Iraqi Army plan and conduct dozens of successful major search operations.

Piper Lee Watson was greeted by his wife Nikky and his six-month son Ryan. Piper Lee last saw his son in February when he was home on leave. “I can’t believe how huge my son is now. I had a good time out there, it was a good experience but it feels good to be back. Now I’m looking forward to spending some time at home relaxing and enjoying some quality time with Ryan.”


Wife Nikky, whose brother Trooper Daniel Herschell served with Piper Watson in Iraq said: “It’s great to have them both home safe. It’s not been too bad whilst they’ve been away because we stayed in touch and I had Ryan to keep me busy. But I’m glad they are both back and we can now spend some quality family time together.”

Sergeant Major Stephen Hodson was delighted to be back home with his wife Sarah and his nine-month old daughter Eve. He said: “The last time I saw Eve was January and she has changed so much. Like everyone I am now looking forward to some leave to spend some quality time with our families.”

The Regiment has had a near continuous presence in Iraq since the start of the Operation in 2003. 40 of the soldiers who deployed in November returned home last week.

1RTR Commanding Officer, Lt Colonel Gavin Thompson said: “It’s fantastic to be back safe and sound after a successful tour. A transformation has occurred in Basra that is bringing peace and the first real signs of prosperity. Working with our Iraqi counterparts has been a team effort, in particular the Mitts and the way they rapidly developed the Iraqi Army. Our soldiers proved themselves to be consummate professionals, they can be proud of what they have achieved.”

Basra: A momentous task for soldiers from Northern Ireland

By Lesley-Anne Henry in Basra

Up to 30 soldiers from Northern Ireland are among the last British troops left in Iraq.
The soldiers from the Queen's Royal Hussars are almost half way through one of their most important and historic tours to date.

The Germany-based armoured regiment, a third of which is made up of men from Northern Ireland, are among the last British troops in Iraq and it is to these men that a major responsibility falls — ensuring control of the country reaches safe and capable hands when it is transferred from coalition forces to the fledgling national army in just a few months.

For some of the troops who were part of the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and returned again in 2006, this is their third tour but for all the soldiers involved in the operation known as Telic 13, this is the most momentous.

The QRH troops, who are deployed as part of the 20th Armoured Brigade, flew into Iraq on December 1 after a 10-day acclimatisation course in Kuwait.

Since their arrival they have been scattered across three locations in the southern oil rich province of Basra — Basra air station, the main coalition base, Umm Qsa, the region's biggest port and Az Zubayr a strategically important town 20km from Basra.

Their mission includes providing protection and guarding the Iraqi navy at the port.
QRH Military Transition Teams (MiTTs) are also concentrating their efforts on training and mentoring the 14th division of the Iraqi army, offering support such as basic soldiering skills, conducting vehicle or house searches and urban or rural foot patrols.

The security situation has changed since the QRH's last visit in 2006 when they were deployed across Al Amarah Province to conduct counter-smuggling operations close to the Iran-Iraq border.

On January 1, British forces handed control of Basra airport, its main military base in the south, to Iraqi officials. Most British troops have also withdrawn from Basra city.

QRH Commanding Officer Chris Coles said: “I think some expected a moment of déjà vu as they returned to familiar haunts, but the situation is radically different — and better — this time. The Iraqi army has taken a strong and courageous lead in giving the province real security and we are very much working in support rather than taking the lead.”

Captain Tam Biswas added: “The mentoring role involves key team seniors or individuals tasked with the departments and the Iraqi in charge of that battalion for the brigade will spend the whole three or four months teaching them how to run various tasks. The Arabic culture is based on relationships and if you show that you are on their side then they will work with you.”

In 2003 former Prime Minister Tony Blair sent 45,000 British troops to help the US topple Saddam Hussein. Today there are only around 4,100 UK soldiers in Iraq.

Snapshot of life for UK troops in Basra - BBC

The BBC's diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams has been embedded with the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment in Basra.

The regiment has been involved in training and mentoring the Iraqi army, before the final departure of British troops on 31 July.

Click here to watch a BBC video report as three soldiers show us around the base and explain what they hope to achieve in the country.

Armed Forces Minister sees a secure Basra

Armed Forces Minister Bob Ainsworth visited downtown Basra this week to see for himself how UK forces have helped to transform the city.

During his visit Mr Ainsworth personally thanked members of The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment and 26 Regiment Royal Artillery for their continued contribution as Military Transition Teams or 'MITTs' operating in Basra, mentoring their Iraqi counterparts. He also met some key Iraqi officials, including General Mohammed, the top officer commanding Iraqi forces in Basra.

2009 is a milestone year for Iraq. It is the first time that provincial and local elections are taking place that are entirely Iraqi-run, with Iraqi Security Forces providing the security. This is also the first time an Iraqi election has been run under an 'open list' system, resulting in new faces and, in particular, younger candidates.

Mr Ainsworth said:

"I came here a year ago and Basra was still a troubled place. It is now a testament to the success of the UK's transition strategy that Iraqis are solving Iraqi problems and Basra is now a secure city.

"Democracy is flourishing and people can now go about their daily business. I have seen that today with my own eyes. Our task was to get them to the point where Iraqis had a realistic prospect of success; to improve the situation on the ground while helping to train strong and credible security forces. UK personnel have made a fantastic contribution to the progress seen today in Iraq, and their sacrifices and efforts will be remembered."

Mr Ainsworth's visit coincides with the Iraqi provincial voting earlier this week. He was keen to speak to Iraqis, officials and commanders about their continued, combined efforts towards building on the economy, governance and military development.

During the visit he met with MITT teams on a city tour in Basra and spoke to personnel at Basra Palace. Mr Ainsworth was also flown by helicopter to the Basra Operations Centre, where the Iraqis co-ordinate and run their security activities.

Iraqi army 'ready and able' - BBC Online

Paul Adams BBC News, in Basra

In the first entry of his week-long diary, BBC diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams joins British troops on a raid near Basra as they witness the progress made by the Iraqi Army.
Up before dawn as word comes of an Iraqi army search operation at Az-Zubeir, south east of the city.

The operation involves 50 Iraqi Army Brigade, who our British hosts from the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment are mentoring, so we are invited along to watch.

We race through the deserted streets of Iraq's second largest city, not really knowing what the morning will hold.

The British MiTTs (Military Transition Teams) are not here to direct Iraqi army operations - those days are long gone - but to observe and offer discreet advice.

To keep a low profile, the Brits leave their imposing Mastiff armoured personnel carriers behind and ride in soft-skinned Iraqi jeeps.

They do not want to draw attention to themselves, a lesson from the days when highly visible British soldiers became a magnet for militia attacks.

The job of "mitting" will end soon, probably well before the final British departure date of 31 July, and this certainly feels like the beginning of the end.

Help and equipment

Britain's role in training and mentoring the 14th Iraqi army division is almost done. As this morning's display shows, the Iraqis are organising and conducting their own operations with minimal British support.

To be sure, an RAF Lynx flies up and down the road as we near az-Zubeir, and an occasional whine gives away the presence overhead of a tiny British drone, a Desert Hawk.

Britain is still providing the sort of help and equipment the reconstituted Iraqi armed forces cannot muster.

But as the true size of the raid becomes apparent, causing astonishment among the British soldiers watching, it seems clear the Iraqi army is operating with considerable confidence.
Or at least that is the impression it hopes to convey.

As the sun comes up over the desert, our convoy stretches as far as the eye can see.
It seems that 14 Division has thrown almost everything it has into the operation.
It unfolds at a fairly leisurely pace, with several U-turns and, when we reach the town, a lot of standing around. But the British are still impressed.

"They've got it pretty well locked down," remarks Maj Adrian Grinonneau as we pass street after street blocked off by armoured vehicles and well-armed Iraqi troops.

"This is unprecedented from our viewpoint," he says as more and more troops arrive.
And to emphasise that, this is an Iraqi operation through and through. He adds: "We're not giving them guidance, we're not giving them direction. Operationally, they're mustard [sharp]."
The search, in a dirt poor town with a reputation for lawlessness and violence, yields dozens of weapons, from an ageing Sten gun to an assortment of Kalashnikovs. More than 120 weapons in all.

Some of the house searches look a little staged for our camera and the town's sleepy atmosphere seems at odds with the overwhelming military presence.

But with just five days to go before Iraq's important provincial elections, it seems the army is glad and able to make a big statement. And for the watching Brits, that means that it'll soon be time to go home.

See the report on the BBC website here

MiTTs: Enabling the Iraqis to take charge

Wearing soft hats and smiles, Basra's native soldiers' relaxed air as they patrol the city's streets serves as a tangible example of the upturn in security in southern Iraq. Helping them inch ever closer to assuming full control of Basra are British Military Transition Teams (MiTTs). Report by Stephen Tyler.

Operating in areas that less than a year ago would have taken several hundred men to take and hold, the Iraqis are making giant strides in convincing Basrawis that they are a force for good.

Central to that shift in opinion has been the implementation of the MiTT system by coalition troops. Already widely used by the US Army in Baghdad and by the British - in the form of OMLTs (Operational Mentor and Liaison Teams) - in Afghanistan, the concept is helping indigenous soldiers take charge of their country's destiny.

By allying a Military Transition Team to individual battalions of the Iraqi Army's 14th Division, the British enable the Basra-based soldiers to take the lead in establishing and maintaining security across the city.

Major Conrad Turpin of The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, the man in charge of monitoring the transition project, explained that the principle behind successful 'mitting' is to take a back seat and allow the Iraqis to empower themselves by taking charge of everything from training programmes to operations:

"Training is a very small part of mitting," he said. "It's more about living alongside the Iraqi Army and providing support as and when they need it. We are not here to be overseers and instructors, we are here to enable them to succeed.

"Ultimately our aim is to grow and develop the 14th Division to the point where they are able to cope without us and act fully on their own. Our first job out here was to learn from them what they do and how they do it because we are not trying to impose the British way onto them. It's Iraqi-led and we have to ensure that they succeed. If they don't, the populace won't support them and they will have lost Basra."

The success of mitting is clear to see in and around Basra's southern suburbs.
Deep in territory once ruled by trigger-happy militiamen sits a bombed-out hotel that now serves as the base for a company of 50 Brigade Iraqi troops.

From their adopted home - which was a Jaish Al Mahdi stronghold less than a year ago - the soldiers carry out patrols and conduct training under a MiTT relationship with 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland.

Major Toby Christie, Officer Commanding, was quick to dispel any notions that the Iraqis were anything other than well-trained soldiers dedicated to securing a peaceful future for their country:
"There seems to be an impression that they are a bunch of boy scouts, but they are not," he said.
"They are professional and capable and in Operation Charge of the Knights they fought through the city like a bunch of devils."

Further evidence of the inroads mitting is making in the peace process is not hard to find. The palpable sense of danger that engulfed Basra just half-a-year ago has lifted and the locals are returning to some semblance of normality in their day-to-day lives.

Perhaps inevitably for a city that has known little other than firefights and explosions in its recent history, the streets and buildings bear the scars of battle. But with the damage comes the need for regeneration and the demand for repairs and for new equipment has given the Iraqis another chance to win favour with the population.

Military Transition Teams visit neighbourhoods within their areas to look for improvements that need to be made and are then able to apply for coalition cash to get the work done.

Local labour and material is used wherever possible and the resulting boost to both the communities and the economy is helping to turn even more hearts and minds round to the Army's way of thinking:

"We have helped with Iraqi-identified support projects like improving sewerage and drainage to win influence in the communities," continued Major Christie. "That has enabled them to learn from the process and carry out their own influence operations. It's exhausting and hard work and frustrations arise because of the cultural and language barrier, but it's been a challenge that has provided clear results after six months."

From a base in the heart of Basra, soldiers from 2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment and 9th/12th Royal Lancers have also been impressed with the increasing ability of their Iraqi counterparts.

During a dawn patrol which took troops past curious crowds of children making their way to school in unprecedented safety, Major Bev Allen of 2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment said he was pleasantly surprised with the professionalism of the 1st Battalion 51 Brigade Iraqi troops working in his MiTT:

"For me, the perception before I came was that we would be dealing with an amateur army who were not capable of operating successfully on their own," he said. "I'm glad to say that myth has been blown out of the water.

"We have done a lot of influence work and I think the Iraqis are more than capable of taking things forward. It has been a very good tour."

The infectious faith in Iraq's soldiers is spreading across the south of the country largely thanks to the support and guidance of the Military Transition Teams.

And although the Iraqi Army still has some way to go before it is ready to assume full control of Basra, Major Christie said the MiTT system has helped the Middle Eastern soldiers inch closer than ever before:

"It's still not a bed of roses and it would be mad to suggest it is," he concluded. "But things are moving fast and the city is certainly very optimistic."