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Musa Qaleh - Job well done.....Nearly

News Release issued by the COI News Distribution Service on 11 March 2010

Lt Col Harry Fullerton talks about his tour Commanding the HCR BG

Musa Qaleh had been considered one of the most dangerous areas in Helmand. Taken once by British forces during 2006, in October of that year an agreement with Tribal Elders to keep the Taliban insurgents of the town was made and the British Forces moved out. In February 2007 the Taliban returned in force to reoccupy the town. In December that year ISAF forces were back engaged in fierce fighting to retake the town. In a short time soldiers from the 2nd Bn Yorkshire Regiment, supported by the light tanks of the Household Cavalry Regiment were back in Musa Qaleh District Centre. And there British Forces have remained ever since.

Five months into their tour in the northerly town of Musa Qaleh, while elements of the Household Cavalry Regiment (HCR) Battle Group are still firmly involved in combat operations, others have their minds trained on moving out of Musa Qaleh.

The town has been the home to the Battle Group Headquarters since October 2009 when the HCR took over from the 2nd Bn Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (2RRF). At the time Musa Qaleh was relatively secure, but only weeks before the arrival of the HCR there were occasional indirect fire attacks. Operations led by 2RRF and later the HCR succeeded in pushing back the firing points until the incoming fire stopped.

Talking about the developments in Musa Qaleh Lt Col Fullerton said,

"I think there have been an number of considerable changes and it's probably partly to do with the partnership we have with the Afghan National Army (ANA) and the Afghan National Police (ANP). It's a close relationship, they've been very well trained by various training programs, and they have lots of experience. We've managed to embed ourselves with them so that all planning is done together, we listen to them, listen to what they've got to say about the area, they have a great deal more experience of it. I think its also to do with the people of Musa Qaleh. Every single area in Helmand Province has it own micro climate of local nationals, and what we've managed to do through the Governor, the Army and Police is to convince the locals that we area force for good. We're here to support the government and the government is the right way forward for the people of Afghanistan and the people of Musa Qaleh. And I think the important thing there is to show progress, and when they see better security, when they see justice being done correctly and when the see projects happening in front of their very eyes and employment opportunities arise they say look the Taliban is not the right way forward, the insurgency is on the wane, we're on the winning side with the government, lets stick with it and lets support it."

Government and Governance are the buzz words in Musa Qaleh, they are seen as the key factors in maintaining the momentum of change for the better in the town. The measures put in place to ensure effective governance and the men carrying out the duties of decision making are in position. These men are in almost daily contact with the Colonel and his team. 'At the root of the problem here in Afghanistan, in Helmand and in Musa Qaleh, there is no doubt about it, is governance and security. On the governance front we have a number of challenges but we address then through weekly security Shuras, and have a very good Stabilisation Officer from the PRT (Provincial Reconstruction Team) and a Political Officer or what we call the POLO. Between the three of us we liaise a great deal with the District Governor and the Chief of Police.

The District Governor, Mullah Salaam is himself an ex-Taliban fighter and two years ago he was part of delivering Musa Qaleh to coalition forces, and ever since then its been a case of trying to get him to govern correctly and make the right decisions so that the people feel that justice is being delivered. It's never been easy and we continue to make progress with it, our five months here have seen a great deal of progress. I think the popularity of the government generally here, although still in a very much an embryonic form is growing with the locals.'

The security, stability in the town and in the surrounding areas has resulted in a commercial boom. The towns Bazaar or market and the Livestock market held twice weekly on the gravel banks of the Wadi, or river to the west of Musa Qaleh are testament to this.

The Colonel continued, "We didn't takeover a disaster at the beginning, we took over a market system here which was starting to be successful. But we have certainly seen the market which happens twice a week here enlarge possibly by up to 30%. We have about 1200 stall holders in the Bazaar. Probably the key to their issues is the connection with places like Geresk, we're still quite cut off here in Musa Qaleh and further ISAF operations are going to try and do something about that, to try and get better route security, to make sure their roads aren't IED'd and also to make sure that they're not paying things like illegal taxes, so the locals feel like they can make a living and have a business without being illegally taxed."

Lt Col Fullerton commands the HCR BG in Musa Qaleh, but Squadrons from his regiment are spread across Helmand working with other battle groups. This has meant his regiment has one of the biggest footprints in the Province and means some of his officers and me have moved out of their familiar Scimitar light tanks and into Jackels, Coyotes and Mastiffs.

He said,'"We trained for 18 months for this 6 month tour and as a Reconnaissance regiment we always knew that we would be split up. There was no way we would be put into a Battle Group all of our own. We do have specialist skills and as Armoured Corp soldiers those specialist skills mean that we can adapt to various vehicles and to various ways of operation. That means a Squadron has moved into Mastiff, but sometimes they switch back to operating in Scimitar and that has been a highly effective combination of vehicles. Other men have been put into Jackel and some others have stayed with their Scimitar, but not working with us. B Squadron is working as the Brigade Recce Force, albeit with a number of highly specialist soldiers from the infantry and Engineers among others.

"I think its been a challenge in order to create such a diverse organisation, the Battle Group HQ would not normally come from the Household Cavalry or the Royal Armoured Corp, but we are used to working as a BG HQ and being given the job of a ground holding BG here in Musa Qal'eh has been a real privilege, something we've worked at and I think something that's been a real success story."

Five months into a six month tour on Op Herrick 11, it is obvious walking around the camp that the HCR are preparing for their departure. It's likely they will handover what has recently become known as Combined Force Musa Qaleh to the US Marine Corp.

Col Fullerton commented on how the ISAF landscape in Musa Qaleh and Helmand looked like changing. "Well we're at the planning stages, the American Marines have been here on various recces, they have looked at the area, they're very happy with it, they are happy to be taking over a relatively safe and secure environment where Musa Qaleh, the District Centre, the outlying villages are all under government control. It's at the edges where we come across the insurgents and where we are trying to reintegrate them. Effectively the Americans are going to be taking over a great deal of the north of Helmand and this is a rebalancing act where British forces, battle groups and sub-units are going to be reinvested into central Helmand to bump up troop numbers in order to give us that security that will provide better governance in those areas. That will leave the Americans with further work to do up here. But I think the important thing the stress is that what they are taking over is a British success story, 5 battle group's have been here over the past two years and they have progressively expanded the area of governance, it hasn't been without its cost but it has been a cost worth making in order to deliver success for the British Army, the British Government and most importantly the people of Afghanistan."

ENDS

Contacts:

Ministry of Defence
NDS.MOD@coi.gsi.gov.uk