Swapping Ballymena for Basra.

national | rights, freedoms and repression | news report

Tuesday May 04, 2004 13:49

by LoL

RIR preparing for Iraq.

The shingle beach that lines the coast of Kent isn't exactly the perfect holiday spot.
The pebbles can be difficult to run on, especially when you're wearing a flak jacket, helmet, full combat uniform and a rifle.
But these men have got used to the physical challenge as well as the thought that they'll be leaving on the most dangerous assignments of their lives.
The platoon of 35 part-time soldiers from the Royal Irish Rangers will leave in two weeks' time for the war-torn streets of Basra.
It has already been three months since they left the comfort of their families and the routine of their jobs.
The shooting range and training facilities, designed to bring these part-time soldiers up to the required level, are strangely familiar, and parallels with Iraq's second largest city are hard to find.
This could just as easily be south Armagh or west Tyrone. Makeshift barns are built on the green hills, and there are even two wooden cows that have recently been painted black and white.
It is here that the British Army has been training soldiers before sending them to Northern Ireland for the past 30 years.
Swapping Belfast for Basra
Major Paul Clarke, who is in charge of the training of the Rangers, admits it is not the most realistic setting for training.
"It's hard to recreate the dusty streets of Basra on a shingle beach in southern England," he says.
"But the training that we give our soldiers are the same, wherever they go.
"It's about the scenario rather than the situations. It's about learning the basic techniques that can be applied whenever and wherever you are deployed, may it be south Armagh or Baghdad."
The commanding officer of the Rangers, Lieutenant Colonel Andrew McCord, says that confidence is a key issue.
"We put our Territorial Army soldiers through the same training that we put our regular soldiers through to ensure that when they deploy on operations they are as well prepared as we can possibly make them," he says.
The training includes defence techniques that have been used by soldiers deployed to Northern Ireland since the mid-1970s.
Roadside bombs and vehicle ambushes are just some of the dangers for which all the men will have to be impeccably prepared.
In Iraq, they will be carrying out some of the most dangerous duties.
These include guarding what is still officially referred to as the International Airport, as well as the Coalition Headquarters.
But the more dangerous duties will include escorting civilian and military personnel involved in the reconstruction of Iraq, such as international contractors, Iraqi judges and international political advisors.
One of the most popular aspects is the cultural awareness training which will make them sensitive to what can be offensive in the Middle East.
This includes training in how to approach Iraqis.
The commanding officer of the London Regiment, who is from Holywood in County Down, says the Rangers already have an added advantage on their comrades.
"They know what it is like to come from a society riddled with divisions", says Lt. Col. Jeremy Rooney.
"I dare say that London soldiers, who have led relatively sheltered lives, will react differently when confronted with some of the things that they will see in and around Basra.
"The Rangers, on the other hand, will take such things in their stride."
Ready for deployment
On the training range, two soldiers are performing an anti-bush drill.
As the car containing the soldiers stops at a red light on the range, soldiers acting as gunmen attack the vehicle.
The two soldiers retreat while firing bursts of automatic gunfire down the range.
This kind of training is something most of them say they didn't ever expect to do, because they never expected to be deployed to a place like Iraq.
"I was shocked when I received the news that I had been mobilised," says Ballymena man Peter Drennan.
"It took some time to get used to. I remember thinking: how am I going to tell my mum? How am I going to tell my boss?
"Thinking about missing the gym, my friends, all the things that you would miss when you go to sunny Basra for six months."
Fergus Rice, who has just graduated from Queen's University, says it is going to be a challenging time.
"Most of us know that it is going tough. But we find comfort in knowing that what we are doing is going to ultimately help the Iraqi people."
Some also worry about their jobs.
"Legally they have to give me my job back," says a soldier who did not want to be named.
"But in reality most employers have to replace someone if they are going to be away for nine months", he added.
Overall, morale seems to be good.
The only thing that has dampened spirits slightly appears to have been the news that three soldiers, attached to the same regiment, were seriously injured in a roadside bombing last week.
Captain Stephen Johnstone, who is from Moira in County Down, says he is looking forward to the next few months.
"I have trained for 14 years of my life. It's hard when you have a wife and a nine-week old baby. You might think that I'm a traditional, but the country called and I'm glad to go out to help."
He also believes the majority in the platoon are now ready.
"The overriding feeling is that we want to get on with it now," he says.
"We're past the anticipation and the excitement. Most of the boys just want to get out there, start the job and come back home for Christmas to their families."
However, Regimental Sergeant Major Gordon McKenzie believes that the hardest thing for the Northern Ireland men will not be the heat or the violence.
"It's going to be the boredom. These men all have jobs back home, they are used to a busy life," he says.
"The most difficult thing for them is going to be getting used to a routine and maintaining it. This is a major element of their security."