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KENYA NEWSLETTER 05 NOV 13
Something about Africa
really gets my goat! 669 Squadron update (‘SitRep’ in Army speak)
Age-old rivalries between the
Army and the RAF were once again rejuvenated when we found ourselves on an
aviation exercise with nothing to fly.
All four Lynx were still at RAF Brize Norton waiting for some aeroplane
pilots to stop drinking coffee, eating cake and playing Candy Crush Saga, and
much to the dismay of the Squadron Quartermaster the freight was also still in
the UK, including his beloved brew kit.
In the meantime, troops were passed through a series of three camps,
beginning with Kafari Barracks in Nairobi
Kafari left rather a lot to
be desired, though in comparison to Nairobi
After a few nights in Kafari
everyone was loaded onto coaches and driven for approximately four hours up to
a camp near the town of Nanyuki
As you would expect, outside
of the major cities there is very little wealth in Kenya
and driving through the Country is remarkably humbling – such wonderful smiles
from people who have relatively little compared to those in England
Nanyuki sits in the foothills
of Mount Kenya at 6500 feet above sea level
and hosts a much larger camp than Kafari on the outskirts of the town. Though still on bunk beds, the accommodation
blocks seemed positively spacious in comparison to Kafari and the food was even
more delicious. The showers, however,
could only be used after one had participated in some physical exercise; not
because they were out of bounds or switched off, but because they were so icily
cold that you needed to warm yourself up sufficiently in order to prevent to
onset of hypothermia. By the weekend the
engineering equipment was beginning to arrive in Nanyuki, naturally in the
opposite order to that which the SQMS and the Ops Officer had planned (more
hair loss), but everybody mucked in to unload lorry-load after rusty lorry-load
of heavy equipment, sorting and prioritising it for its next move up North.
After another three nights
our bags and boxes were once again loaded onto troop carrying vehicles and we
began another three hour journey, this time into the desert. As we drove further North the lush vegetation
slowly dried up leaving prickly bushes with thorns the size of fingers, and the
dress turned from Western logos to traditional tribal attire – colourful
bracelets and headdresses, large earrings and spears. We arrived in MOB Simba, our home for the
duration of the exercise, in bright sunshine and extreme heat (with very sore
backsides after the cross country ride with no suspension). The camp is a large, square area surrounded
by Hesco-Bastion walls and razor wire.
There are rows of tents and toilet blocks in the centre and around the
edge there is a gravel track which serves as an 800 metre running lap – so far
only 3 people have passed out through sheer boredom whilst running round
it. The showers are wonderfully tepid
and the water flows like a monsoon. The
toilets flush (most of the time) so all in all the living conditions are much
better than expected.
Everyone is accommodated in
tents that leak like sieves and are home to a variety of snakes and camel
spiders the size of fists. Barry the bat
lives in the doorway to the female toilets but is good enough to fly off for a
while and give the girls some privacy, and the showers attract a wealth of
dragonflies, giant crickets and beetles.
The Ops Room’s lizard, Eddie, enjoys chasing dog tags and has now become
a permanent member of the Ops team, and Lance Corporal Jackson learnt that no
matter how fast you run away from the various beasties, if you leave your head
torch on, they will catch you.
We were surprised to see the
Squadron 2IC arrive into camp after a period of absence sporting a slight
suntan (his ginger locks take rather a lot of persuasion to show anything other
than ‘pale’). The Squadron gave him substantial banter about carrying out
several extended recces of the luxury, safari lodges but his extensive travels
and huge amounts of charming sweet talk have meant that the local lodges have
agreed to offer short periods of R&R to the troops with approximately a 90%
discount. This, along with the
multi-activity Adventure Training packages that he and the Sergeant Major have
lined up mean that each member of the Squadron should be able to break up this
long exercise with a few days away with a swimming pool, a TV and some
internet. Those that have not been able
to speak with their loved ones for days on end should be able to squeeze in the
occasional phone call – definitely something to look forward to.
Exactly one week behind
schedule the RAF kindly delivered two of the four helicopters to Nairobi OshKosh
Since then the Squadron has
already achieved a long list of training objectives. Pilots have been piloting and crewmen have
been keeping them in check. All the
aircrew have been learning how to land at night, on Night Vision Goggles, in
thick dust and with limited engine performance due to the high altitude. The flying standards officers have delivered
the training along with the Regimental Instructor, ‘Woody’, and so far they
seem happy that there are no flying risks among the aircrew. A variety of wildlife has been seen from the
air including herds of elephant, giraffe and ostrich and Lance Corporal Mason
was convinced that he spotted a lion, but later downgraded it to an antelope,
or perhaps a goat. The REME have been
working their socks off to keep both aircraft serviceable and so far their only
mishap has been to destroy a perfectly serviceable fire extinguisher by running
over it with a Landrover. The engineers
have proved worth their weight in gold and have been a significant contributing
factor to the success of the exercise so far.
Sergeant Wykes is making best efforts to complete all of the 7 weeks’ ground crew training objectives in the space of just a week and has been testing his team with Equipment Care, convoy driving, night vision device driving, cross country driving and navigation as well as the setting up of night landing aids and refuelling by day in the sweltering heat. Spirits are high though and so far nobody has become navigationally embarrassed (lost) in the endless desert or crashed into an elephant (or a goat). The Signals have been tearing their hair out trying to fix temperamental equipment and establish communications with both the aircraft and other ground callsigns, but after much cursing and threats of boots being put through computer screens, most of the kit appears to be up and running. In fact, several feats of scientific wonder have already been achieved including satellite communications and, coming soon, a radio link direct to the Commanding Officer’s desk in Dishforth.
The whole team is looking forward to being able to support 3 PARA with some of their training and it will be good to hear the sound of the 50 calibre machine gun later on in the week when we begin training on the ranges. Sun tans are progressing nicely and so far the SQMS has set the bar for the most blistered and angry-looking sunburn ever seen. When his face falls off in a few days we will be sure to take plenty of photographs, preferably next to Captain Kent – the whitest man in NATO.
Overall, everyone is performing outstandingly and the Squadron boss is remarkably proud of progress to date. All of you patient and long-suffering supporters at home are truly appreciated whilst you and your loved ones endure this separation – so often the price of achieving success. We all look forward to coming home very soon and enjoying a well-deserved Christmas break.
