Operation Mayhem

by Steve Heaney MC

  A very special thank you to General Sir David Richards GCB CBE DSO, for the Foreword to this book: suffice to say, no better commander could a soldier ever have wished for in the field.

  Last but not least I wish to thank my wife Lisa whose unfaltering support and encouragement over the past twelve months has been incredible, and to my children Maisie and Miles who have wondered why their father has been locked away in a room for so long and unable to play as often as they would have liked.

  Steve Heaney MC

  April 2014,

  the Middle East

  ABOUT THE AUTHORS

  Steve Heaney joined the Parachute Regiment Juniors at sixteen, then passed Parachute Regiment selection and joined 3 PARA in 1987. Two years later, he successfully undertook selection into X Platoon - more formally known as Pathfinders. He went on to serve with that unit for over a decade, working with almost every Special Forces unit with which the British military has links.

  In 1999, he was promoted to Platoon Sergeant. The following year, he was the first non-officer in the unit’s history to be awarded the Military Cross for his leadership and courage during Operation Mayhem. He was also awarded the Commanding Officer’s Commendation for finding arms caches in Northern Ireland.

  Sergeant Heaney left the British military in 2001. He has spent the last decade working as a senior military adviser to one of Britain’s key allies.

  Damien Lewis has worked as a war and conflict reporter for major broadcasters, reporting from across Africa, South America, the Middle and Far East, and has won numerous awards, for journalism. His first book was an international bestseller, translated into more than thirty languages, and made into a film and stage play.

  His book Operation Certain Death, Apache Dawn and Zero Six Bravo were all Sunday Times bestsellers, as were his previous co-authored military books, Fire Strike 7/9, co-written with Sergeant Paul ‘Bommer’ Grahame, and It’s All About Treo, co-authored with Dave Hayhoe. Several of his elite-forces books are in the process of being made into movies or TV dramas.

  PHOTOS, IMAGE AND QUOTE CREDITS:

  The authors and publisher are grateful to the following for permission to reproduce photographs:

  Andy Chittock, 1–6, 11–12, 16–21, 30–7, 44

  Peter Russell, 7–10

  Kadir van Lohuizen/Noor/eyevine, 28

  David Rose/Panos, 29

  AFP/Getty Images, 31, 40

  Travis Lupick, 38

  Pep Bonet/Noor/eyevine, 39, 42

  Fredrik Naumann/Panos Pictures, 41

  Francesco Zizola/Noor/eyevine, 43

  Malcolm Fairman/Alamy, 45

  INDEX

  African pouched rats, ref1

  air marker panels, ref1

  Air Mounting Centre (AMC), South Cerney, ref1, ref2, ref3

  airliners, civilian, ref1, ref2

  AK47 assault rifles, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6

  Al Qaeda, ref1, ref2

  Aldershot Training Area, ref1

  Allem, Captain Johnny, ref1

  alligators, ref1

  Altitude Decompression Sickness (ADS), ref1

  Amphibious Readiness Group, ref1

  ‘Amps Camps’, ref1

  AR15 assault rifles, ref1

  Arctic Survival cadre, ref1

  Army Air Corps, ref1, ref2

  Army Dental Corps, ref1

  Ashby, Major Phil, ref1

  B-1B heavy bombers, ref1

  bamboo, see punji sticks

  Barnes, Bill ‘Basha’, ref1, ref2

  ‘battle-sighting’, ref1

  battle trenches, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6

  ‘bearing and pacing’, ref1

  Belize, ref1, ref2

  Bell, Corporal Nathan ‘Nathe’ and British withdrawal, ref1, ref2

  defensive preparations, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6

  and Donaldson, ref1, ref2, ref3

  food preparation, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7

  and I-beds, ref1

  joins Pathfinders, ref1

  mentioned in dispatches, ref1

  and rebel assault, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9

  Ben (dog), ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5

  Blair, Tony, ref1, ref2, ref3

  body armour, lack of, ref1

  Borneo, ref1

  bread rolls, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6

  Brecon Beacons, ref1, ref2, ref3

  Brewster, Pete, ref1

  British Army

  and kit procurement, ref1

  and personal weapons, ref1

  Brown, Steve (Steve B), ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  Browning machine guns, ref1

  Browning pistols, ref1, ref2

  Brunei, ref1, ref2

  Bryant, Major Bob, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5

  Budd, Bryan, ref1, ref2, ref3

  buddy-buddy system, ref1, ref2

  ‘bullet mantles’, ref1

  Caine, Michael, ref1

  Cantrill, Captain Richard arrival in Lungi Lol, ref1

  and decision to stay in Lungi Lol, ref1

  departure from Lungi Lol, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  and rebel assault, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12, ref13, ref14

  Carson, Lewis, ref1, ref2

  casevacs, ref1

  Caveney, Joe, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  centipedes, ref1

  child soldiers, ref1

  China Lake, ref1, ref2, ref3

  CIA Special Activities Division (SAD), ref1

  Claymores, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8

  close quarter battle (CQB) terrain, ref1

  Combat 95 uniform, ref1

  common weapon sights (CWSs), ref1

  compassionate leave, ref1

  Dakar, ref1, ref2

  defensive perimeter posts (DPPs), ref1

  dehydration, ref1, ref2

  Delta Force, ref1

  detcord, ref1

  diamonds, conflict, ref1, ref2

  Dick, Neil ‘Tricky’

  and Brigadier Richards’ arrival, ref1

  and British withdrawal, ref1, ref2, ref3

  and Cantrill’s arrival, ref1

  defensive preparations, ref1, ref2

  and Donaldson, ref1, ref2

  establishes communications, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7

  and fighting patrol, ref1, ref2, ref3

  and Ibrahim, ref1, ref2

  Pathfinders’ brew-master, ref1, ref2, ref3

  and QRF, ref1, ref2, ref3

  and rebel assault, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6

  and RMPs, ref1

  Donaldson, Captain Robert

  appointed OC, ref1

  and arrival of Mojo, ref1

  and E&E issue, ref1, ref2, ref3

  and forward patrol, ref1

  granted compassionate leave, ref1, ref2

  and Pathfinder ‘prayers’, ref1

  and Pathfinders’ deployment, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5

  withdraws to airport, ref1, ref2, ref3

  drinking water, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9

  drug-runners, ref1

  drugs, RUF and, ref1, ref2, ref3

  DShK machine guns, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  escape and evasion (E&E), ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6

  issue with Donaldson, ref1, ref2, ref3

  F-15 Eagle fighter pilots, ref1

  Falklands War, ref1

  Final Protective Fire (FPF), ref1

  FN assault rifles, ref1, ref2

  ‘follow-on’ bags, ref1

  ‘forced air’ mixture, ref1

  Freetown, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  British Embassy evacuation, ref1, ref2

  capture of rebel leader in, ref1

  Mammy Yoko Hotel, ref1

  rebel advance on, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8

  Freetown Estuary, ref1, ref2, ref3

>   general purpose machine guns (GPMGs), ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7

  barrel-changes, ref1

  use against rebel assault, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12, ref13

  use by fighting patrol, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  Gibson, Colonel Paul ‘Gibbo’

  briefs Pathfinders, ref1

  and Donaldson, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6

  and Kosovo mission, ref1

  and Pathfinders’ deployment, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11

  and QRF, ref1, ref2, ref3

  visits Lungi Lol, ref1, ref2, ref3

  Gow, Company Sergeant Major Andy, ref1

  Guatemala, ref1, ref2

  Gurkhas, ref1

  hammocks, ref1

  Hansen, Morgan Taff, ref1

  HAPLSS (High Altitude Parachutist Life Support System), ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5

  hard tack biscuits, ref1

  Harris, Captain Grant

  and Brigadier Richards’ arrival, ref1

  and British withdrawal, ref1, ref2

  and Cantrill’s arrival, ref1

  defensive preparations, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5

  and Donaldson, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8

  and fighting patrol, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  and forward patrol, ref1, ref2

  and Gibson’s arrival, ref1

  meetings with village chief, ref1, ref2, ref3

  and Mojo’s arrival, ref1

  and Pathfinders’ deployment, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6

  and Pathfinders’ ethos, ref1

  and Pathfinders’ humour, ref1, ref2

  pre-battle briefing, ref1

  and QRF, ref1, ref2, ref3

  and rebel assault, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10

  and RMPs, ref1

  and snail stew, ref1

  Harrison, Lance Corporal Joe ‘H’

  and British withdrawal, ref1

  defensive preparations, ref1, ref2

  friendship with Nathe Bell, ref1

  known as the ‘Death Dealer’, ref1, ref2

  and rebel assault, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12

  retrieves rebel weapons, ref1

  and snail stew, ref1

  Harrison, Major Andy, ref1

  ‘hexy’ stoves, ref1

  HIP helicopters, ref1, ref2

  HMS Ocean, ref1

  Holt, Roger, ref1

  HOOK helicopters, ref1

  human shields, RUF use of, ref1, ref2

  Ibrahim, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8

  and I-beds, ref1

  and makeshift gym, ref1

  Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield (IPB), ref1

  Iraq War, ref1

  Jackson, Captain Mark ‘Jacko’, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5

  Jackson, General Sir Mike, ref1

  James, Captain Chris, ref1

  Joint Air Transport Establishment (JTE), ref1

  jungle boots, US Army, ref1

  Jungle Tracker Courses, ref1

  Kabbah, President Ahmad, ref1, ref2

  kidnappings, by RUF, ref1

  Kosovo, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  L2 fragmentation grenades, ref1

  L96 AW sniper rifles, ref1

  Lariam antimalarial pills, ref1

  LAW light anti-armour weapons, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5

  Lewis, Mark ‘Marky’, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6

  ‘light order’, ref1

  live fire exercises, ref1

  Long Range Recce Patrols (LRRPs), ref1

  Low’s Gully, ref1

  Lungi Airport

  British arrive at, ref1, ref2

  and British withdrawal, ref1

  Donaldson returns to, ref1, ref2

  rebel advance on, ref1, ref2

  weapons dump, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  Lungi Lol

  British withdrawal from, ref1

  civilian influx, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7

  defensive preparations, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  Fern Gully, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8

  fighting patrol around, ref1

  latrines, ref1, ref2

  meetings with village chief, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6

  Pathfinders’ deployment to, ref1, ref2

  Pathfinders’ relations with villagers, ref1, ref2, ref3

  railway line, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9

  rebel advance on, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7

  rebel assault begins, ref1

  villagers and forced labour, ref1, ref2

  villagers singing, ref1

  weapons captured at, ref1, ref2

  M16 assault rifles, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7

  Malaysia, ref1, ref2

  Mangham, Major Mark, ref1

  maps, operational, ref1

  MI6, ref1

  Middlesbrough, ref1, ref2

  Military Cross, ref1

  Minimi light machine guns, ref1, ref2

  Ministry of Defence (MOD), ref1, ref2, ref3

  ‘mission command’, ref1

  Mogadishu, ref1, ref2

  ‘Mojo, Lieutenant’, see Obasanjo, Lieutenant Oronto

  morphine, ref1

  mortars, 51 mm, ref1

  illuminate rebel assault, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12, ref13

  mortars, 81 mm, ref1, ref2, ref3

  motion sensors, ref1, ref2

  Mountain Leaders, ref1

  mushrooms, ref1

  named areas of interest (NAIs), ref1

  NATO ammunition, ref1

  negligent discharge (ND), ref1

  net explosive quantity (NEQ), ref1

  New Zealand SAS, ref1

  Newell, Colour Sergeant Eddie ‘The White Rabbit’, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8

  arrives in Lungi Lol, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6

  and Donaldson, ref1, ref2, ref3

  Nigerian military, hierarchical nature of, ref1

  ‘night routine’, ref1

  night vision goggles (NVGs), ref1, ref2

  night-time air-markers, ref1

  non-combat evacuation operation (NEO), ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6

  Northern Ireland, ref1, ref2

  Obasanjo, Lieutenant Oronto (‘Lieutenant Mojo’), ref1, ref2

  and bread deliveries, ref1, ref2, ref3

  and British withdrawal, ref1, ref2

  and defensive preparations, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5

  and influx of villagers, ref1

  and latrines, ref1

  and rebel assault, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6

  and rebel dead, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  and villagers’ gratitude, ref1, ref2

  observation post (OP) kit, ref1

  ‘Operation Blind’, ref1

  Operations Other Than War (OOTWs), ref1, ref2

  parachute jumps

  high-altitude, ref1, ref2, ref3

  tandem, ref1, ref2

  see also HAPLSS

  Parachute Regiment

  author and 3 PARA, ref1, ref2

  deployment, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  hatred of RMPs, ref1

  Junior PARA, ref1

  Kosovo deployment, ref1

  medical provisions, ref1

  numbers, ref1

  P Company, ref1

  Quick Reaction Force (QRF), ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10

  Support Company, ref1

  withdrawal from Lungi Lol, ref1, ref2

  Parsons, Andy, ref1

  Parton, Corporal Sam ‘Dolly’

  and bread rolls, ref1, ref2

  and British withdrawal, ref1, ref2

  defensive preparations, ref1, ref2, ref3, re
f4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10

  and Donaldson, ref1, ref2

  and fighting patrol, ref1, ref2

  and I-beds, ref1

  joins Pathfinders, ref1

  and QRF, ref1

  and rebel assault, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9

  and snail stew, ref1

  Pathfinders

  and bad decision-making, ref1

  ‘black’ identity, ref1, ref2, ref3

  call signs, ref1

  decision-making, ref1, ref2, ref3

  deniable operations, ref1

  esprit de corps, ref1, ref2

  first seek-and-destroy mission, ref1

  formal role of, ref1

  formation of, ref1

  identity markers, ref1

  Interest Room, ref1, ref2

  medical training, ref1

  navigational skills, ref1

  nickname, ref1

  Pathfinder Selection, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7

  pay and conditions, ref1, ref2

  personal kit, ref1

  ‘prayers’, ref1

  self-reliance, ref1

  Patrol Lanes, ref1

  Patrols Medics cadre, ref1

  PE4 plastic explosive, ref1, ref2, ref3

  ponchos, US Army, ref1

  Port Stanley, ref1

  ‘prickly heat’, ref1

  punji sticks, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8

  and rebel assault, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  radios, Clansman 319 HF, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7

  radios, Clansman 349 VHF, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5

  RAF Brize Norton, ref1

  RAF Odiham, ref1

  range cards, ref1

  rape, by RUF, ref1, ref2

  Ready Status One, ref1

  Revolutionary United Front (RUF)

  Al Qaeda links, ref1

  and animal cries, ref1, ref2

  battle chant, ref1

  final defeat of, ref1

  ideology and tactics, ref1

  noms de guerre, ref1

  numbers, ref1

  Operation Kill British, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10

  Sex The Child ‘game’, ref1

  Richards, Brigadier David, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  Robson, Mick, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4