rocket propelled grenades (RPGs), ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Roebuck, James ‘Bucks’, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Room Clearance Mode, ref1
Room Combat Mode, ref1
Rowland, Lieutenant-Commander, ref1
Royal Marines, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
Royal Military Police, ref1, ref2
Royal Regiment of Wales, ref1
RPK light machine guns, ref1, ref2
rules of engagement, ref1, ref2
SA80 assault rifles, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9
tendency to jam, ref1, ref2, ref3
use against rebel assault, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12, ref13, ref14, ref15, ref16
Samsonoff, Major Andrew, ref1
Sankoh, Foday, ref1, ref2
Saunders, Taff
and British withdrawal, ref1
defensive preparations, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
and Donaldson, ref1
and fighting patrol, ref1
and I-beds, ref1
joins Pathfinders, ref1
and QRF, ref1
and rebel assault, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
and snail stew, ref1
SEALs, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Secret Intelligence Service, ref1
Senegal, ref1
shell-scrapes, ref1, ref2
Sierra Leone Army, ref1
sleeping bags, ref1
Smith, Johno, ref1, ref2
snails, ref1, ref2
Somalia, ref1, ref2
Special Air Service (SAS), ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
recce at Lungi Lol, ref1, ref2, ref3
selection, ref1
training, ref1, ref2, ref3
weaponry and body armour, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Special Boat Service (SBS), ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
standard operating procedure (SOP), ref1
stand-to, ref1
Swedish Special Forces, ref1
tactical air landing operations (TALOs), ref1
Thomson, Mike ‘Tommo’, ref1, ref2, ref3
Thuraya satphones, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9
trip flares, ref1
tropical kit, ref1
UK Special Forces, ref1, ref2
UN peacekeepers, ref1, ref2, ref3
Nigerians at Lungi Lol, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11
US Marine Corps, ref1
Vietnam War, ref1, ref2, ref3
voodoo, RUF and, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
Wardle, Warrant Officer Graham ‘Wag’ acquires weapons, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
and bread rolls, ref1, ref2
and British withdrawal, ref1, ref2, ref3
and Cantrill’s arrival, ref1, ref2
and Cantrill’s departure, ref1
defensive preparations, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11
and Donaldson, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8
and fighting patrol, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
and Ibrahim, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
joins Pathfinders, ref1
makeshift gym, ref1, ref2
meeting with village chief, ref1
and Mojo, ref1
and Pathfinders’ deployment, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
and punji sticks, ref1
and QRF, ref1, ref2, ref3
and rebel assault, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7
and RMPs, ref1
washing and shaving, ref1
water purification kits, ref1
Wattisham, Norfolk, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Wilson, Dale ‘Ginge’
and British withdrawal, ref1, ref2
defensive preparations, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
and Donaldson, ref1
and fighting patrol, ref1
and I-beds, ref1
and QRF, ref1
and rebel assault, ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
and snail stew, ref1
‘yaffling irons’, ref1
Illustrations
The Fan Dance. Pathfinder selection is a tough five-week trial, culminating in Endurance, a 64-kilometre forced march under extremely heavy loads over the notorious Pen-y-Fan, in the Brecon Beacons – terrain known to test many a man.
Pathfinders deploy deep behind enemy lines with the kind of specialist light weaponry – like sniper rifles – to take out strategic enemy targets.
Riding the tube. As one of the British military’s most experienced Tandem Masters, I got to jump with a massive canister of heavy equipment strapped to my person. Landing it was spine-crushing work.
Once you pull the chute, your world goes from the adrenaline-pumping rush of the freefall to one of comparative silence and stillness, as you drift under silk towards the landing zone below.
Bergen first. Just prior to landing, you let your Bergen drop on the extension rope, so it lands ahead of you, taking the impact of its own weight and saving your legs.
Touchdown. Gathering in the silk after a monster freefall to earth, in a HALO – high-altitude low-opening – jump.
HALO. Diving off a Hercules ramp into the howling void as a four-man patrol, in a HALO – high-altitude low-opening – parachute jump, with yours truly leading the stick.
In formation. Seconds later in the freefall on the same jump, myself in centre of photo. Note the M16s strapped to our left sides, in case the landing proves ‘hot’ – occupied by the enemy. You stick together close in the freefall, so that when you pull the chutes you can follow the lead jumper – me – into the drop zone.
Freefall. Same HALO jump as opposite, from above 25,000 feet, in full oxygen-breathing, parachute, survival and combat gear.
Solo. A different HALO jump, with yours truly flying high, with a General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) strapped to my left side, barrel downwards.
Desert rats. Pathfinders are tasked to go deep behind enemy lines in all kinds of terrain. On desert operations, shemaghs – traditional Arab headscarves – are vital for keeping sun and sand out of mouth, nose and hair. They’re also great for anonymity. I’m in the vehicle commander’s seat, so left of driver.
Sandy wanderers. Pathfinders in the North African desert, operating a mixed bag of Pinkies – desert-adapted, open-topped Land Rovers – and Armstrong 500cc motorbikes. I’m on the far right of the photo, leaning against the vehicle. All the others in this photo are now serving with Special Forces, hence faces being obscured.
Two wheels good. Yours truly, deep in the North African desert where we used Armstrong 500cc off-road motorbikes to act as an outrider force, scouting the route ahead and searching for the enemy.
The jungle is neutral. It’s neither inherently hostile nor friendly, but only by becoming as one with it will you defeat an enemy. Wag is standing on the far left of photo, yours truly is far right, also standing.
Down ‘n’ dirty. The ‘briefing room’ for jungle training and ops in Belize, in the Central American rainforest. Wag’s ever-friendly mug is in the centre of the photo, front row, with me peeping out from behind him on far left of the back row.
Home sweet home. A basha – a jungle sleeping platform made from cut bamboo and wood, with A-frame supports at either end, and a waterproof poncho thrown over, and tethered to nearby trees.
Jungle ops. Pathfinders taking a breather, in the heart of the Central American rainforest. Even in virgin jungle like this, remarkably little sunlight filters through the forest canopy, making dark and dirtied-up uniforms and blackened-up faces the best camouflage.
Kaboom. Moving deep into enemy territory, small lightly-armed elite forces such as ourselves are bound to come up against far larger and better armed enemies. The one advantage we normally have is the ability to call in air-power, using lasers to mark targets and steer in precision-guided air-strikes.
Smoking hot
. Deployed on small-unit actions behind enemy lines, Pathfinders are trained to return fire with maximum aggression and speed, then to break contact as soon as possible, so as to avoid being overrun, killed or captured.
Graham ‘Wag’ Wardle, trusty GPMG in hand, carrying a crushing load. We were best of mates: I was always twisting his arm about being the Brigade’s ugliest man, while he would hit back about the size of my ears.
Captain Grant Harris, then second-in-command of the Pathfinders. A young but very capable officer, he did a sterling job when the shit hit the proverbial fan in Sierra Leone.
Jacko. In spite of not being able to get his swearing right, Jacko was a top operator, and there was no one better to take over command in Sierra Leone.
Nathe. He had somehow made it from turnip farming in Lincolnshire into the Pathfinders – and a better patrol commander I couldn’t have wished for. He was also the king of bush tucker: if it moved Nathe would eat it.
Taff Saunders. Like many a Welshman, Taff believed that England was a carbuncle attached to Mother Wales. But never a better bloke in a punch-up. Here he is flanked by two of the Nigerian United Nations troops, who joined forces with us in Sierra Leone.
Tricky. In action on the ranges putting down intense fire during live contact drills training.
The architect of evil. Foday Sankoh, a former sergeant from the Sierra Leone Army turned founder and guru of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels – known as ‘Africa’s Khmer Rouge’. By the time our operation was finished, Sankoh had been captured and the rebel resistance broken. Sadly, he died in custody before he could stand trial for mass war crimes.
The bad guys. Rebel fighters of the Revolutionary United Front – those who had declared they were launching ‘Operation Kill British’, to force us out of the country. We were outnumbered 100-1 and heavily outgunned.
Battle Group. With hundreds of British citizens about to be kidnapped, tortured and slaughtered by the rebels in Sierra Leone, 1 PARA jetted in to Lungi Airport to evacuate them, and halt the rebel advance. As luck would have it, we were to be placed at the tip of the spear.
A pair of CH47 Chinooks from the RAF heading low and fast over the Sierra Leone capital, Freetown – the means via which we would deploy on operations deep into the jungle.
Going in. You could cut the atmosphere with a knife as 26 Pathfinders flew into the teeth of the rebel advance, and with no idea what we’d meet on the ground in the jungle.
Going in hot. Sweeping across the jungle at tree-top level, the Chinooks put us down in Lungi Lol village with no idea where the enemy might be. It was a case of poke the hornet’s nest, and see what response we might get.
Armed and dangerous. Gripping a six-barrelled Gatling-type mini-gun, a door gunner scans the jungle below for rebel fighters, as the Chinook flies in low and fast.
A mixed bag of Nigerian and Jordanian United Nations peace-keeping troops, plus villagers. Trouble was, in Sierra Leone there was no peace to keep – as our mission was about to prove.
By strength and guile. The SBS – Special Boat Service – were out patrolling the rivers and estuaries that criss-cross the jungle, and our first escape and evasion plan had us getting picked up by their boats.
The SAS and the SBS deployed alongside us in Sierra Leone, but as luck would have it we would get to see the real action.
Long-sleeve style. The rebels’ speciality was lopping off the hands of women and children, using axes or machetes, to spread a dark reign of terror. They gave their victims the choice of long- or short-sleeve style – amputation above or below the elbow. How could we do anything else but fight to the last man to stop them?
Mango, anyone? Barefoot angels – that’s how the kids in the village of Lungi Lol struck us. No rebels were kidnapping them, lopping off their hands, or forcing them to be child soldiers – not on our watch.
The kids are all right. We were 26 Pathfinders facing 2,000 rebels. But with smiles like these from the local kids, how could we do anything other than smash the rebel advance and stop them butchering the village?
Having decided we were their heaven-sent saviours, the locals scavenged food from the jungle for us and fetched our daily water – as we waited in our trenches, poised to kick seven bales of shit out of the rebels.
Village people. This is why it mattered. We flew into the jungle to smash the rebel advance, and stop them wreaking carnage in the capital city and at the airport. We ended up in the fight of our lives to save an entire village.
Bush tucker. When it rained in the jungle, snails as big as your fist came slurping out of their tunnels to munch on the wet vegetation. Nathe being Nathe, he decided they were for the pot, and so his legendary Lungi Lol Snail baltis were born.
The bunker. The forward battle trench manned by ‘H’ – ‘The Death Dealer’ – with his tried and trusted GPMG. No rebels were sneaking past when ‘H’ was on duty.
Front toward enemy. A factory-made Claymore – a convex wad of plastic explosives, primed to blast out a wall of ball-bearings at the enemy. We were forced to manufacture our own from old food tins and ‘shipyard confetti’ – any make-do ‘shrapnel’ we could scavenge around the village.
With a 51mm mortar like this, I was able to crawl far forward and put up illume rounds – flares that drift under a parachute – so lighting up the entire night-dark battlefield. Light for the lads to see and to kill by.
Digging for victory. Pretty quickly, we realized that unless we recruited the locals to help us defend the village we were all going to end up butchered by the rebels. Young village kids dug our battle trenches, made beds and shelters for us to sleep on, and cut bamboo to make sharpened punji sticks.
Brigadier Richards, our overall force commander, sent us in to stop the rebels in their tracks. This we had done. Here villagers gather up the rebel dead, after the first night’s combat.
Calling prayers. Prior to sending out Pathfinder patrols to go after the rebels, we got a collective heads-up with all patrol commanders, to work out how best to track, find and kill them.
Ready for anything. 1 PARA mortar crews load up the 81mm rounds, to beat back the rebel forces massing in the jungle.
Fire! Once we got the 1 PARA mortar teams in, with their 81mm mortar tubes, we could really take the fight to the rebels.
Hunter-killer. After the initial massive firefight, we knew we’d given the rebels a bloody nose. Next we did the utterly unexpected: we left our battle trenches and went into the jungle on a hot pursuit to track them down.
X Platoon at end of Lungi Lol Op: The A-team. The 26 Pathfinders at Lungi Lol, plus5 support staff from Lungi Airport. Rear row, from left: 4th, Taff Saunders (33 Delta); 9th, Ginge Wilson (33 Charlie). Middle row, from left: 4th, Eddie The White Rabbit Newell; 5th, Grant Harris (Sunray); 6th, Mark ‘Jacko’ Jackson; 7th, Graham ‘Wag’ Wardle; 8th, Neil ‘Tricky’ Dick; 9th, Nathan ‘Nathe’ Bell (33 Alpha); 10th, Sam ‘Dolly’ Parton (33 Delta). Front row, from left: 5th, yours truly; 6th, Joe ‘H’ Harrison; 10th, Bryan ‘Bri’ Budd VC.
Copyright
An Orion paperbacks ebook
First published in Great Britain in 2014 by Orion Books
Ebook first published in 2014 by Orion Books
This ebook published in 2015 by Orion Books
Copyright © Steve Heaney and Damien Lewis 2015
The right of Steve Heaney and Damien Lewis to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor to be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978-1-4091-4846-3
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Operation Mayhem Page 34