Royal Armoured Corps News

Dragoon Guards to return home from Iraq

25th January 2008

The Royal Dragoon Guards Battlegroup is set to return home at the end of the month, having completed their final mission in Basra.

The soldiers have deployed in armoured vehicles and by helicopter to conduct anti-smuggling operations and to mentor and train the Iraqi Security Forces in the vital task of countering the flow into the country of arms and ammunition.

The training provided by the Battlegroup has helped to ensure that the Iraqi Security Forces have the skills needed to bring security and stability to Basra.

The operations have often been challenging and dangerous. In the course of a protracted operation that of itself saw The Royal Dragoon Guards conduct deliberate obstacle crossings of the Shatt Al Arab by night through Basra City, a patrol from A Squadron came under sustained attack near Al Qurnah from improvised explosive devices, mortar and small arms fire.The patrol, under Captain Matthew Stait and Troop Sergeant Major Anthony McCormack, responded with calm and restraint, aware that to over-react during what was the heaviest contact during the current deployment could well have had a significant effect on the wider situation within Al Basrah Province. Having inflicted casualties on the enemy and avoided collateral damage, they broke off the engagement and extracted without loss.

The Iraqi Department of Border Enforcement help to stop smuggling and prevent illegal cross-border activity.

The successes achieved by The Royal Dragoon Guards, and the ability and determination that the Iraqi Security Forces have demonstrated since the transfer of Provincial Control in Basra Province mean that this border security role will, coincident with the Battlegroup's departure, pass instead to the Iraqi Security Forces with mentoring and support from the British Army as part of the 'overwatch role' being carried out by the British-led Multi-National Division South East.

The Battlegroup will return to their bases in Germany having been in Iraq since the beginning of November last year. Commanding Officer of the Battlegroup, Lt Col Tim Hyams, said: "It is evident that the determination and courage of the Iraqi Security Forces, the training we have delivered to enhance their capability, and the success of our own operations and those who served here in Basra before us, has resulted in increasing stability in the area. "Those of us coming home early can do so secure in the knowledge that we have played our part and played it extremely well."

Trooper Tom Hamilton, 20, from Omagh, added: "It has been hard work at times but the lads are proud of what we have done. I think that we have achieved a lot. We are pleased to be going home although we'll be thinking of our mates in the other squadrons from the Regiment who are staying on."

The departure of the Battlegroup is part of the drawdown in the number of British soldiers operating in Basra, as set out by Prime Minister Gordon Brown in October 2007.

The improvements in the security conditions and the capability of the Iraqi Security Forces have already resulted in numbers reducing to around 4,500 in southern Iraq by the end of 2007. If these favourable conditions continue, it is expected that the British force size in Basra Province will come down to around 2,500. Final decisions will be made based on the advice of our military commanders in Iraq and on conditions on the ground.

The Royal Dragoon Guards Battlegroup is made up of three squadrons of Royal Dragoon Guards (Prince of Wales Squadron, A (The Blue Horse) Squadron and C (The Black Dragoons) Squadron) who recruit from Yorkshire and Ireland and a company from the 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (Burma Company) who recruit from Lancashire and Cumbria.

UK forces are now increasingly focusing on training and mentoring the Iraqi Security Forces. They also carry out tasks in support of the coalition in southern Iraq, and retain the capability to provide support to the Iraqi Security Forces. Work continues on detailed plans in consultation with US and coalition partners and the Iraqis. Final decisions regarding force levels will of course be made based on conditions on the ground.

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