Well-earned cuppa as battalion returns to Shropshire
They have spent the past six months in the searing heat of Africa, but now members of a Shropshire-based battalion have come home.
Twenty-one members of the 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment have returned to the barracks in Tern Hill, near Market Drayton, after taking part in an operation to train the armed forces in Mali.
They took part in drills and passed on their skills to Malian soldiers in temperatures well exceeding 40C during the tour.
The regiment was deployed in support of the ongoing EU Training Mission as part of wider efforts to build long-term stability in the Mali. During the tour it trained two full companies of the Malian Army in combat and counter insurgency operations.
For the Shropshire-based soldiers, it proved to be a very different tour from the one they did in Afghanistan three years ago, when they were on the front line and invol-ved in daily operations fighting insurgents.
The homecoming following that tour was also very different and was tinged with sadness because the regiment lost three soldiers – Ranger Aaron McCormick, Ranger David Dalzell and Lance Corporal Stephen McKee.
The soldiers returning home from Mali said their biggest challenges on this tour were the language barrier and climate.
Major Jonathon Huxley, Officer Commanding D Company, 36, said the tour proved to be very successful.
"It was a long tour for these guys but it was well worth it. We saw a huge transition in the Malian Army."
He said the regiment also got to work closely with members of the Irish Army for the first time.
"It was a historic occasion for us working close with the Irish Army – a bit of a milestone really. We've been on some operations with them in the Balkans but never had a close working relationship before.
He added: "One of the biggest challenges out there was the languages. There were some interpreters and we had to use sign language and learn basic phrases.
"We deployed in March and temperatures were in the high 40s. Trying to operate in that was very difficult. The rainy season started in August. It was difficult trying to get them to learn when it was bucketing down."
Lance Corporal Pearse Murphy, 28, said: "I have been to Afghanistan and this was a very different tour. We got rewards from this tour but they were not the same.
"The people in Mali want the same things. They want schools for their kids and to live in a safe environment. The system in place is good there now."
Lance Corporal Russell Imrie, 25, said: "The Malian Army was pretty rusty at the start but by the end they were able to train themselves."
Based at Koulikoro Training Camp, 40 miles from the capital Bamako, the regiment was supported by personnel from 45 Commando Royal Marines and 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery, as well as troops from the Republic of Ireland's Defence Force. The UK also deployed civilian trainers from the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative to train troops on protection of civilians and humanitarian law.
The 40-man team was a significant element of the EU effort which consists of 500 staff from 22 EU member states.
The 1 R Irish officially handed over responsibility for the UK's contribution to the mission in Mali to 1st Battalion The Rifles last Saturday.
Lieutenant Colonel Ivor Gardiner, Commanding Officer of 1 R Irish, said: "In addition to intensive instructional output this deployment has also demanded deft diplomacy from the team."
Defence Secretary Philip Hammond added: "The soldiers from 1 R Irish have done a tremendous job."
