December 2008 - Halcrow

Longbridge Out of officeBirmingham:
Development A day in the life begins...
When he isn’t working as part of Halcrow’s nuclear
environmental team, Jon Dolphin’s activities are
rather more challenging than a game of footie or a
night in front of the television.
Life in the
terror zone
Tackling the Taliban in Afghanistan’s deadliest region
n October last year, the 29-year-old
I
environmental consultant swapped
his Warrington desk for the hellish
heat of Helmand province – Afghanistan’s
bloodiest and most dangerous region.
Before his call-up papers arrived, Jon had
spent six years in the British Territorial Army
(TA) – successfully ‘passing out’ of the Royal
Military Academy, Sandhurst, in 2004. He
then completed his training as a specialist
infantry officer and then as a demolition
officer and assault pioneer – the latter being
the engineers of the infantry.
“On mobilisation, I joined a 146-strong
infantry company of both regular and TA
soldiers,” Jon explains. “I commanded a
platoon of 31 soldiers, with a secondary
role as media escort which provided some
interesting moments.”
The company was deployed to Afghanistan
in October 2007, and the platoons were soon
dispatched to patrol bases in the notorious
‘green zone’ and forward operating bases
(FOBs) around the province.
On Christmas Eve, Jon’s platoon was sent
to FOB Edinburgh on the outskirts of Musa
Qalah, a city in the north of Helmand. Days
before they arrived, the city had been retaken
from Taliban control in a joint operation
between the UK and Afghan national armies
which had left the base uninhabitable.
Jon’s platoon spent Christmas Day filling
sandbags to provide some protection against
attack. He patrolled the countryside, talking
to locals through an interpreter and finding
numerous signs of the Taliban. “We had
a couple of close shaves with road side
bombs,” he remembers. “One device was
unfortunately triggered by a local on his
tractor. Hearing the explosion from some
distance away, we were able to save his life,
but he was badly injured.”
“The only comfort left
is in comradeship,
confidence in your own
abilities and a sense of
moral courage to do
the right thing”
During his six month tour of duty, there
were 12 fatalities. “I was in Camp Bastion
for one of the repatriation ceremonies,” said
Jon. “The memory of the coffin, covered by
the Union Jack, being carried onto a C130
Hercules plane will stay with me forever.”
In one violent example of the Taliban
response to British workers assisting the
Afghan government to rebuild infrastructure
in the city, a local man was found beheaded.
The £3.50-a-day construction worker had
been warned by the Taliban to stop working
on one of the development schemes and
had refused. “The Taliban are a pretty nasty
bunch and in many cases the only way they
can control the local population is through
fear,” says Jon.
Local Mullahs – religious leaders – showed
Jon threatening letters that had been nailed
to the doors of mosques by the Taliban,
warning locals not to assist the British.
“It’s a difficult situation out there,”
Jon explains. “Although the locals see
improvements to their quality of life as a
result of our intervention, it’s a daily struggle
for them. Without going deep into the
reasons why we’re in Afghanistan, I think we
need to be there. I saw and did things so far
out of my usual comfort zone that the only
comfort left is in comradeship, confidence
in your own abilities and a sense of moral
courage to do the right thing.”
Escorting BBC and ITN news teams and
journalists around the province was a
risky proposition. “On one occasion, I took
a journalist on a battle group clearance
operation, riding in the back of a Warrior
armoured personnel carrier (APC). During
the mission, the APC in front was blown up
by a mine, and we were shot at with air burst
rocket propelled grenades,” says Jon.
Returning to work after seeing action was
an understandably strange experience. “My
colleagues have been very supportive,” he
says. “I don’t think I’ve changed much, but
my time in Afghanistan has certainly made
me realise what’s important in life.”
58
Connections Vox | issue one | July 2008