SASless et al,
I can't get the CentCom link to work, so appologies if this is not relevant. Just to add some context, I would like to make the following observations:
1. The Towers date from the early days of Bastion and did not reflect the expanded fence line. So much so that several were demolished during the building of the new runway and others were a considerable distance inside the fence line.
2. Having helped host the Tongans when they arrived they were highly disciplined, extremely competent and a significant number had served in Iraq. They were, in one Army colleges words "as hard as a Wood Peckers' lips..". Unfortunately there was only 55 of them.
3. Due to the Theatre cap, the rest of the UK guarding was an unestablished commitment spread across the permenant garrison (with a few exceptions such as medics).
4. Having made numerous visits to Leatherneck it was clear that the Marines had fortified the place ready for another Khe Sahn and then manned the various watch towers according to the perceived threat.
5. Although Bastion was built in the middle of the desert, it is neither flat nor uninhabited. The terrain to the north and east is low hills and deep gullies, so much so the amount of earth work required just to construct the new facilities was simply staggering. Also a civilian population has sprung up in the relatively secure shadow if the base; this includes "the King of Sh*t Creek" who, having monopolised the sewage output of the base had a thriving melon plantation (and no doubt lots of tommatoes).
6. The resident RAF Regiment Sqn's primary task was to sanitise the approach and departure footprints, which they did a bloody good job at. They were neither scaled or tasked with securing the entire AOR.
Please note that these observations date from the back end of 2010, so things will have no doubt changed.