That Night!
25 years ago! Our group of RAF chaps were attached to 1(UK)Div HQ and formed the ASOC(SH). Arrived 2 weeks before that night – spent that time in the desert getting used to working with our ASV436 vehicles and our driver/sigs – great chaps Coxy and a guy whose name can’t remember now. We had one of about 12 x 436 amongst the HQ. Very tired and wet most of the time in the winter desert weather learning to put the HQ up, break it down, move several km at night, put the HQ up again – repeat. The HQ food was sparse and very poor at times. After 2 weeks we were declared as good as we were ever going to get as armoured vehicle commanders/operators and the HQ was ready to move to the concentration area in prep for the ground assault.
R&R time back at Al Jubail for one night in a comfy bed – went to sleep still dirty (I’ll have a good shower and change into fresh clean clothes in the morning - Stupid Boy!) Alarms all night, beds up against the windows, S6 and NBC kit on, and us taking silly photos of each other trying to sleep on the floor. Air War had started. Back in our Landrover first thing in the morning to get the hell out of Dodge and back to the “safety” of the desert!! Interesting days and the subsequent months through Saudi/Iraq/Kuwait as we advanced as part of that (US)Corps, it was quite surreal navigating using celestial skills and very basic maps. Without doubt the highlight of that time was a cold shower under a makeshift bucket each day when we were not in NBC kit.
Credit to all the guys doing the flying – would have preferred to be up there myself rather than in the panzer that became my home for 4 months. Final interesting point: many RAF were in hotels on rates with good accommodation for the duration, while the ground elements were in the field with nothing but “water money” as added cash in the bank. No one on the ground got worked up about that issue – as they knew all the work being done in the air was going to save lives on the ground when it came to them going over the top. It undoubtedly did – so thanks guys to all of you in the air during that time.
MPN11 – ASMA yes! we had a terminal in the 436! A piece of office basic IT in an armoured vehicle and after every move the RAF Cpl TCW chap came running into the HQ trailing the co-ax cable to plug in to the dish in his landrover and we were up talking to: ships, HQ, UK, everywhere – before the Army signalers could even get their Ptarmigan comms systems or radios working. Used to **ss off the RSigs Captain after every move when the Full Colonel Chief of Staff used to say “I see ASMA beat you again Comms Ops”
You couldn’t make it up …
kbc