Operation Saif Sareea 2 Information
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Watford, Hertfordshire,UK
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Rather than turning this into a slanging match, why don't we use PPRUNE for something constructive (for a change). A bunch of us are off to SS2 and their ain't a thing we can do about it, except make the most of a bad job. I am from a FJ outfit who have not undertaken a deployment as austere as this for a long time. Fortunately the high dilution rates mean the boys are pretty keen and willing to learn. We would appreciate any advice on how to make life a bit more bearable in tent city. 
Join Date: Jun 2001
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Stonkers, good attitude me old. For starters
Pair of sandals, velcro type you can actually walk in.
Head torch, if rumours of no bulbs are true.
Shaving mirror
Sleeping bag liner, or old quilt cover
Plenty of anti crotch-rot powder.
Floppy hat.
American camp cot or equivalent.
Liquid laundry stuff, in a tube.
For a long stay the collapsable wardrobes are good value (cue banter from grunts who exist to be uncomfortable)
If you have the room, a real pillow (honest)
Enjoy and don't forget sense of humour.
Pair of sandals, velcro type you can actually walk in.
Head torch, if rumours of no bulbs are true.
Shaving mirror
Sleeping bag liner, or old quilt cover
Plenty of anti crotch-rot powder.
Floppy hat.
American camp cot or equivalent.
Liquid laundry stuff, in a tube.
For a long stay the collapsable wardrobes are good value (cue banter from grunts who exist to be uncomfortable)
If you have the room, a real pillow (honest)
Enjoy and don't forget sense of humour.
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Watford, Hertfordshire,UK
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Guinevere thank you. Has anyone been to Thumrait recently? If so how cold is it at night? We've been issued the new thick sleeping bags but the consensus is that they may be too warm.
Join Date: Jun 2001
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From this morning's FT:
War-game fantasy in the desert
By Alexander Nicoll
Published: August 28 2001 16:11GMT | Last Updated: August 28 2001 17:08GMT
In October, the forces of Fantasyland will launch an amphibious attack on Oman. Battle will rage in the desert for two weeks. It may be a war-game, but for British troops sweltering in the desert, it will be real enough.
The £93m ($134m) deployment will be Britain's biggest exercise since the mid-1980s. Defence chiefs consider it so important that they are prepared to devote 24,000 British troops and large numbers of ships and aircraft in spite of extensive commitments in the Balkans and elsewhere.
It has already begun, with 2,500 troops now preparing in Oman, and ships packed with armoured vehicles and other equipment at sea.
The aim is to ensure Britain has the rapid reaction capabilities set out in the 1998 defence review, in which reforms were aimed to make the forces more deployable and flexible.
This month has seen them in practice, with Britain contributing more than half of the hastily assembled Nato force in Macedonia.
The exercise assumes added importance with Britain playing a leading role in the European Union's plan to have a 60,000-strong force available for quick use.
Called Saif Sareea 2 (Swift Sword), it will see a combination of British and Omani forces on both sides. It is the brainchild of a small team at the Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ), a bunker in Northwood, north of London, from which all British overseas deployments are overseen.
Web-based software and communications have enabled the war-gamers to devise something much more complex than just a punch-up in the desert.
Senior commanders will have to handle political interplay with ministers, the United Nations and allied governments as they plot their campaigns.
At their disposal will be not just real troops but also cyber-units. When these are sent into action, the opposing side will not know at first whether they are real or fictitious. And then there will be the desert battle itself, with armoured forces in Challenger 2 tanks attempting to outflank each other until the umpires step in.
"It will be a command post exercise, a simulated exercise and a live exercise all at the same time," says Wing Commander Dick Forsyth, the exercise co-ordinator. "It is a bit of a Rubik's cube."
The PJHQ team has written a detailed "road to war", in which the fictitious Alawham (the Arabic for fantasy) country, actually the central coastal part of Oman, makes a grab for oilfields to the north and strikes an alliance with a notional island nation to the east. A UN-sponsored ceasefire is broken, and Britain goes to Oman's aid. Troops on both sides will be commanded by some of the most senior officers of the two countries' armed forces.
Commanders will get their orders from a basketball gym at Shaa'fa in northern Oman, from where the exercise will be controlled. Wing Cdr Forsyth says with relish the "road to war" documents are riddled with inconsistencies intended to set up an intense dialogue between Shaa'fa and the commanders in the field - testing officers' communication skills as well as their patience.
The PJHQ team have also devised a series of "ground-truths", events injected into the action that test officers' ability to manage information - for example, a supply route blockage on which information dribbles out by different routes, such as media reports.
Supporting the action will be some of the services' newest equipment, including the Royal Air Force's new C-17 transport aircraft, and the latest in digital technology: an "electronic bird-table" displaying the action for exercise controllers.
Commanders are encouraged to consider how their actions will be reported in the media; the likely effect of the actions on fragile political balances; and moves towards resolution after the conflict.
Wing Cdr Forsyth says: "We are trying to make it a cerebral activity for the higher commanders. They have got to be good at the military skills, and good politically and diplomatically as well."
War-game fantasy in the desert
By Alexander Nicoll
Published: August 28 2001 16:11GMT | Last Updated: August 28 2001 17:08GMT
In October, the forces of Fantasyland will launch an amphibious attack on Oman. Battle will rage in the desert for two weeks. It may be a war-game, but for British troops sweltering in the desert, it will be real enough.
The £93m ($134m) deployment will be Britain's biggest exercise since the mid-1980s. Defence chiefs consider it so important that they are prepared to devote 24,000 British troops and large numbers of ships and aircraft in spite of extensive commitments in the Balkans and elsewhere.
It has already begun, with 2,500 troops now preparing in Oman, and ships packed with armoured vehicles and other equipment at sea.
The aim is to ensure Britain has the rapid reaction capabilities set out in the 1998 defence review, in which reforms were aimed to make the forces more deployable and flexible.
This month has seen them in practice, with Britain contributing more than half of the hastily assembled Nato force in Macedonia.
The exercise assumes added importance with Britain playing a leading role in the European Union's plan to have a 60,000-strong force available for quick use.
Called Saif Sareea 2 (Swift Sword), it will see a combination of British and Omani forces on both sides. It is the brainchild of a small team at the Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ), a bunker in Northwood, north of London, from which all British overseas deployments are overseen.
Web-based software and communications have enabled the war-gamers to devise something much more complex than just a punch-up in the desert.
Senior commanders will have to handle political interplay with ministers, the United Nations and allied governments as they plot their campaigns.
At their disposal will be not just real troops but also cyber-units. When these are sent into action, the opposing side will not know at first whether they are real or fictitious. And then there will be the desert battle itself, with armoured forces in Challenger 2 tanks attempting to outflank each other until the umpires step in.
"It will be a command post exercise, a simulated exercise and a live exercise all at the same time," says Wing Commander Dick Forsyth, the exercise co-ordinator. "It is a bit of a Rubik's cube."
The PJHQ team has written a detailed "road to war", in which the fictitious Alawham (the Arabic for fantasy) country, actually the central coastal part of Oman, makes a grab for oilfields to the north and strikes an alliance with a notional island nation to the east. A UN-sponsored ceasefire is broken, and Britain goes to Oman's aid. Troops on both sides will be commanded by some of the most senior officers of the two countries' armed forces.
Commanders will get their orders from a basketball gym at Shaa'fa in northern Oman, from where the exercise will be controlled. Wing Cdr Forsyth says with relish the "road to war" documents are riddled with inconsistencies intended to set up an intense dialogue between Shaa'fa and the commanders in the field - testing officers' communication skills as well as their patience.
The PJHQ team have also devised a series of "ground-truths", events injected into the action that test officers' ability to manage information - for example, a supply route blockage on which information dribbles out by different routes, such as media reports.
Supporting the action will be some of the services' newest equipment, including the Royal Air Force's new C-17 transport aircraft, and the latest in digital technology: an "electronic bird-table" displaying the action for exercise controllers.
Commanders are encouraged to consider how their actions will be reported in the media; the likely effect of the actions on fragile political balances; and moves towards resolution after the conflict.
Wing Cdr Forsyth says: "We are trying to make it a cerebral activity for the higher commanders. They have got to be good at the military skills, and good politically and diplomatically as well."
Inter Arma Enim Silentius Lex Legis
Join Date: May 2000
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To those of who you are going on Safe Diaroheaa 2 and have had your CS95 dipped in Peripel 10 (Mosquito repellant).
Peripel 10 contains Nonyl Phenol Ethoxylate which is a chemical that has been reported to cause harmful effects on the human endocrine system (prolonged exposure).Data sheets containing the ingredients are available from Clothing Stores, do your own research on the net if you don't believe me.
I do not believe the benefits outweigh the potential health risks. As the Gulf War demonstrated, it is not wise to assume that everything being offered is necessarily safe to use!!
Nee Naaah...The next train arriving...
[ 29 August 2001: Message edited by: The Gorilla ]
Peripel 10 contains Nonyl Phenol Ethoxylate which is a chemical that has been reported to cause harmful effects on the human endocrine system (prolonged exposure).Data sheets containing the ingredients are available from Clothing Stores, do your own research on the net if you don't believe me.
I do not believe the benefits outweigh the potential health risks. As the Gulf War demonstrated, it is not wise to assume that everything being offered is necessarily safe to use!!
Nee Naaah...The next train arriving...
[ 29 August 2001: Message edited by: The Gorilla ]
Join Date: Jun 2001
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Stonks
I refer you to the sleeping bag liner from my last post. PS all the above advice offered without any real desert experience, just plenty of time living out of a green bag.
Much maligned as this Ex has been, for many of the pers involved it will be good experience that might stand them in good stead in the future.
Enjoy
Chinese Vic
Hope you don't bump into the RM chap who has been working his nuts off with a pencil and a fag packet!
I refer you to the sleeping bag liner from my last post. PS all the above advice offered without any real desert experience, just plenty of time living out of a green bag.
Much maligned as this Ex has been, for many of the pers involved it will be good experience that might stand them in good stead in the future.
Enjoy
Chinese Vic
Hope you don't bump into the RM chap who has been working his nuts off with a pencil and a fag packet!
Join Date: Nov 2000
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Gorilla
Cannot understand current abbreviations and jargon. What the heck is "your CS95" that has to be dipped in "mosquito" repellant"? Is it the new Cool word for your "d**k"? and is "Mosquito repellant" the current euphemism for some sort of anti-VD prophylactic?
Good luck all you boy scouts! Watch out for Scorpions. Shake out your sleeping bag before you climb into it, ditto your shoes in the morning.
Cannot understand current abbreviations and jargon. What the heck is "your CS95" that has to be dipped in "mosquito" repellant"? Is it the new Cool word for your "d**k"? and is "Mosquito repellant" the current euphemism for some sort of anti-VD prophylactic?
Good luck all you boy scouts! Watch out for Scorpions. Shake out your sleeping bag before you climb into it, ditto your shoes in the morning.
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I heard from a reliable source that something like 10 bodies have been flown back to BZZ from the middle east since Feb - accidents, RTA's etc. I'm not sure if this can be true, however, it is from someone in the know. Anyone know more?
UVG
UVG
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Allegedly, 9 have died in RTA, 2 chefs have died from heat stroke (and they drank too much water and wash the salt out of their system) and 2 from snake bites. That’s the rumour on the street in Oxon. I’ll find out more on Friday, as I arrive then for my 12 week sun tan det (not!)
Incidentally, there are 3 very squashed vehicles sat at Marchwood Military Port as a warning to what could happen if you don’t stay alert whilst driving.
Read a letter from Oman today that states the biggest worry at present from the commanders is the poor driving standards of everyone (us and them!). Defensive driving is the way to stay alive.
Back from the arse end of nowhere at teh end of Nov.
Incidentally, there are 3 very squashed vehicles sat at Marchwood Military Port as a warning to what could happen if you don’t stay alert whilst driving.
Read a letter from Oman today that states the biggest worry at present from the commanders is the poor driving standards of everyone (us and them!). Defensive driving is the way to stay alive.
Back from the arse end of nowhere at teh end of Nov.
Join Date: Jun 2001
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I've been in Oman for a few years now and watched the fag packet planning. Unfortunately, PJHQ didn't ask the experts (Jag force) who deploy here each year for any advice, but I suppose they have to train to plan from scratch rather than take the easy answers. I just hope they have 3 years to plan the next short-notice live deployment.
My understanding at the beginning of the planning was that the aim was to prove that HMG could still deploy a war-fighting force after all the cuts in recent years. So, just like the first Army deployment to Bosnia, the aim was to get there and, once you arrived, the aim had been acheived and you could go home. Having gone to all that trouble though, you may as well do something before you go home - like flying, topping up the sun tan, etc.
I wish you could all be put up in 5-star hotels, but the infrastructure just doesn't exist here. Oman is one of the poorer Gulf states (in comparison - it certainly isn't broke!) but its military is probably the most professional in the region. It is very closely based on the Brit system and hasn't been affected by all the political correctness and ass-covering attitudes that seem to have been adopted by the Brit forces. Speak to one of the Jag mates if you want an idea of what they are like.
As people, they are the nicest in the region by far. They are friendly, have a wicked sense of humour, they like the Brits and are very tolerant of us. If you've been to Saudi, then you have no idea of what Oman is like because it is chalk and cheese to compare them.
Finally, regarding the fatalaties and weather questions, I have asked several people who should know and I have been told that there have been no fatatalities so far. Only one serious injury involving broken legs when a truck overturned (no other vehicle was involved - it just didn't make it around the bend in the road. As for the weather in Thumrait, the coast there near Salalah is affected by drizzle from the Monsoon but it doesn't reach Thumrait. It does get windy there so there will be some blowing sand, but the Monsoon should end about the time the exercise starts so the only people to be affected (hopefully) will be the early deployments. Temperatures should be low to mid 30s by day and low to mid 20s by night.
Its got to be done - so make the best of it and enjoy the flying.
My understanding at the beginning of the planning was that the aim was to prove that HMG could still deploy a war-fighting force after all the cuts in recent years. So, just like the first Army deployment to Bosnia, the aim was to get there and, once you arrived, the aim had been acheived and you could go home. Having gone to all that trouble though, you may as well do something before you go home - like flying, topping up the sun tan, etc.
I wish you could all be put up in 5-star hotels, but the infrastructure just doesn't exist here. Oman is one of the poorer Gulf states (in comparison - it certainly isn't broke!) but its military is probably the most professional in the region. It is very closely based on the Brit system and hasn't been affected by all the political correctness and ass-covering attitudes that seem to have been adopted by the Brit forces. Speak to one of the Jag mates if you want an idea of what they are like.
As people, they are the nicest in the region by far. They are friendly, have a wicked sense of humour, they like the Brits and are very tolerant of us. If you've been to Saudi, then you have no idea of what Oman is like because it is chalk and cheese to compare them.
Finally, regarding the fatalaties and weather questions, I have asked several people who should know and I have been told that there have been no fatatalities so far. Only one serious injury involving broken legs when a truck overturned (no other vehicle was involved - it just didn't make it around the bend in the road. As for the weather in Thumrait, the coast there near Salalah is affected by drizzle from the Monsoon but it doesn't reach Thumrait. It does get windy there so there will be some blowing sand, but the Monsoon should end about the time the exercise starts so the only people to be affected (hopefully) will be the early deployments. Temperatures should be low to mid 30s by day and low to mid 20s by night.
Its got to be done - so make the best of it and enjoy the flying.
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Bit last minute this one, but....
Has anyone got any top tips in the way of kit to take that isn't obvious?
I got a copy of an email suggesting (amongst other things:
Coat hangers
Talcalm powder
Factor 25 Suncream (issue stuff not up to the job)
Thermarest
Any other suggestions?
Has anyone got any top tips in the way of kit to take that isn't obvious?
I got a copy of an email suggesting (amongst other things:
Coat hangers
Talcalm powder
Factor 25 Suncream (issue stuff not up to the job)
Thermarest
Any other suggestions?
Join Date: Aug 2001
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Autorev: That is a real invite for a funny, but I will refrain. Having spent some time recently in a desert albeit not Oman, I would advise:
Hearing plugs x lots, a pillow, Eye shade/cover ala airline issue, flip flops, sheet sleeping bag for daytime use, Autan bug repelant, Waspeze, sun factor various, camelback water tank, civvie cap/bush-hat,
Think about what your day will entail on/off duty, browse a couple of "I walked around the desert" and survival type books, you will soon get the drift.
Wokka mate Jellers went into the desert with a 1960s safari suit filling his bergan and survived, but only for a week. The arabs dont wear shemags cause there trendy, they were them cause they are F*ing useful in that location.
Hearing plugs x lots, a pillow, Eye shade/cover ala airline issue, flip flops, sheet sleeping bag for daytime use, Autan bug repelant, Waspeze, sun factor various, camelback water tank, civvie cap/bush-hat,
Think about what your day will entail on/off duty, browse a couple of "I walked around the desert" and survival type books, you will soon get the drift.
Wokka mate Jellers went into the desert with a 1960s safari suit filling his bergan and survived, but only for a week. The arabs dont wear shemags cause there trendy, they were them cause they are F*ing useful in that location.
Join Date: Sep 2001
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Ali Barber hit the spot boys. (Hi bigbits!)The weather's good, the beaches are great and the flying is better. If anyone from the Lincolnshire AD mafia are coming to Fantasy Island I may just be able to deliver your ice cream cone personally if you give me a bell.
I've been here a few years now and seen one (very small) scorpion which I squashed when I accidentally sat on it, seen 2 snakes which did a runner like mud-movers with a sniff of AD in the area and one camel spider which only woke up because somebody poked a pointy stick in its hollow. There are a few nibbly insects but no malaria. Just bring some sun-block and keep sipping water, bottled or tap (it's all potable here).
As for the alleged casualties - well I have only heard of the one referred to by Ali Barber and three soldiers buying it in a private vehicle driving down the Salalah escarpment road in the monsoon hill fog.
I've been here a few years now and seen one (very small) scorpion which I squashed when I accidentally sat on it, seen 2 snakes which did a runner like mud-movers with a sniff of AD in the area and one camel spider which only woke up because somebody poked a pointy stick in its hollow. There are a few nibbly insects but no malaria. Just bring some sun-block and keep sipping water, bottled or tap (it's all potable here).
As for the alleged casualties - well I have only heard of the one referred to by Ali Barber and three soldiers buying it in a private vehicle driving down the Salalah escarpment road in the monsoon hill fog.
Join Date: Sep 2001
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Further to my last references to alleged casualties culled from bar room chat - rumour has greatly exaggerated the reports of deaths in Oman. The 3 reported deaths on the Salalah road were injuries not deaths. The "deaths due to drinking too much water" were an isolated incident of salt loss. So no "body bags" have been despatched from Oman. Just though I would set the record straight while I take my own advice and ignore the "bar facts"!
Charming!!!! The second post at the top of page 8 on this thread contains, for me, the most telling quote about this whole daft exercise:
Wing Cdr Forsyth says: "We are trying to make it a cerebral activity for the higher commanders. They have got to be good at the military skills, and good politically and diplomatically as well."
Right.......so we are all going to play in the desert so that higher commanders can get their cerebral regions exercised? I should be SSSSOOOOOOOOOOO grateful!
Wing Cdr Forsyth says: "We are trying to make it a cerebral activity for the higher commanders. They have got to be good at the military skills, and good politically and diplomatically as well."
Right.......so we are all going to play in the desert so that higher commanders can get their cerebral regions exercised? I should be SSSSOOOOOOOOOOO grateful!
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Been out to Thumrait several times recently:
Thumrait Motel OK and food is good but showers are bloody awful! Dare anyone to try the "Brains with rice and vegetables" that's on the menu....
Tents are fine but take all the articles from earlier posts if possible.
Spoke with Medical Officer - NO deaths!!!! Get it...
MCSU doing a great job and food in Tent City is best I've experienced for ages - but then again I can't cook!
"Balls to the Wall"
Thumrait Motel OK and food is good but showers are bloody awful! Dare anyone to try the "Brains with rice and vegetables" that's on the menu....
Tents are fine but take all the articles from earlier posts if possible.
Spoke with Medical Officer - NO deaths!!!! Get it...
MCSU doing a great job and food in Tent City is best I've experienced for ages - but then again I can't cook!
"Balls to the Wall"
You a chef then? 