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12-8-2002 Scotsman Marines' morale hit by attack on brigadier By Gethin Chamberlain FACING an elusive enemy, in difficult and unfamiliar territory and with weapons that many felt they could not trust, Britain's Royal Marines had enough on their plates in Afghanistan. They had already been warned to expect casualties; many believed that at least some of their number would be going home in body bags. What they did have going for them was that, in Brigadier Roger Lane, they had a popular leader who believed in the capabilities of those serving under him. But with little to show for their efforts on the ground, what the marines did not need was to discover that shadowy figures back home in the UK were plotting to undermine and remove the man who commanded their unswerving loyalty. Three months ago, however, reports began to filter through to the men on the ground that unnamed Ministry of Defence sources were briefing against Brigadier Lane in an apparent attempt to have him removed from his command. On 19 May, the Sunday Telegraph published a report quoting an unnamed senior MoD official blaming Brigadier Lane for falling morale among the troops. "Brigadier Lane is a man out of his depth and should be sacked," the official was reported to have said. "The whole operation is quickly becoming a farce. I don't think there would be too much of a furore if he should go, in my opinion it would be a one-day wonder. "The marines have a morale problem and the only way to get rid of it is to get rid of the man at the top. "Brigadier Lane has lost the confidence of his men, his junior commanders and his tactical decisions look increasingly like the actions of a man desperate for some success." According to a chaplain, the Rev Mike Hills, one of a team of chaplains who travelled to Afghanistan with the marines, it was the last thing they needed. Up to that point, they had been happy to put up with whatever was thrown at them; they showed no fear under fire and had adapted well to the unexpected role of assisting, rather than fighting, the local population. But Mr Hills, who was attached to the Arbroath-based 45 Commando, said criticism of Brigadier Lane had an unsettling effect on the marines. "To have him bad-mouthed unfairly was the source of much disgust and upset among the troops," he said. He singled out the Sunday Telegraph for particular criticism, adding: "It was total nonsense, but it did actually get to them because we were a soft target in that there was no way we could respond to any of that, and it was just unnecessary. "They were disappointed by the hammering that Brigadier Roger Lane took because that was unwarranted. He is held in great regard by his men because he came from the bottom rung and rose to the top, and so they know he is a man who understands and who will go to the wall for his people." The Sunday Telegraph report triggered a week of confused messages about Brigadier Lane's future. Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, found himself obliged to defend his man in the field, only for the MoD to confirm that the brigadier would be going - and then finally announce that he would stay until the end of the operation. Brigadier Lane said he found the affair "wholly unwelcome". Despite criticism of the marines' failure to engage Taleban or al-Qaeda forces, Mr Hills said the row over Brigadier Lane's future was the only time he saw their morale suffer. "The airfield was regularly mortared and we just got our heads down," he said. "The mortars were regularly coming in so we just had to move our site further back out of range. Thankfully, they weren't very good at their job - they were getting nearer and nearer but we were in no immediate danger." He praised the marines for the way they responded to the other challenges thrown at them. "It was a real privilege to work with them. They are very good at what they do, but there is another side to them that I see a lot of." And he revealed that the decision to use the marines on humanitarian missions had changed some of their attitudes towards the local population. "A lot of our lads were quite struck by the poverty of the local people and the status of women was quite an eye opener for them," he said. "They went out with the perception that they weren't going to see any of the locals, they were just going to attack the Taleban and come home again. Then it turned into a mixed bag of quite dangerous activity followed by humanitarian stuff and they actually got to see how people lived, and sampled the local hospitality. "They actually liked it, they got used to engaging with another culture. I was very impressed with lads who had grown up way beyond their years in a very short period of time."
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................................................................................................................. Copyright ©2004 Gethin Chamberlain. All rights reserved. |
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