By Ralph Barnett

Smiling and joking in the hazy spring sunshine, the Royal Marines of 45 Commando assembled at their Condor base at Arbroath yesterday to mark the end of a difficult and often dangerous six-month tour of duty in Helmand province in Afghanistan.

The obvious relief at being home— the final 100-odd members of the unit’s Zulu Company flew into Edinburgh last night—and satisfaction at a job well done was tinged with sadness that four marines and two members of their associated 7 (Sphinx) Battery of 29 Commando Royal Artillery were not able to join them.

Warrant Officer Mick Smith, Marine Jonathan Holland, Lance-Corporal Matthew Ford, Lance-Bombardier James Dwyer, Marine Jonathan Wigley and Marine Gary Wright all made the supreme sacrifice in the NATO-led mission to bring stability to the country by taking on the Taliban-inspired insurgency.

Around 500 members of 45 Commando Group were deployed to Afghanistan but, instead of operating as a single entity as they have normally done in past conflicts, elements of the Arbroath-based unit were spread across the country doing specific jobs in force protection and supporting the development of the recently-formed Afghan National Army.

Commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Duncan Dewar said yesterday, “These men are soldiers of the very highest calibre and I am immensely proud of their achievements. They were given a tough job to do and they did it in the finest traditions of the Royal Marines.

“Although groups and individuals have been arriving back at Condor for several weeks now, I chose this as the day to formally announce our return as the final troops of 45 Commando are now on their way home.

“This will be the first time the unit has been together as a whole for some seven months and I believe we have done an exceptional job out in Afghanistan, despite being spread to the four winds across Helmand and other parts of the country.

“We have carried out a wide variety of jobs and tasks—including some very intense fighting—and have been split into numerous sub-groups, so it is very good to have everyone back together again.

“We have been exceptionally well supported by the local community in Arbroath and, indeed, by people across Scotland, and that has been a great comfort to us and our families.

“As the only Scottish-based commando unit I feel we have a unique relationship with the local community and that has been most welcome, both from the point of view of the men who have been so far from home and that of the families and friends we had to leave behind.

“Our happiness at being back is, of course, tinged with sadness because we did lose men out there—four marines and two from the artillery battery— and we must not forget that, while we may be home and reunited with our comrades and our loved ones, six of our number have been lost.”

Of the unit’s work in Afghanistan, Col Dewar said, “Being spread so widely, people very much just cracked on with the task in hand and they performed very, very well. As I wasn’t able to provide much in the way of an overview or chase people up, they were given a very high level of local responsibility, and my junior commanders and NCOs worked their socks off to make everything happen.”

He added, “The loss of our six comrades was hard to bear but, as professional soldiers, we understand and accept that there is a deal of risk in our activities—although that does nothing to soften the blow.”

Col Dewar added, “That said, the casualties never made any of us lose our focus on the job in hand and, thanks to our training, we remained on form throughout.

“There is always the danger that these sorts of events can distract you from the principal task, but out there the pace of life doesn’t allow you to do that.

“We remember and grieve properly at the time and then we move on, and when we are all back home again we remember and grieve again.

“Our thoughts are obviously with the families of those who we lost and who were injured, but we have a very good and professional welfare service in place and help is available now which perhaps wasn’t the case after the Falklands campaign 25 years ago—some veterans of which have joined us today.”

As well as his decision-making role as commander of 45 Commando Group, Col Dewar had a major decision to make before he went out to Afghanistan.

His wife Helen was due to give birth to their second child—they already had a two-year-old daughter Lottie—when the order to move came through.

“It’s always a difficult decision to make, I think, but Helen and I talked it through—long, long conversations. We agreed that my role within the unit meant that I couldn’t really afford not to be there at the start of the operation.

“Helen was quite capable of handling things herself but, as any father would feel, there was a sense of personal disappointment at not being there with her.

“She served in the Royal Navy, however, and I think that helped because she knew what the job involves and what my priority had to be.”

Most of the men of 45 Commando will now enjoy some well-earned leave, but once they return to RM Condor they will start training in earnest again.

Col Dewar said, “We have some incredibly hard work ahead of us with a training exercise in Norway at the start of next year, and I would envisage that we will be out again on operations within a relatively short period of time.

“You can’t have an asset like 45 Commando Group and not use it.

“I would like to think that what we achieved in Afghanistan has enhanced the already excellent reputation of this unit.”

He added, “45 Commando is a very individual unit with its own character, and that gives it an attraction for extremely professional and hard soldiers who we can provide facilities and opportunities for.”