Stephen Grey - Operation Snakebite

From 4/73 Special Observation Post Battery and others in the Brigade Reconnaissance Force: Maj. Tony Phillips, Capt. James Ashworth, Capt. Richard Waddell, WO2 (BSM) Paul Hodgson, WO2 Anthony Richards, SSgt. Tim Godfrey, Sgt. Matty Cockburn, Sgt. Jonathan Walton, Cpl. Darren Clark, Cpl. Nicky Cooper, Bdr. Simon Annan, Bdr. Danny Kay, LCpl. Collin Vincent, LCpl. James Clark, LBdr. Ian Wylie.

From the 2nd Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment battlegroup: Col. Simon Downey, Maj. Paul Holder RLC, Maj. Jake Little, Maj. Matt Adams, Maj. Barrie Terry, Maj. Gary Wolfenden, Maj. James Bryden, Capt. Andy Breach, Capt. Tim Exton, Capt. Nick Stone, Capt. Nick Mantell, 2nd Lt. Colin Lunn, WO2 (CSM) Daniel Benson, WO2 Mike Scott, CSgt. Mark Syron, Sgt. Jimmy Lynas, Sgt. Dave McCarrick, Sgt. Michael McConnell, Cpl. Don Johnson, Cpl. Carl Peterson, Cpl. Gregory ‘Cagey’ Roberts RLC, LCpl. John Dickens RE, LCpl. Terry McDonald, LCpl. Onur Caglar, Kgn. Lee Bellingham, Pte. Andy Allsop, Pte. Matt Anderson, Pte. Lawrence Fong, Pte. Kevin Woodall, Pte. Luke Ibbotson, Pte. Gary McCabe, Pte. Geoff Nicholson, Pte. Andy Allsop, Pte. Daniel English.

From 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles: Maj. Mark Milford, Maj. Paul Pitchfork, Capt. Chandra, Lt. Peter Houlton-Hart, 2nd Lt. Lou Connolly, WO2 (CSM) Shuresh Thapa, Sgt. Bahadur Budha-Magar, Sgt. Punn, Sgt. Naresh, Cpl. Khobindra Gurung, LCpl. Dhruba, LCpl. Rajesh Gurung, Rfn. Sojit.

Of the pilots and crew from 18(B) Squadron RAF: Sqn Ldr Paul Curnow, Capt. Tristan Jackman, Flt. Lt. Nichol Benzie RN, Flt. Lt. Al Sparks, Flt. Sgt. Sam Murray, Sgt. Scott Todd, and other members of the MRT teams.

From the King’s Royal Hussars: Maj. Richard Slack, Lt. Tom Perrott, Lt. David Warwick, SSgt. Kevin Taylor, SSgt. Rob Sinclair, Sgt. Mark Budd, Cpl. James Young, Cpl. Andrew Martin, Cpl. John Bradley, LCpl. Adam Mossop.

From Signal Squadron (258), the Royal Corps of Signals: Maj. Tom Crapper, Sgt. Matthew Lane, Cpl. Lee Wilbor, Cpl. Nicola Thompson, Cpl. Tony Talbot, LCpl. Jennifer Blackburn, LCpl. Michael Singer, LCpl. Richard Ward, Sig. Matt Hughes.

From the 1–508th Parachute Infantry Regiment (Task Force 1 Fury) and others in the 82nd Airborne Division: Lt. Col. Brian Mennes, Maj. Guy Jones, Capt. Don Canterna, Capt. Will Eberle, Capt. John Pelikan, Capt. Jerwin Ruazol, Capt. Brian Schneider, Capt. Adam Wehrle, 1Lt. Anthony Fera, 1Lt. Joe McGovern, 1Lt. John Wall, 1Lt. John Robie, 1Lt. Abraham Anderson, Lt. Chris Copolla, Sfc. Matthew Hatfield Sfc. Ronald Strickland, Sfc. James Brasher, Sfc. Shane Summers, Sfc. John Nesmith, Sfc. Joseph Kumagai, Sfc. James Knops, Sfc. Brian Reese, SSgt. Otilio Vasquez, SSgt. Nelson Gil, SSgt. Stephen Brown, SSgt. Johann Herzog, SSgt. Josh Lawrence, Sgt. Tyler Clas, Sgt. Billy Lee, Sgt. Harry Jauert, Sgt. Jason Murray, Sgt. Bryce Hamilton, Sgt. Nicholas Thompson, Sgt. Vincent Corona, Sgt. Lance Bell, Sgt. Chris Donaldson, Spc. Dustin Jones, Spc. Jules Dyman, Spc. Javier Molina, Spc. William Cochran, Spc. Robert Spafford, Spc. Robert Wallace Spc. David Goth, Spc. Levi Kull; and Sfc. Fitzgerald Mann of Fort Bragg for follow-up information; and from the Arizona National Guard, Maj. Paul Aguirre and CW2 Thomas Malone.

From the UK Ministry of Defence: Col. Ben Bathurst, Col. Andrew Jackson, Lt. Col. Kevin Stratford-Wright, Maj. Keith Scott, Paula Edwards, and Tim David for helping arrange interviews among the military and for advice on some changes to protect the security of ongoing operations.

In Kabul and Helmand: former Helmand governors Sher Mohamed Akhundzada and Asadullah Wafa; Musa Qala governor Mullah Abdul Salaam; police chiefs Haji Koka and Muhammad Andiwal; the army chief Bismullah Khan; the minister of counter narcotics, Khodaidad Khodaidad; the spokesman for President Karzai, Humayun Hamidzada; journalists Aziz Mohamed Shafi, Ekrem Shinwari, Akbar Shinwari, Qais Azimy and James Bayes; Jean Mackenzie of the IWPR; at the British Embassy, Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, Col. Simon Newton, Daniel Sherry, Michael Howes; at NATO headquarters, Gen. Dan McNeill, Maj. Gen. Bernard Champoux, Air Cdre Sean Bell and Mark Laity; and from the shadowlands, ‘Paul’ and ‘Vince’. At the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Helmand: Michael Ryder and many additional others interviewed on background.

Also Michael Semple, Chiade O’Shea in Pakistan, Alan and Sandra Johnson and Lisa McIntosh, Paul Gardiner and his family, Ian Sadler, Gill McDermid, Dr Farid Popal at the Afghan embassy in London; Dr John W. Whitney of the US Geological Survey for help with the introduction to Helmand, Dr Tony Heathcote for help on historical sources, Rupert Grey for some legal advice, Cathrin, Adrian, Adam and Peter for reading the drafts. And for backing my trips in Afghanistan: Sean Ryan, John Witherow, Rhonda Schwartz, Brian Ross, Peter Barron and Jasmin Buttar. And to Jonathan Heffer, with Joseph Zeitlyn and Damandeep Singh for additional research help.

None of this would have happened without all the support and inspiration of Christina Czapiewska, my amazing researcher, Tony Lacey and Jon Elek and the team at Penguin, and agents Emma Parry and Christy Fletcher.

Thanks finally all who allowed me to use their stunning photographs in the book, most particularly to Alex Gardner, who was on the Roshan hill, Nick Cornish, the photographer with whom I travelled to Helmand, and to Phil Coburn, who was there too with us in the battle of Musa Qala.

.50 cal:a Browning heavy machine gun that fires half-inch diameter (.50 calibre) bullets; pronounced ‘fifty cal’.

105mm field gun:also known as a light gun, an artillery weapon firing 105mm calibre shells with a range of about 10 miles.

240 or M240:a US machine gun.

2 Yorks:2nd Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment.

A-10:an American single-seat plane providing close air support to ground forces, also known as a ‘tank buster’.

AK-47:a Soviet-designed assault rifle used by both the Afghan army and the Taliban.

ANA:Afghan National Army.

Apache: the AH-64 attack helicopter.

AWACS: or airborne warning and control system, an aircraft used for surveillance, tracking targets and providing air traffic control for other aircraft.

B-1B bomber:a US long-range bomber aircraft carrying a large payload of both guided and unguided weapons.

Black Hawk:the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a medium-lift transport or assault helicopter.

BRF:Brigade Reconnaissance (Recce) Force.

burqa: an enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic traditions.

C-130:or Hercules, a military transport aircraft with four propeller engines.

C2:Command and Control.

CAS:close air support.

Chinook:the Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a twin-rotor heavy-lift helicopter used to transport troops and supplies.

CIA: Central Intelligence Agency.

COMISAF:the commander of NATO (ISAF) forces in Afghanistan.

contact:an engagement with hostile forces.

Dushka: a nickname for the DShK 1938 heavy machine gun used since the Second World War by Soviet forces, and used by the Afghan army and the Taliban.

EW: electronic warfare.

F-15 / F-16 / F-18: US fighter aircraft.

FOB: Forward Operating Base.

forward air controller: an individual who directs the action of combat aircraft engaged in close air support and other offensive air operations.

green zone: the fertile, irrigated land along the river and tributaries of the Helmand River.