Welcome home! Army Bomb Disposal specialists from Wimbish have marched through the market town of Saffron Walden, marking their return home from Afghanistan and the end of combat operations in the country for the Regiment. The 60-strong contingent from 58 Field Squadron, part of 33 Engineer Regiment (EOD) returned from Afghanistan in late November having provided a supportive Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) search specialist capability to Afghan forces. They also provided force protection at Camp Bastion. The Regiment has been at the forefront of the fight against deadly improvised explosive devices in Afghanistan since 2001. Based at Carver Barracks, it has had one of the leading roles in the creation of the Counter IED Task Force responsible for finding, isolating and destroying improvised explosive devices. It also trained the Afghan National Army’s bomb disposal teams. “This was a very different tour to the Squadron’s previous deployment,” said the Officer Commanding Major Adam Jones RE. “Our main role was the protection of Camp Bastion and supporting the draw-down of the camp. We did accompany the Afghan Army on a number of operations, but their own Counter-IED team is extremely proficient and we were there in support.” The Squadron last deployed to Helmand Province in 2012 and as part of the larger Counter IED Task Force disposed of 460 individual IEDs and supported 165 military operations which found a further 152 IEDs. The Mayor of Saffron Walden, Councillor Sandra Eden and Colonel Andrew Howard, Deputy Commander 8 Engineer Brigade, presented the soldiers their Afghanistan Operational Service medals in front of members of the local community who had gathered to welcome them home. Addressing the troops he said: “Thank you to the Squadron for your extremely hard work in Afghanistan. You have done yourselves proud. “It has been a hard journey for the Bomb Disposal Community; it has had some tough times, but the courage, commitment and professionalism shown has been outstanding. Many people owe you so much.”
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 13:46:25 +0000
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