Royal Marines join in Afghan celebrations

After the famine, the feast; Royal Marines from 42 Commando helped their Afghan comrades celebrate the end of the Muslim holy month Ramadan in traditional style with the festival of Eid.

In a specially-erected tent not far from Patrol Base 5 in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand, Afghan National Army troops invited the men of Kilo Company, local elders and mullahs to a feast of rice and chicken and handed out gifts to local children.

Throughout Ramadan Afghan soldiers, who are devout Muslims, did not eat or drink during the hours of daylight in accordance with their religion.

So the end of the austere month of fasting is marked with quite a celebration, known as a Katan Koran Sharif.

It also allowed the commandos and Afghan soldiers to reaffirm and develop their good relationship with local elders – a relationship that has been critical to successful operations to drive out insurgents from the area.

After the feast, the soldiers and Marines returned to their base and took part in a shooting competition, won by a team from 1 Rifles; the soldiers have been working hand-in-hand with the green berets for the past four and a half months to train and mentor Afghan soldiers, helping to develop their military skills.

In that time, the Royals and soldiers have forged strong bonds with the men they’ve been mentoring; they also carry out joint patrols of the district on an almost daily basis and recently staged a football match which was watched by locals.

Kilo Company’s Capt Chris Armstrong says;

"Working with the Afghans has been a great experience and seeing how they’ve progressed has been rewarding".

“They definitely add value. It wouldn’t be fair to compare them to UK military standards but to their credit they react quickly and have the advantage of speaking the language and being able to communicate with the locals better than we can".

"They are doing very well.”

Eight months ago, there was no International Security and Assistance Force presence in the area around the patrol base.

Now locals regularly see both Royal Marines and Afghan soldiers on the streets helping to keep the insurgents at bay.

Capt Chris Hurt, Kilo’s second-in-command says;

"The improved security situation has helped to boost people’s confidence".

“This is a stable but immature area; a year ago there was no ISAF presence here and the insurgents had control".

"Our focus is providing security in the villages of the protected community by deterring the enemy and building the capacity of the Afghan forces".

“As the Afghan Nation Army gets more confident and more capable, we will start to hand over the checkpoints".

"Progress is being made and Kilo Company is helping to drive it and the Afghan National Army forward.”