Revealing the enemy threat

Colour Sergeant Willy Plowman works at 2 Mercian’s Camp Shorabak headquarters as one of the intelligence officers.

He was responsible for briefing the journalists on the threats they faced during their stay.

Improvised explosive devices are the most common threat facing coalition forces on the ground today.

Those and the thousands of as yet undiscovered land mines buried by the Soviets during their ill-fated occupation of Afghanistan.

Other prominent threats include those posed by suicide bombers or remotely-detonated bombs, which can be triggered by a mobile telephone or simply by a piece of string tugged at precisely the right moment to hit a passing vehicle or foot patrol.

The threat of ambush remains constant and the risk of capture if separated from the unit is a grave fear.

The Taliban would see you as a prize for propaganda, or possibly for ransom, said Colour Sergeant Plowman.

If captured, we would likely be paraded by Taliban-friendly media on television or the internet, possibly dragged through the streets and humiliated and eventually killed, he told us grimly.

Later, Colour Sergeant Plowman, 17 years a soldier, told me: “I wasn’t trying to scare you — you need to know what the realities are.”

One of his jobs is to interrogate prisoners.

He said the Taliban was motivated by indoctrination they received in schools or madras.

“They are told one thing and that is it,” he said.

“A good standard of education would have a tremendous effect.

“When you mention England to them it is just London.

“When we go out on the ground it is biblical at times. Many of these people have no idea what is outside their country’s border.

“But they are hard, hard grafters and loyal. It just depends on where their loyalties lie.”

He said they were dangerous and relentless fighters — an enemy that could not be under-estimated — and their tactics made patrolling uneasy.

Prisoners captured by coalition forces are handed to the local judiciary to be dealt with. Some are Taliban, others are local criminals.

Colour Sergeant Plowman’s sister in Long Bennington, Mrs Barbara Pearson, launched an appeal with the Advertiser during the last operational tour for DVDs for the Mercians to watch in their time away from patrols.

More than 200 were donated and Colour Sergeant Plowman (38) said the troops were very appreciative.