Article My Tours of Northern Ireland

[tosh66]

I hit the deck once in a "contact" in NI and came up with a mouthful of four leafed clovers! So I kept one and have had it ever since.
I also used to wear odd socks all the time because when you hear of somebody getting killed they never mention that the victim was wearing them, therefore it must be safe!?!

 

[Frisco-Kid]

Lucky Charms

I wore a St. Patrick's medal that my grandmother had given me as a boy. I also wore a St. Michael's medal. St. Michael is the Patron Saint of paratroopers and policemen. Just before I left the 101st, I gave St. Mike to an FNG who JUST KNEW that he wasn't going to make it. I told him it worked for me, and it would work for him. He's not on The Wall, so I guess he made it.

LT., alot of us, including me, wore one of our dog tags on one of our boots, also. For the same reason; if you were blown to pieces, they could at least maybe identify your foot and whatever else was attached to it. Some grim thinking, but a real possibility. I've picked up more than my share of body parts.

Calling Cards

Bill and I discussed their use in the 101st in one of the VN threads. I find it interesting that they were used pretty much the whole war. They were already in use when I got to the 101st, and they had been in-country just about a year by then. LT., you were there closer to the end of the war, and they were still being used. I guess about every infantry unit probably used them at one time or another.

My FAVORITE thing to leave with dead bodies though, was a frag grenade with a smoke grenade fuse in it. No 4 second delay.......instant KABOOM! Gave body recovery for Charlie a whole different dimension.

 

[Frisbee]

I wore a Saint Christopher medal that my girlfriend had given me before I left for Nam. The 101st had opened their own in country R&R/stand down base called Eagle Beach. It actually was a part of China Beach on the South China Sea. So anyway, we went there after Hamburger Hill for a stand down and to get replacements and I went swimming and I lost the St. Christopher medal while air mattress surfing. That very day was the last day I got a letter from my girlfriend. About a month later I got a letter from her cousin who told me that my girl had gotten married because she was pregnant. Jody strikes again!!!!

Did kinda get back at her though, in my own mind I guess, when I got home. I dated her cousin (the one who wrote me) and…well you know...


same/same with the dogtags.

 

[Frisco-Kid]

Was there a set length of time for a tour in N. Ireland? Besides the paras, were there other infantry units there? Was it all Regular Army, or were there any Reserve/National Guard units [or British equivelent]?

 

[Bombardier]

Was there a set length of time for a tour in N. Ireland? Besides the paras, were there other infantry units there? Was it all Regular Army, or were there any Reserve/National Guard units [or British equivelent]?

Generally as far as I am aware the set tour was 6 months however there were shorter tours and were flexible in length and could be as short as maybe 2 or 3 months. Virtually every Unit from the british Army served there and mostly in an infantry role, however certain specialists continued with their normal duties in N.I. I am not aware of any Territorial units being involved unless of course they were Local Territorial units.

NB. Some British Army units were posted to the Province full time.

 

[tosh66]

I was there as a dog handler full time, free to leave any time I wished or if I felt I was no longer immortal, which as you know happens as you get wiser with age!

 

[tosh66]

P.S. It's my bloody birthday today and I feel ooooooooooold!

 

[Bombardier]

Many happy returns buddy :mrgreen:

 

[Frisco-Kid]

Tosh

HAPPY B'DAY! I hope you had a GREAT one. How many fingers old are you?

You didn't have a minimum time to stay before you could request to leave? Did you and the dog come and go as a team, or did the dog stay when you rotated out. Was the dog trained for anything specific; tracker, scout, security, sniff out explosives or booby traps, etc.? What breeds were used?

War dogs were used in Nam. About every large base had security dogs on the perimeter. They were also used by infantry units frequently; either as trackers or scouts. The trackers were used in the obvious way. The scout dogs were usually used on point as an early warning. Personally, I didn't like working with them much. To me, it seemed like they gave frequent false alarms and slowed us down. Also, the handler couldn't carry all of his combat load plus all the stuff for the dog; extra water and rations. Some of us took up the extra. Guys had to carry an extra canteen or food. The dogs required more water than we did. They were more susceptible to heat stroke. Extra weight to a grunt is a big deal.

These dogs were NOT pets. These guys would take your face off if given a chance. The handler was the only one that had any control over them. Once while having a dog on our point, the dog hit a trip wire setting off a frag grenade. It killed the handler and seriously wounded the dog. Even though it had to drag it's hind quarters behind itself, it WOULD NOT let us near the dead handler. We had to shoot the dog to recover his body.

The dog and handler were a team for the handler's tour, or until one or the other were killed. The dogs were never rotated out of Nam. They were there for the duration. The most common breed used were shepards or shepard mix. Labradors were probably the next most common. A Marine told me that he once worked with a giant poodle. Whatever met the size and weight requirements. When the U.S. pulled out, the dogs were turned over to the ARVNs. Hell, some of these dogs were bigger than an ARVN. I wonder how they worked out as a team. I'm guessing not too good. It was a shame that we just abandoned them. They were just a piece of equipment to the military. Come to think of it, so was I.

 

[tosh66]

My dog was an Arms and Explosives search dog (see my gallery for a pic of me and him) As you can see he was a collie of which he was the only one. The Army does not breed dogs but rely on public donation for animals so any breeds can be used as long as they are up to the job! There are (were) 4 types- Guard, Drugs, AES and Tracker in the province. When I left, alas, I had to leave him behind because I was his first handler and he probably had another 6/7 years left, also I couldn't afford the 9k to buy him out!
And I'm not telling you how old I am!

 

[Zofo]

For anyone who has not served (or has and wants a reminder!) this link from Britain's Small Wars website is fascinating:
http://www.britains-smallwars.com/ni/Diary2.html

On a general note, this website should (if not already there) be in our websites to take note of! If it's not there, I'll do it now!

 

[Frisco-Kid]

A fasinating read about a stressful job, Zofo. Although I've done sweeps and have had gunfights in villages, it's not the same as urban street fighting. Sounds like it was somewhat parallel to Nam in that you didn't always know who the combatants were.

While serving there did you get passes into the local towns, or were you taken back to England for a little down time? Could you go out of your barracks area in civilian clothes and go have a beer in a nearby pub? Date local girls? Or, were you a prisoner of the situation? Was it too dangerous of a place for a British soldier to fraternize with the locals?

Was the only hostile contact with the IRA, or were there any confrontations with the Protestant paramilitary groups? Were there any attempts at winning over the hearts and minds of the populace? Try to convince the locals that you were the good guys? Most people forget that British troops were originally sent in to protect the Catholics from Protestant attacks. A very complex, many faceted situation.

 

[tosh66]

Frisco,
It's a funny place and I don't mean Ha Ha,
Most of the province is (or was) divided into either Catholic (republican) or Protestant (Loyalists) areas. It is very hard to explain and I simplify matters so no offence intended to our Irish cousins. I won't delve back to far to avoid the politics but will tell you from a soldiers view.
Right,- the republicans want "the Brits out" and the loyalists are loyal to the Queen and want to remain British. NB I think the loyalists outnumber the Republicans, but I may stand corrected.
On a short tour of the province most soldiers are not allowed leisure time outside SF bases but on the longer ones,as long as you stay in the "right" areas you can almost think it is like Saturday night in England. Stray in the wrong areas and well- you are toast. The lesson is, know your boundaries, and you will never see any trouble.
Again, apologies are forthcoming if any one is offended, but all mistakes are intentional for ease.
I spent a three year tour there and have never met a more friendly, complex, bitter people anywhere.
Lesson is- you can live there all your life, and still not understand what the bloody hell is going on! Anyway, heres to peace.

 

[Zofo]

Frisco,
NB I think the loyalists outnumber the Republicans, but I may stand corrected.
Stray in the wrong areas and well- you are toast. The lesson is, know your boundaries, and you will never see any trouble.

Loyalists outnumbered the Republicans - absolutely. I did 2 emergency tours, v. short & v. isolated but on tour 1 in Lisburn it was like England - out & about - In the late 80's or early 90's the Brits did a 1/2 marathon run in the area, it was that safe. However, the provos using reverse psychology blew up at least one runner (or shot him, memory fails me) because we thought it was THAT safe. In Co. Armargh, no one went anywhere without "gat", a pig (Saxon or wheeled APC) or hideous amounts of firepower. A very dangerous place to be - AKA Bandit Country.

 

[tosh66]

In Co. Armargh, no one went anywhere without "gat", a pig (Saxon or wheeled APC) or hideous amounts of firepower. A very dangerous place to be - AKA Bandit Country.

I didn't go anywhere unless it was in a helicopter or on Mark 1 Direct Moulded Sole!

 

[Bombardier]

I did 2 Emergency tours and we were never allowed out of the camp, not that we ever had the time to go anywhere. The time in between patrols was spent eating,sleeping,cleaning weapons and equipment and attending briefings. When we did get a chance to relax we just had a beer or two in the NAAFI. Dont think I would have wanted to go outside anyway?

 

[tosh66]

We were just like any other lads of our age, drinking, clubbing etc. We even got to do sea fishing and sightseeing ie Giants Causeway. Again I stress it had to be in the "right" areas otherwise nasty things could happen to you.

 

[Frisco-Kid]

Jaysus, Tosh! A 3yr. tour? Was that all voluntary? BTW, did you guys get "Combat" or "Hazardous Duty Pay" while serving in N. Ireland? Were you a dog handler the whole time there? How long is an enlistment in the British Army?

What kind of patrols did you go on? Were you out on the streets just to show your presence as peace keepers? Were you looking to make contact, like Search and Destroy? Would a small unit be put out as bait, to be quickly reinforced with a larger unit when contact was made?

Sorry for the barrage of questions. I told you I was going to find this forum interesting.

 

[tosh66]

Jaysus, Tosh! A 3yr. tour? Was that all voluntary? BTW, did you guys get "Combat" or "Hazardous Duty Pay" while serving in N. Ireland? Were you a dog handler the whole time there? How long is an enlistment in the British Army?

No such thing as combat pay in the British Army! The only advantage in NI was that with the odd exception you did not have to pay food and accomodation charges because the bunkers we slept in were substandard- generous to a fault eh!
Upon enlistment you could sign up for 3, 6, 9, or 22 years and the more you went for you got slightly more pay.
Dog Handlers are drawn from All Arms, I was in the Royal Artillery originally but fancied a change and when you go to NI as a handler, because of the cost of training you could stay as long as you wanted (within reason)

What kind of patrols did you go on? Were you out on the streets just to show your presence as peace keepers? Were you looking to make contact, like Search and Destroy? Would a small unit be put out as bait, to be quickly reinforced with a larger unit when contact was made?

All different types of patrols. Can't really say more than that because of the ongoing situation. It's all in recent memory and the slightest spark, well- you understand.
But carry on with the questions, it's cheaper than therapy!

 

[Frisco-Kid]

In Vietnam everybody in-country got paid an additional $65/mo, no matter what your MOS [job] was. Same thing for the sailors if their ship came within so many miles of shore. I'm sure it worked the same way for the fighter and bomber crews that flew sorties out of Thailand and Guam. I think Combat Pay went up to $125 for Desert Storm [Eagledriver?], and I'm guessing it's more now for Iraqi Freedom. Between Jump Pay [$55] and Combat Pay, I was making some serious money :mrgreen: as a PFC just in-country.

Am I to understand that you guys have to pay for you own food and accommodations? How does that work? Is this only when you're deployed to certain places, or all of the time?

Thanks for the answers, and I understand about the "Patrol" questions. Also, I know firsthand the therapeutic value of puting this stuff down in words, and "talking" to other people who have Been There, Done That. Thanks, my friend.