FOB Armadillo
Encyclopedia
FOB Armadillo was a military base located near Gereshk
in the Helmand province
of Afghanistan
. It was occupied by ISAF
forces from Britain and Denmark as part of Task Force Helmand
during the War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
. The armadillo was the mascot of a Danish company commander, who was killed a few weeks before the base was first established.
It was one of three smaller forward operating bases (FOBs) used by British and Danish forces around Gereshk (the others being FOB Sandford and FOB Keenan) in addition to their headquarters at FOB Price. The closing and disassembling of Armadillo started in December 2010. The last troops and equipment left in late January 2011. The units stationed there were relocated to other bases around Gereshk.
Danish troops use small hand launched RQ-11 Raven drone to relay video footage of the area and call in air strikes or 105mm artillery from supporting bases. It also show mortar fire mission from the base. The Danish troops interact with the local population and perform foot patrols supported by Piranha
armoured fighting vehicles.
of the same name released in 2010, followed a group of Danish soldiers from the Guard Hussars stationed at the base.
The film shows several typical operations where the Guard Hussars infantry patrol small villages and come under fire. Several fire fights between these patrols and Taliban fighters are captured on film. It shows scenes where a patrol receives fire from a compound and engages the enemy position with a Carl Gustav recoilless rifle
. In another scene five Taliban fighters are killed at close range with a hand grenade and small arms fire. The Taliban hid in an irrigation ditch covered in vegetation. The bodies are pulled out to recover the weapons revealing how heavily armed the Taliban fighters were with RPG-7
rocket propelled grenades and two PK machine gun
s in addition to other rifles and at least one sidearm
.
It was this last scene that generated a brief political controversy in Denmark when the Danish Socialist People's Party
accused the soldiers of deliberately breaking the rules of engagement during one of the engagements, and demanded an investigation. Following procedure, the Danish military Legal Corps conducted an independent investigation, and the soldiers were cleared of any wrongdoing.
Gereshk
Gereshk is a town in Gerishk District in Helmand province on the Helmand River in central Afghanistan, some northwest of Kandahar at 817 m altitude. Gereshk is the centre of a rich agricultural region with the Kajakai dam upriver diverting water to the Boghra Irrigation Canal. Gereshk was...
in the Helmand province
Helmand Province
Helmand is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the southwest of the country. Its capital is Lashkar Gah. The Helmand River flows through the mainly desert region, providing water for irrigation....
of Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. It was occupied by ISAF
ISAF
ISAF may refer to:* International Sailing Federation, the world governing body for Olympic and other competitive sailing.* International Security Assistance Force, the NATO-led security mission operating in Afghanistan since 2001....
forces from Britain and Denmark as part of Task Force Helmand
Task Force Helmand
Task Force Helmand is the name given to a military unit of the International Security Assistance Force in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Task Force Helmand is currently part of Regional Command Southwest and consists of military forces from countries such as Estonia and the U.K....
during the War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
. The armadillo was the mascot of a Danish company commander, who was killed a few weeks before the base was first established.
It was one of three smaller forward operating bases (FOBs) used by British and Danish forces around Gereshk (the others being FOB Sandford and FOB Keenan) in addition to their headquarters at FOB Price. The closing and disassembling of Armadillo started in December 2010. The last troops and equipment left in late January 2011. The units stationed there were relocated to other bases around Gereshk.
Danish troops use small hand launched RQ-11 Raven drone to relay video footage of the area and call in air strikes or 105mm artillery from supporting bases. It also show mortar fire mission from the base. The Danish troops interact with the local population and perform foot patrols supported by Piranha
Mowag Piranha
The MOWAG Piranha is a family of armoured fighting vehicles designed by the Swiss MOWAG , corporation....
armoured fighting vehicles.
Film
A Danish documentary filmArmadillo (film)
Armadillo is a Danish documentary film about Danish soldiers in the war in Afghanistan. The film follows a group of soldiers from the Guard Hussars regiment who are on their first mission in Helmand Province at a forward operating base named FOB Armadillo. The film premièred at the Cannes Film...
of the same name released in 2010, followed a group of Danish soldiers from the Guard Hussars stationed at the base.
The film shows several typical operations where the Guard Hussars infantry patrol small villages and come under fire. Several fire fights between these patrols and Taliban fighters are captured on film. It shows scenes where a patrol receives fire from a compound and engages the enemy position with a Carl Gustav recoilless rifle
Carl Gustav recoilless rifle
The Carl Gustav is the common name for the 84 mm man-portable reusable multi-role recoilless rifle produced by Saab Bofors Dynamics in Sweden...
. In another scene five Taliban fighters are killed at close range with a hand grenade and small arms fire. The Taliban hid in an irrigation ditch covered in vegetation. The bodies are pulled out to recover the weapons revealing how heavily armed the Taliban fighters were with RPG-7
RPG-7
The RPG-7 is a widely-produced, portable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Originally the RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union, and now manufactured by the Bazalt company...
rocket propelled grenades and two PK machine gun
PK machine gun
The PK is a 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun designed in the Soviet Union and currently in production in Russia. The PK machine gun was introduced in the 1960s and replaced the SGM and RPD machine guns in Soviet service...
s in addition to other rifles and at least one sidearm
Sidearm
In baseball, sidearm describes balls thrown along a low, approximately horizontal axis rather than a high, mostly vertical axis ....
.
It was this last scene that generated a brief political controversy in Denmark when the Danish Socialist People's Party
Socialist People's Party (Denmark)
The Socialist People's Party is a green and socialist political party in Denmark.-1959–69:The SF was founded on 15 February 1959 by Aksel Larsen, a former leader of the Communist Party of Denmark and CIA agent. Larsen was removed from the ranks of the DKP for his criticism over the Soviet...
accused the soldiers of deliberately breaking the rules of engagement during one of the engagements, and demanded an investigation. Following procedure, the Danish military Legal Corps conducted an independent investigation, and the soldiers were cleared of any wrongdoing.