Basra bound: A Black Watch soldier relaxes after the Camp Dogwood operation as his vehicle is loaded on to a transporter.
Posted on 12/05/2004 4:11:23 PM PST by NCjim
Black Watch troops returned to the relative safety of Basra yesterday after a controversial month-long mission in Iraq’s "triangle of death", during which five of their comrades died.
Relieved soldiers declared "mission accomplished" as the battle group convoy of more than 200 vehicles arrived at the Shaibah Logistics Base in the south of the country.
They dedicated the success of their campaign to their comrades who died on the deployment to Camp Dogwood - four from suicide attacks and one in an accident.
Amid the sadness, there was also delight after the MoD confirmed the soldiers would be in the UK before Christmas.
Speaking in Basra, Lieutenant Colonel James Cowan, who led the Black Watch mission, said of the casualties: "Their deaths are something we will never forget. To lose close friends is something we will always remember and our thoughts are with their families. The happiness of our homecoming is marked by the thought that some of us are not coming back."
Some soldiers were dismayed that it may have been their final mission, with the Black Watch expected to fall victim to a shake-up of Scottish regiments.
Lance Corporal Terry Ward, 23, from Rosyth, Fife, said: "I’m not happy about it all. We’ll always be the Black Watch no matter what happens.
"All the lads feel the same, 100%, and a lot of people back home see it the same way. Axing us would be the worst decision Tony Blair has ever made."
Others could think only of going home. There were joyous scenes among the returning soldiers as they looked forward to seeing their families.
Lance Corporal Thomas Rennie said: "I can’t wait to get back to Scotland for Christmas and Hogmanay. It’s going to be brilliant. I’m going to drink as much beer as possible and get the kilt on and get out on the town."
The 370-mile road journey back to Basra took 40 hours as the sprawling 10-mile-long convoy snaked through the desert dust trying to avoid roadside bombs. Movements were carefully planned - including a media blackout - and there were no casualties.
The Black Watch were moved north to free up American troops for the all-out assault on Falluja. The deployment caused enormous controversy back home as critics claimed it was motivated by politics.
Lance Corporal Danny Buist, 29, from Arbroath, said: "I’m very happy to be out of Dogwood but the operation isn’t over until we’re back in Scotland. That’s when the fat lady sings, when we are back with our families."
At the Black Watch’s base in Warminster, Wiltshire, families spoke of the pain of separation as well as their hopes for happy Christmases.
For Lindsay Shaw, 27, from Glenrothes, Fife, the last six months, while her husband Sgt Scott Shaw has been in Iraq, have been an emotional rollercoaster.
She said: "It has been horrendous: a mixture of emotions, plenty of ups and downs. We have stuck together - all the wives, all our friends - and that is what helped us through it all."
Basra bound: A Black Watch soldier relaxes after the Camp Dogwood operation as his vehicle is loaded on to a transporter.
God bless them all!
They did honor to their Batallion. We grieve the loss of those that payed the ultimate sacrifice, and salute them all.
They showed the world they continue to be a highly diciplined unit. They removed a lot of baddies and weapon caches in the triangle of death area. I salute them.
Of course, now how is the poor British MSM going to whine about horrible loss of life. How badly they where chewed up by those nasty baddies. They keeped the baddies on the run and they put a bunch of them in the grave, never to slit another throat nor plant another IED on those local roads, and the main n/s route 8 highway into Baghdad.
GROM 
W sk³ad zwyciêskiej Fundacji "GROM" wchodzili: major rezerwy Krzysztof Wójcik, kapitan rezerwy Jerzy Marsza³ek i kapitana rezerwy Krzysztof Przepiórka 
Afganistan My country GROM and Brytania and America strong persons. I go now be strong America friend Good night.
Thank you for the pictures!
Good Morning thank you
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