Departures...

As it often happens in one's career in the military, you leave an organization that meant a lot to you, in terms of many things. Most of them tend to be intangible, like the opportunities to stand on a expanse of virgin sand that has probably not seen a human tread on it before your presence, where you realize that your profession gives meaning to your life.

I recently left what is likely my last light armored reconnaissance battalion for a billet at one of our infantry schools. While I welcome the break from the grind of preparatory training and eventual deployments, I miss the men who make up that fine battalion already. I have had the opportunity to stand on some remarkable patches of dirt and see some amazing things, just as I did with the first LAR battalion I served with from 2002-2005.

One of the captone operations we conducted was a 160 kilometer raid to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border of Bahram Cha, in order to disrupt insurgent cross-border activity and prevent them from using the Bahram Cha bazaar as a hub for the trafficking of drugs, weapons, foreign fighters and other insurgents. The task force assembled to conduct the mission was immense, by just about every measure imaginable, and movement down and back took its toll on men and machine. I've traveled quite a few long stretches in the variants of the Light Armored Vehicle, the Operation Steel Dawn II was no different. Sadly, that will probably be the last time I traverse the battlefield in one of those beautiful vehicles.

Just a few months after I stepped down from that vehicle, I was saying goodbye to my battalion and my commander, a man who allowed me to be the second-in-command that he needed, and to help forge the unit into the fighting force it was capable of becoming. I gave that man a copy of The Barce Raid: The Long Range Desert Group's Greatest Escapade, by Brendan O'Carroll, to commemorate his joining the ranks, so to speak, of the desert raiders. I inscribed a note of thanks for the opportunity to work with him, and shared the link to this blog. A link to video shot by a combat correspondent is here: http://www.dvidshub.net/video/104068/bazaar-raid-bahram-cha-part-1

Progress...

Well, despite receiving a lead on Sadler's proper mailing address, I became otherwise wrapped up in preparation for another deployment, and the information lay dormant for almost a year.

As I was dredging through my email, I pulled up the information again and asked a British acquaintance to give it a check. Turns out that it is accurate, and my friend even had a brief chat! Well how about that?

I've sent a letter off, asking if we might have a chat or two of our own, and I am excited to see what the reply holds.

This post also allows me to add a clarification to my inaugural post. In it I stated the following:

My initial interest in Sadler stemmed from a read of The Phantom Major: The Story of David Stirling and the SAS Regiment, by Virgina Cowles. This interest grew after my reads of various books detailing the exploits of the Long Range Desert Group and their loose affiliation with the SAS before Stirling acquired his own transport. As someone who has languished over a map with sweat dripping from my brow as I plotted the next leg of my course, I wanted to know more about Sadler. I felt the larger historical and military audience would benefit from learning how Sadler learned to navigate, what standard operating procedures he observed, and how he applied his craft in the harsh conditions of the blistering sands.

I was browsing through John W. Gordon's book "The Other Desert War: British Special Forces in North Africa, 1940-1943" today, and was reminded that there was no loose affiliation involved, but rather a fairly well-formed, close relationship. My previous statement was thoroughly incorrect.

I am reminded of my interest in land navigation...

When I was just a young boy, one of my favorite books was Treasure Island, by Robert Loius Stevenson. I can faintly remember my deep interest in the nature of the treasure map that sits centerpiece to the story, and the unique landmarks such as Spyglass Hill. I must have studied that map easily one hundred times as I read the book several times, or simply thumbed to the map to daydream about piracy and treasure.

The Mike Sadler Project is a passion for me because I have always enjoyed the challenge of terrestrial navigation. I have found the business of plotting a location on a map, charting a course to that point, and the following that azimuth to a destination, a fairly easy process. Perhaps it is because of my early interest in Treasure Island. In any case, this ease and enjoyment has been part of the impetus behind the The Mike Sadler Project, and the attempt to highlight his uncanny skill at traversing hundreds of kilometers with confidence and skill.

This effort remains on track. Is is a slow track, but this project continues on. Once my post-deployment leave kicks off, I hope to move further along than I am now. Wish me luck!

Another tidbit arrives

I was reminded today about the utility of maintaining this blog, as a European visitor and collector of LRDG/SAS insignia and other memorabilia wrote to me via email.

We exchanged several emails across the day, and he shared some interesting facts with me regarding Sadler. It seems that this visitor has corresponded closely with Jonathan Pittaway, co-author of "LRDG Rhodesia". I've corresponded with Pittaway as well, and gained some resources in the process.

With luck, this contact will put me closer to finding closure to a number of questions.

I also ran across an Ebay auction for a Howard Sun Compass that offered a copy of azimuth tables that I have been looking for a long time now. Hopefully, I will be able to score a copy of that, even though it only covers 30 deg N to 30 deg S in latitude.

Today's research drifting also came across a posting on Military Photos.net from Kuno Gross. he seems to have come across a working replica of a Bagnold Sun Compass, so now I am on the hunt to see if he has information regarding his source. Hmmm, an interesting day indeed.

Additional photo

This picture seems to have been taken in a sequence that included the title page photo of Sadler. An acquaintance recently commented that he was a handsome fellow, and I suppose that yes, he is in indeed. Herehe wears the rank insignia of a captain, denoted by the three pips found on his epaulets.

I am currently doing a bit of pleasure reading, and Steven Pressfield's novel Killing Rommel: A Novel is on my nightstand for the time being. It is a good portrayal of both the Long Range Desert Group and the Special Air Service during the N. African Campaign, albeit in the midst of a fictionalized mission to kill one Field Marshal Erwin Rommel as he and the Afrika Korps threatened to sweep into Alexandria Cairo unless his successes were curtailed.

My background knowlwedge of both of these formations makes for a very enjoyable read of this mission, and Pressfield brings the characters to life in a manner I could only hope to do with the book.

And on that practical note, I am beginning to think that the final product is going to have to remain devoid of attempts to highlight te mystique of those early members of the SAS, and simply focus on the hard facts and accomplishments. A tall order indeed!

In any event, the book gets a thumbs-up for folks with a interest in WW II history, because it is indeed very historically accurate.

Re-booting this project

Well, I just returned from a deployment to Iraq, and look forward to getting this project back on track.

Not much was done while I was gone. I dabbled with a few readings and thought at length about the flow of what I want to write, but right now I have to start the business of organizing the tons of research notes I have compiled.

I intend to weave that effort in with my professional military education coursework I also have opened right now.