On the morning of 30 March 2003 during Operation JAMES, a 40 Commando clearance operation around Abu Al Khasib, a Challenger 2 of the Royal Dragon Guards had come under heavy enemy fire and slipped off a narrow raised earthen causeway. It had been hit by numerous RPG rounds and sustained heavy small arms fire. It had lost all its vision blocks, thrown both its tracks and was unable to recover its position. All the crew were trapped inside with Trooper William Frazer having sustained a broken wrist.
The enemy now had the tank in their sights and were desperate for the kill.
Whilst covering fire was provided by the other tanks within the troop and artillery from behind, a recovery team was sent in. With the tracks damaged and the acute angle of bank the pull required to move the stranded tank was in excess of 100 tonnes, too much, it would seem, even for the powerful CRARRV. The winch of the first CRARRV snapped under the strain and had to be withdrawn taking with it two of the injured tankmen.
Then the second CRARRV moved forward, callsign Two Four Charlie commanded by Corporal James Garrett with recovery mechanic Corporal Justin Simons and technical Corporal Rick Parker. They were joined by the commander of the first CRARRV, Corporal John Morgan. Despite the odds they managed to gently pull the Challenger back onto the narrow causeway, only for it to slip down the other side. In addition to this the winch on Two Four Charlie had snapped. Undeterred Simons and Morgan left the cover of the CRARRV to try and free the wheels of the broken track with conventional tools. The track tension was too much and the tracks were stuck solid. The enemy was still firing small arms, RPGs and mortars and the REME team continually had to dive for cover. The other tanks continued to provide covering fire as did Corporal Garrett from his roof mounted GPMG!As darkness fell Corporal Simons resorted to desperate measures. He tried to cut the tracks using arc-welding equipment which lit up their position like a Christmas tree. Despite this there was still no breakthrough.
They couldn't leave the tank there, there were still trapped crewmen. It was then that Corporal Simons hit upon the idea of combining the power of the two CRARRVs with A-Frame drawbars attached to the victim. This audacious method succeeded and some 9 hours after the original incident the Challenger was pulled to safety.
The Challenger was back in action a few days later with new sights, tracks and roadwheels. It had been hit by eight RPGs and an ATGW missile without penetration.Corporal Garrett and Simons were mentioned in Despatches for their leadership, calmness and disregard for their own safety.
denotes 
Vinnie Branigan
