Cadenas

Cadenas OP is perched on top of a hill on the southwestern corner of the country; right where the western border meets the southern border. The easiest way to access it is to fly in by helicopter and land on the HLS at the top of the hill next to the bunkhouse and observation deck. As you have guessed, this was never an option for the BDF. The way we accessed the OP was by a land transfer to the main dock in Punta Gorda Town, taking a boat transfer courtesy of the Maritime Wing to the mouth of the Sarstoon River then up the river to where it meets the western border next to the Guatemalan Town of Puerto Modesto Mendez. You disembarked at the river bank and walked a few meters to the foot of the hill and ascended to the top. Parts of the hillside are so steep ropes are use to climb among a maze of black poisonwood trees. You climbed taking all your personal kit (weapon, ammo, webbing, personal items) plus rations for the week, including a full medium sized butane tank, divided among the lower ranks. Commanders never backed anything heavy.

The first time I climbed up the hill it took me 1 hour 15 minutes and I was about to die. There is a very narrow path you follow when you reach the peak of the hill. British Army Engineers leveled part of the peak to create an HLS. There was a rock walled bunker built into the side of the hill facing the border and the bunkhouse was built on the opposite side. It was less than 50 yards across with an observation platform cast on top. There were posts of angled iron supporting about 4 rows of barbed wire around the perimeter. The hill sides around the OP were relatively steep with trees growing on all sides. There was also a kitchen where the routine cooking was done.

Looking down the hill you have two views. The southeast side has the Sarstoon River followed by miles of pasture on the Guatemalan landscape. On clear days you can even make out the Caribbean Sea. On the West side you have the Poptun Highway with the Sebol Road forking out of it smack in the middle of Puerto Modesto Mendez, referred to as PMM. There was an even higher hill behind PMM with a GAF Camp at the base. We could see North up to a bridge with a checkpoint.

On top of the hill the heat was intense with doctorflies and mosquitoes depending on you for survival. Stagging during the day was one soldier at a time. We monitored tankers traveling on the Poptun Highway and logged down each one that passed and the direction they were heading. A report based on the logged observations was sent to the office of the Operations Officer at Price Barracks every evening. The idea is that there is an average number of tankers traveling along the Poptun Highway daily. If the idea is that if the number of tankers going South to North suddenly increased it meant the Guats were stockpiling fuel in Peten and thus preparing for an invasion. Apart from observing tankers we also had to patrol around the hill and clean the border marker which was a small concrete structure at a designated way point marking the southwestern corner of the country.

Top photo shows an aerial view of Cadenas OP approaching from the Southwest. Gazelle is parked on the HLS and Guatemala is on the background. This was during the glory days under British control. Photo below is of myself cleaning my personal weapon on my spare time.

Tree Tops

I remember going to Tree Tops OP. Sits right on the border, the village of Santa Cruz on the Guatemalan side is literally a stone throw away. The long bumpy ride on those olive green government issued Bedford trucks from Fairweather Camp outside Punta Gorda to Halacte, actually past Halacte, a Mayan village close to the border. I remember this forest green plywood building with a apex zinc roof. A veranda, bunk beds lied up inside, a dining table, rifle rack with chain and lock where you instantly locked your rifle on arrival. It also had a small radio room and the building was lined with sand bags to give it that military feel. Electricity was obtained through solar panels that charged batteries hooked to an inverter that provided power to the radio and a central light bulb in the main building. The lawn was neatly kept with a beaten down barbed wire fence that had seen better days before the British Army handed it over. There were about three trenches around the building, nothing special, just some holes in the ground with a few sand bags in front, nothing that would stop a .50Cal round or fragmentation. There was a flagpole with the Belize flag flying which was ceremoniously lowered at sunset and raised at sunrise. There were two options for taking a bath. You filled a bucket of water from a shallow well at the edge of the perimeter by some trees or you went down (never alone) to a nearby creek where you could interact with the locals who never gave a fuck where the border was and entered and exited freely into Belizean territory.

There was also a kitchen where Bush Dog, a fellow private from the village Santa Familia, in the Cayo District, prepared some of the best meals at the that Observation Post. Rations at OPs involved canned foods, rice, beans, flour, a few spices and that's about it. We always got veggies and fruits from the locals and even alcohol sometimes.

Our normal rotation was 7 days doing a standing patrol consisting of 1 section (8 soldiers) plus one police officer. Two persons would sit in front and monitor the border area for suspicious activity. We were o an hill and there were hills around providing easy concealment for an ambush. You rotated six hours during daylight and 3 hours at night which could be annoying when u get the middle shift or "stag" as its called.

One night on a stag Myvette, from Corozal, and I were on a stag when we heard some commotion coming from the nearby bushes. We heard something stop right in front of us and growl. When we spotted a light we noticed a jaguaroundi snarl at us and run away. It dropped a freshly killed chicken it had stolen from across the border and we did not allow it to go to waste. I can assure you we never had canned food for lunch the following day.

Life at tree Tops OP was fairly laid back and you were usually sent there just before going on stand down or to relax after after a brutal patrol Like Tres Puentes. The one time I went there was quite relaxing. Spent a lot of time drawing and writing poetry most of which I lost at Price Barracks in Ladyville.

Come to think of it I never really liked Tree Tops since it lacked the action and feel of a military operation. I'm sure several soldiers loved it for the same reason. What a bunch of pussies.

Photo: Me posing in one of the trenches at Tree Tops, photo snapped by Bush Dog using my camera.