Gathering Intel

'The Army way'

"New orders from HQ gents, there is a region in the desert that has not been visited since the Russians were last here in the 80's, and next to them a small region in the desert that have not had a foreign visitor since the late 1800's when the British Army Redcoats went in on horse back. Higher believes there is an enemy stronghold somewhere in the area and it is down to us to find out. We'll come down from the main road and approach from the north and see how far we get until we get contacted if at all, we'll stop in the village and with the terp ask a few questions see what they need if anything and we will be on our way, should take us about five hours, any questions". Capt T offered to the table.

"yes Sir if these people have not seen any foreign visitors for a hundred or so years, wont they just shoot at us anyway" was the routine intelligent and humorous question from Brummy.

" Well It will certainly be the first time they meet a Brummy, we will just have to wait and see when we get there".

Sgt Jock's distinct voice "Right troops mount the wagons and be at the front gate in fifteen, let's go and someone tell the Afghan troops to ready up".

 All checks were done, vehicles were in formation and we were off into the land that time had forgot (thank you HQ).

As we came off the main road and headed down a dusty trail I said over the radio "It's deadly quiet around here" and the convoy lead by the Afghans was starting to slow.

Being the top cover in my vehicle I could see the Afghan troops focus there attention in one direction with a sense of alertness (like when a meerkat pokes his head up when he has heard a noise), one of the Afghan soldiers saw me swing my machine gun in the general direction as I was reading the body language of the men in the front vehicle I took it as a combat indicator, I looked at him and he clearly pointed in the direction he was looking, not hearing what he said or further more I would not of understood but I got the gist of his arm action, so I got on the net "Just to inform you the ANA have spotted something in the distance to the right, I'm scanning the ground for any activity"

After a good look with my 'mark 1 eyeball' I bent down and got my rifle from inside the vehicle to look through the x4 scope, I scanned again but still no joy, what were the Afghan soldiers looking at "I can not see anything where the Afghans are looking"

"we are near to where we need to be so we will stop here , dismount and head the rest on foot. If we get in to a contact here we can not manoeuvre the vehicles over this terrain and we will be sitting bullet magnets" replied the boss followed by Sgt Jock

"1 section on me usual formation, Cpl Back you stay with the vehicles and keep an eye on the Afghan drivers (who stayed behind to watch the vehicles) and be prepared to provide overwatch and give covering fire if we need it."

When the Afghan commander and Capt Triathlon and the terp had finished with the route and details of the patrol we set off, lead by the Afghan section followed us.
The sun was beaming hot as always in the arid desert climate and the humidity was really thick when your in a steam room and you can feel the moist air on your lips and fill your lungs, as there is not much wild nature in Afghan there is the feeling of missing the birds chirping on a hot summers day back in England. The moment was broken by Brummy and his mid patrol conversation.

"you know what Roby its been 2 months since I've been laid"

"well unless you intend to play for the other team it will be another day more"

"I can not wait to get back home"

"well save those thoughts for another time, I don't like this silence and the ANA look jumpy"

In the far distance we could hear two or three bikes riding into the area and heading into the same direction we were walking into, which changed the conversation in mid flow as we patrolled silently again for a brief amount of time, every soldier knowing himself that the patrol had just taken the serious twist which comes with every patrol and it is just a matter of time before the first signs start to appear, the signs every soldier looks for but hopes he does not find.
  I said "well there is a combat indicator if ever I saw one"

"ANA push to the right flank, 1 section shake out to the left" Sgt Jock's order meant only one thing, he was preparing the men and we the men started to focus and get our thinking caps on.

The one thing about walking into enemy territory is they will know we are coming and will call in re-enforcements to set up an ambush and as we are in the enemies territory we are in their hunting ground and they have the upper hand when it comes to shooting first.

The terrain we were on was all farmland with paths going around the edges of the fields

 separated by high tree lines, there was compound buildings dotted all over the place and at times it felt urbanised with narrow alleys and high walls.
Walking through the farm terrain was always tough going as the soil stuck to your boots and you feel like you had extra weights on your feet.
Some of the farmers out in the field all stopped to look at us as we patrolled on by, most of them just smiled, some of them put one hand up as a hello and some of the farmers just ignored us. The farmers seemed to be at ease at the fact they had Afghan Army soldiers with us and were leading the way through their territory. Even some of the locals were interacting with the ANA and apparently giving them Intel on where the Taliban were. and then. 

Crack,crack,crack,crack....thud,thud,thud,thud

"CONTACT, not seen" shouted Brummy

The bullets flew through the air and we all saw the splash in the dust where they landed in the field in front of us, all of us slightly hesitant just kind of looked and carried on casually patrolling towards the enemy, fully knowing the enemy was out of range there was no panic.

"no idea what there shouting about" I said before I saw some local men and women fleeing the area towards our direction, when they set eyes on us they changed direction and went off in another direction to avoid the Taliban who had by force cleared them out of the area. The boss directed both sections up to a compound forward of our position.

As we got near to the compound the ANA went off on the right flank and most of them disappeared behind a treeline and just as we took up positions against the wall.

(Crack,Crack,Crack,Crack,Crack,Crack,Crack,Crack,Crack,Crack,WhooooooooooooshBOOOOM,

Crack,Crack,Crack,Crack,Crack,Crack,Crack)

All hell broke loose the ANA on the right hand flank pushed forward and out of sight and went forward to attack the enemy.

We all hit the ground hard, me and Brummy dived into cover behind the corner of the wall while the boss and Sgt Jock got behind the small wall in between the compound wall and a wide stream that ran around the edge of a field we were next to with some of the 1 section men.

"Boss I can see where the enemy are firing from, give me some covering fire I will try and push up this river bed to get a better position to return fire"

"OK 1 section on my count give the Sgt covering fire, everyone ready, prepare to move Sgt 3.............2.............1 'Rapid Fire' "

The troops put down a massive rate of automatic fire it sounded good, and it put the enemy on the back foot for a second, until Sgt Jock was up to make a dash forward, but as soon as he was up he was hitting the ground hard and crawling for his life and rolling down the slight ditch where the deep stream was up to waist height where he still had to duck low to avoid the enemy fire.

From the enemy point of view they had us pinned down and when they saw Sgt Jock make a move it was like a whole wall of bullets just moved simultaneously to the right  to follow anything which moved, And now they had our Sgt pinned down.

Me and Brummy were behind the corner of the compound wall lined up, me at the corner and Brummy watching my back and observing the right hand flank locating the ANA from time to time, I was trying to peek around the corner, I had a peak and (Smash,Smash,Smash,Smash) bullets were nailing my corner so much the stone dust was getting in my eyes as it was flying off the bullet impacts.

(Fuck me I thought this fire is accurate)

I returned a quick two round burst and for my efforts got seven rounds back. These guys were not the usual enemy these guys were experienced fighters and if we messed up they would be all over us.

"Roby get on me now" I heard the boss

"Roga that, Brummy cover me"

I hit the floor like a human magnet and heard a short quick burst of fire go over my head as Brummy did his job to cover my move forward.

"nice one mate"

"Boss I'm on your left what do need me to do"

"Roby put some fire down on that target left of the doorway 300meters"

I poked my head over the wall just enough to for my eyes to glance at the target,

"Target SEEN"

(BangBaBaBaBaBang,Bang) I started suppressing the target and the enemy fire started to slow but I could not fire for long as every burst of fire I fired I was getting more attention from the enemy bullets, and I could feel the wind going past my face and ears.

So I ducked back down behind the wall.

This firefight was intense rounds were coming in from all angles until Brummy pointed out on the right hand flank where the ANA were that they were pushing forward and had cleared an enemy compound on the right, he could not see everything with the trees in the way and also dodging bullets just to poke his head from out of the cover of the wall.

The Boss took this opportunity to try and get all our men in back in a safe position and in a position to get back in the action.

"Roby on my count rapid fire,(on the radio) Sgt Jock when you hear the rapid fire get back to my position behind this wall"

" OK Roby its me and you 3.....2.....1 FIRE"

(BaBaBaBaBaBaBaBaBaBaBaBang,Bang,Bang,Bang,Bang,Bang,Bang,BaBaBaBaBaBaBaBaBaBa,Bang

Bang,Bang,Bang)

We sent as much lead hell in the enemies direction as humanly possible.

"Magazine" the boss shouted

(Bollocks) I thought, I slowed down my fire and just then Sgt Jock came diving round the corner towards Brummy's direction (good timing). Unknown to us the covering fire had freed up two of the Afghan soldiers who also made their way to Brummy, who was now the cover man for everyone behind that wall and keeping them safe.

One of the Afghan soldiers came forward to my position with his RPG and without warning got in to position on the wall and went to fire the RPG, "NO, no no no" I was not having any of that so I dived on him and got him down from the wall, firstly I did not want my eardrums blown out and secondly the soldier did not have a helmet on so being on that wall for more than a few seconds would not have gone down too well. He said "No Taliban Boom"

"no (with a chuckle) No Taliban Boom" I pointed at my ears and we both chuckled.

I could hear the boss on the radio calling in mortar fire from the nearest camp and he said

"wait out", "Roby how far would you say it is to that compound where the enemy are"

I poked my head up and had just enough time to fire three rounds into the enemy direction and to watch the splash of my rounds but (Crack,Crack,Crack) I had to get my head down (Smash,Smash,Smash) my head turned too look at the wall behind me and where my head just was, was three holes in the wall.

I changed position along the wall and fired another three rounds but got four back in reply, as I watched the holes in the wall move from where my last position was to where my head just was again. These incoming rounds were super accurate, the enemy I was shooting at was going for a head shot and it was my head on the line.

"Boss about 300m"

There was no way I was poking my head out again.

"roga that Roby, Mortars incoming in twenty five seconds, I'm falling back behind this wall to regroup the Afghan troops"

"OK boss on my count" I tapped the Afghan soldier next to me on the shoulder to signal him to fire with me "3....2....1 MOVE"

(Bang,Bang,Bang,Bang,Bang,Bang,Bang)

The boss was in cover but the Afghan soldier did not fire, just a communication barrier between Afghan and British as he just smiled at me showing all of his teeth, I just smiled back.

"Heads down" the boss shouted

BOOOM,BOOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM

The mortars came in and shook everything and created a silence, with the dust still in the air this was a nervous silence as we could not know if we had hit all of the enemy positions, and the possibility that the enemy could be lying in wait was a chance I was not prepared to take and I kept this in the back of my mind.

The ANA came running back to our location from somewhere on the right flank with distant shouts of "Taliban finish, Taliban Finish"

We were unclear if that meant they had finished off the Taliban on the right flank or were they in a position to see the mortars land and they were telling us the Taliban were finished on our flank? In any case the boss took this opportunity to get on the radio "Right troops the ANA will lead off back to the vehicles followed by us, prepare to withdraw"

I grabbed the Afghan soldier and signalled to him to move out and around the corner and I followed him and took up overwatch at the corner of the wall in case of any follow up attack, 1 section moved off "Roby let's move"

"After you boss I have your back" and knowing at that point that the boss was more important to get out of the situation and not get shot in the back on the withdrawal was my main concern, plus my usual role in a patrol was tail end charlie so I did not mind watching for any sign of movement while walking backwards and keeping up with the men (an art form I had mastered over many patrols).

Back past the friendly farmers and the fleeing men and women and over the fields of heavy walking and finally at the vehicles.

We all got back to the vehicles safely and after some friendly banter of who did not shoot the most rounds between us and the ANA we headed back to camp along the dusty road trails, and to be rewarded with a load of dust my face going back as top cover.

Today was by far not over yet.

Back in camp we were all looking forward to scoff or evening meal, all we had now was a debrief and our bellies would be full and we could go about our daily evening routine.

 We all sat around for a debrief from the boss. and in the distance was a horrifically loud BOOOOOOOM.

We all looked at each other alertly

"what the fuck is that now"

"I do not know but it does not sound good, hopefully it is a bomb maker blowing himself up and not someone else triggering an IED"

and before we could even finish our conversation BOOOOOOOOM again.

Sgt Jock "wait here men let me find out what has just happened, be prepared" and he ran off towards the HQ tent.

"Be prepared for what" Brummy enquired to the group, but we just sat there and had a cigarette knowing that whatever came next would involve us and something to do with an explosion, which none of us liked as you will not find a soldier who has had a good experience with IED's.

After a couple of minutes Sgt Jock came running over, and instead of shouting get your kit on gents were off out he said something which turned out to be much worse,

"There has been two suicide bombers detonate in the middle of the town in the middle of the busy period before everyone closes up for the day, the casualties are unknown, we do know the suicide bombers went to the middle of the town for maximum casualties and they are all civilian casualties".

There was a silent pause and as I struggled to take in these words and wonder why anyone would do this to unarmed people going about their daily routine.

" The med centre needs all hands on in case the people come to us for aide, gents head over to the med centre and see what you can offer them"

The look that me an Brummy made to each other as we walked over to the med centre was that look that expressed a thousand feelings and summed up everything you take an hour to explain, which was not the first time me and Brummy had seen this look before.

We got to the med centre and all the medics were all ready and geared up to go, and the head doctor asked us all to the front gate.

As soon as we got to the front gate there was locals arriving on any vehicle they had and rushing there loved ones, family and friends into the camp.

One Afghan local ran his wife straight into my arms, she was in a bad way and I had no Idea what to do, I ran this lady to the female doctor and she then ran with me to the operating table in the med centre, I laid her down and the orderlies started getting medical things for the doctor. I had no Idea what to do apart from stand back and await any instruction while the doctor started treating this lady who was screaming in pain, as her husband was stopped at the gate for security reasons I decided to grab a terp and I escorted him to this lady and told him to calm her down and say anything to her and repeat what the doctor is instructing.

I had no idea what was being said but at least the lady was now aware of what was happening. Leaving these people to do there jobs I waited outside and then I saw the scale of how many casualties had come through our gates. I just could not believe my eyes the amount of pain and suffering and screaming going on, soldiers running around with doctors and medics all doing their best to help these people and save their lives. I did not know how to feel I sensed my eyes were on record and my mind was taking it all in and wandering why someone would do this, If the casualties were all soldiers then there is reason and understanding but innocent unarmed and defenceless people.

This was the work of pure evil spite and everyone else had to suffer and pick up the pieces afterwards. The next day we went into the town centre to offer our help and support and many of the locals thanked us for our efforts and although feeling we have not done enough for these people we were happy that they were as they could be safe in our presence.

I am happy to say the lady I rushed to the operating table survived her injuries and miraculously made a full recovery with only a few life time scars but she was able to go on with her day to day life.

This is an example of how Intel is obtained in the army, soldiers have to go into enemy territory and face getting shot at or ambushed just to obtain information to pass up the chain of command so that they can organise the necessary forces to eliminate the enemy threat from that area, as in this area would possibly be the bomb makers for the surrounding areas where they make the bombs or IED's to target UN forces, Afghan Government forces and even the local population.

I would like to tribute to all of the medical staff as well as the soldiers in Afghanistan for the work in which they do.

There is no debt owed to these people as these people do the jobs that need doing and their reward is within certain parts of their jobs, these people do not expect anything from anyone as they are driven by selfless commitment alone. All these people may ask when they return home is respect the fact they do the jobs which no one else chooses or wants to do and that there times away means something to them and the men and women they served with.

Without the war going on Afghanistan is beautiful place on earth you just need to look past the bullets and the bombs.

 

 

This link is a website I support. http://www.ukqms.com/UKQMS/Blog/Blog.html

The day the Media came to town

Today was an unusual day as today we had four of the local media representatives from the hometowns of the 2 Mercians (Worcesters and Foresters), along with all of the usual Afghan scenario's that get thrown at you as a soldier 1 section today had the pleasure of escorting the reporters around the lovely peaceful desert, and had the responsibility of keeping them safe.
As a soldier doing your job in Afghan the last thing you need is to be responsible for someone else that is not trained as a soldier as they are not armed and can not be useful in a firefight and also there in a sense of mistrust as you never know how they will act when things start to go bad. so us troops being troops thought we would have a boring day acting as a tour guide and humouring the reporters with anything but answering their questions.
But as you are about to read things suddenly got serious and to be fair to these four reporters they earned their pay this day and they stayed calm and did not act irrationally and showed a lot of trust in us as soldiers to do our jobs, co-incidentally so they then can do there job and that helped build up a certain rapport between 1 section and the reporters as this is an experience the soldiers wont forget and the reporters.

45 minutes of terror as hot bullets rain down... it's all in a day's work for our boys

By mnaylor

Derby Telegraph reporter Martin Naylor spent eight days in Afghanistan with soldiers from Derbyshire as they battled against the Taliban. In the first of his reports, he tells of being hunched in the back of an armoured vehicle as it was attacked by the enemy.

YOU could sense it was coming.
We had been patrolling along dusty Afghan roads for hours, but in the space of a few minutes the tension had risen dramatically.
Afghan National Army soldiers leading the convoy of five military vehicles had questioned a local farmer, who pointed out a compound where he believed Taliban were holed up.
Suddenly, there is the unmistakable sound of bullet fire. Our armoured vehicle screeches full circle and slams to a halt as Sergeant Liam Thomas screams to his colleagues: "It's a contact, it's a contact."

We are under attack from the Taliban.

Within seconds, our two top gunners, the men who man the heavy machine guns mounted on our Vector armoured vehicle, grab their weapons and fire back.
Soldiers drop to the dried earth of the open fields to zero in on the compound where the enemy are located.
Red-hot bullet shells rain into the Vector from the roof hatch, burning your bare skin as they fall.
I look out of the front window to see an Afghan soldier prepare to fire his rocket-propelled grenade.
Captain Neil Cresswell, one of the two top covers, shouts down to us to protect our ears, and the trigger is pulled.
The "boom" is deafening.
Taliban bullets strike the outside of the back of our vehicle at the same height as the head of one of our colleagues from the media.
What follows is a terrifying 45-minute ordeal, cramped into the back of the Vector, protected against the enemy by soldiers from the 2nd Mercian Battalion (Worcesters and Foresters) – Derbyshire's infantry regiment.
It's the kind of battle Our Boys go through every day in the searing heat of Helmand Province.
And I'm in the middle of it.
Our convoy of three Afghan National Army Ford Ranger vehicles, a Land Rover Wimmick (Weapon Mounted Installation Kit) and an armoured Vector had set off in the early morning haze from our home at Camp Price, 5km from the bustling market town of Gereshk.
Just two weeks earlier, two British soldiers had been killed in Gereshk by a suicide bomber who drove towards a convoy of vehicles with explosives strapped to his chest.
Despite venturing into an area where no coalition forces had patrolled for a year, the mood was relaxed as we picked up our convoy from the Afghan National Army (ANA), which 2 Mercian are spending six months mentoring.
As part of the Operational Mentor and Liaison Team – or OMLT – about 175 Woofers are in small groups of eight to 12 embedded within the ANA offering advice as they rebuild their country after more than 30 years of conflict.
Spots of rain fall through the hatch at the top of our Vector as we leave the main road.
In the 40-degree-and-above heat of summer southern Afghanistan, it's a short, but welcome, relief.
Private Chris Roberts, 24, a former Landau Forte and Sinfin Community School Pupil, said: "That's the first time I've felt rain for two months.
"When we first got here there would be an occasional electrical storm with this amazing forked lightning.

"It's nothing like you get back home in England."
There are eight of us in the Vector armoured vehicle; four members of the media, Commander Terry Lowe in the passenger seat, Sergeant Liam Thomas, 25, a former Murray Park School pupil, from Mackworth, as driver, Private Chris Roberts, from Sinfin and Captain Neil Cresswell, originally from Chesterfield, both as top cover.

We stop suddenly.
The ANA have spotted suspicious activity by the canal 500m away.
Captain Cresswell drops down from his position to talk to us.
"The atmospherics have changed."
The explains the Taliban are "dicking" us – a shortened phrase for making direct eye contact – watching us and reporting back.
Capt Cresswell says: "We're monitoring the Taliban via communications and they're in the area.
"We'll sit tight for a bit."
Private Roberts, who goes by the nickname of Crazy and has been with the regiment for six-and-a-half years, spots people moving behind the tree line and reports it.
The atmosphere is tense but, after 30 minutes, we move on.
Our convoy stops again after 15 minutes when the ANA spot more suspicious movements close to the canal towpath.
Cpt Cresswell tells us the opposite bank is a renowned Taliban stronghold and intelligence comes back that three Taliban are holed-up at a nearby compound. At that moment we hear the first shots.
The Woofers spring into action, returning fire with a grenade-firing machine gun mounted on the Wimmick, heavy calibre shots from the machine guns and firing from SA80 assault rifles.
Capt Cresswell screams for ANA soldiers to get out of the line of fire as he fires.
Pte Roberts spots smoke from the muzzle of the Taliban guns on the opposite bank of the canal and with a torrent of rapid fire repels the attack.
Sgt Thomas, who goes by the nickname of Turkish, dives back into the vehicles and looks back at us.
"Everything OK?" he asks with a smile.
"Just sit tight and don't stick your head up."
These brave Derbyshire soldiers and their comrades are protecting us while pushing back the enemy.
It's multi-tasking on an unprecedented level and the most incredible event to witness first-hand.
Amazingly, in the middle of the firefight, Pte Roberts lights a cigarette and throws his pack to Sgt Thomas before carrying on with the task in hand.
The three-second delay between the grenade machine gun firing one of its 250 rounds and it exploding seems like a lifetime, then we hear the "boom" as it lands 500m away next to the enemy.
After 45 minutes of incessant firing, back-up comes on the shape of two fighter jets which scream inches above the heads of the terrified Taliban.
The firing stops and there's a confident air in the Vector.
With the enemy beaten, the crackle of a smoke bomb disguises our exit and we're away from the scene.
But our smiles of satisfaction are premature as the leading ANA vehicle again comes under attack.
There's a Taliban team hidden behind the tree line and Pte Roberts spots them. British and Afghan soldiers pummel the area with bullets and with such superior fire power it is not long until the enemy beat a hasty retreat.
Back at the ANA base there's handshakes all round at a job well done as the Afghan sergeant major shows us six bullet holes peppering his Ranger.
Pte Roberts, who is married to 29-year-old Nell, smiles.
"It's always a bit nervy at first when you hear the sound of the bullets coming towards you," he says. But the important thing is that you keep a cool head in that sort of situation and remember what you have to do as a solider.
"We go out on patrol almost every day and there is a lot of contact with the enemy. The most satisfying thing is a day like today when you get back into camp with no casualties."
Sgt Thomas, who has wife Nicola, 24, and eight-month-old daughter Lexi waiting for him in the UK, agreed, saying: "People probably don't realise how much contact we have with the enemy.
"But you all stick together, switch into working as a team and get on with the job in hand. As far as I'm concerned today is a case of a job well done."

The troops make light of the dangers, but there is soon a grim reminder of the perils they endure on a daily basis.
As the following day we move from Camp Price to Camp Tombstone, the base of the Woofers in Helmand Province, Capt Cresswell approaches us.
"Bad news," he says.
He explains explaining that one of the 30 Afghan soldiers on the patrol that came under attack by the canal went out on the next day, and was killed in a blast from an improvised explosive device.



Which was the end of the news report.

The Next Day

On the high of a good day yesterday involved in a scrap with the enemy and receiving no casualties and having our exploits covered by the media, morale was high even with the ANA (Afghanistan National Army).

1 section mounted up on the vehicle, did there last minute checks, ammo and water etc and got ready to move out.

"Roby ready to move"

"yea Sgt Jock everything is on and weapons ready"

"good, good ill let the boss know" "boss rear wagon is ready to rock and roll"

"I've got it covered in the back boss" Brummy said to Capt Triathlon

"OK gentlemen off we go"

Unknown to 1 section at this point, today was to be a day that would change their lives, for the rest of their lives. Today was the first, the first day 1 section had been out smarted in a tactical sense by the enemy. Today was the day a fellow comrade and fighter in arms had fallen in the most brutal and cruel way unimaginable to any man, even the hardest of men just simply could not justify how a fellow human being can leave this world in such a way, the way this man died will always stick in the minds of the men of 1 section as a scar of battle.

Local intelligence had come in a few days ago and determined what today was all about, the Afghan police force had been monitoring three compound locations within the city and had reason to believe the Taliban were using these compounds to plan there next attack and maneuver there weapons from one location to the other in the setup process for there next upcoming attack which could range from suicide bombers to a full scale ambush on the allied or Afghan government forces operating in the area.

 It was part of 1 sections job today to join a joint task force of Afghan National Police, Afghan National Army and a Gurkha section, In total that is 23 vehicles (which we provided two of), four 50.cal machine guns, 17 heavy machine guns, 72 assault rifles, 32 rocket launchers, 8 grenade launchers, 90 hand grenades, 2 dushka's, 2 snipers and 1 mortar team.

Simply the plan was to surround the compounds one by one while the Afghan police go in handcuff the enemy and bring them out peacefully without a shot fired.

Cpl Back poked his head out of the top hatch next to me with a smile on his face " are you alright Roby"

"yea mate" I replied with a smile back as he was a genuinely friendly guy that looked after his men and always had a positive attitude towards life, "I am taking in the views, this place is so peaceful and natural, when were not getting shot at"

Cpl Back just laughed and then we were interrupted by the convoy going off road by getting thrown from side to side and forward and back and with all of the dust getting kicked up by the convoy it was back to the same old routine vehicle patrol across the desert which every soldier gets the pleasure of, dust in your teeth, in your hair around your face (leaving an outline around where your goggles cover your eyes) and embedded in my uniform.

After the boring long dusty journey through the desert we came up to approach to the first compound and the convoy commander tactically halted the convoy, gave some quick and brief orders on the radio as to how he wanted the vehicles to surround the compound in there own locations and what he wanted the men to be doing (ie. look out for any follow up attacks from the enemy) while his team and the Afghan army went in for the arrest. 1 section had the amazing job of coming all this way to provide a overwatch on some high ground in the distance and watch the other troops get all the action and have all the fun, don't get me wrong our role was crucial if we were needed but if we were not it meant we had front row seats to boredom while getting a nice all over tan.
The rest of the vehicles were all in place at the same time as us and the convoy commander gave the go on the radio to let us know he was going in with the Afghan army and police to go and arrest the enemy, all eyes were on the open holes (windows) doorways and corners of the compound as the first team started there approach.
I was in my vehicle with my heavy machine gun pointed at the rear left corner of the compound, I adjusted the sights on the machine gun to 700 meters and got into a comfortable standing firing position, put my cheek up to the cheek rest on the gun, aligned my eye with the foresight and rear sight, lined everything up for the perfect shot, started to control my breathing and held that position.

The first team were just going out of my sight as they got closer to the front of the compound front door.
I was still poised in my position.
I was now picturing what was happening on the other side of the compound by the radio chat of the teams getting into position, mentally I knew where every man was.
"GO, GO, GO"
(silence)
Followed by more silence and yet as time went on more silence.
I then realised to myself just as it was said over the radio "the compound is empty, there is no one in sight"
"Fuck sake, I knew this would happen drive all the way here for nothing" Brummy commented with a joking frustration "there was no one even in the building, that's me 8 Intel 0" which summed up alot about the mood we were all in as this was not the first time me and Brummy had been out to bum info.
"Reet yous lot stand down and prepare to move" as Sgt Jock got his map out and looked over the route to the next compound.
The rest of the convoy got back into their vehicles and everyone met back up and got in the same order in line and waited for the go ahead from the convoy commander. 1 section were the rear two vehicles so our place in the convoy became the humorous joke of the day as we could not get that wrong

The second compound was pretty much the same detail only the sun was higher in the sky making the same job seem more endless and frustrating.

Mid afternoon we arrived at the third compound all was well, morale was quite high as we had already planned for no one to be in this compound and we get to get back to camp early and enjoy some free time.
"OK convoy this is where we will stop short of the compound and in five minutes everyone will take up there positions" over the radio

Within ten minutes 1 section was in position and over looking the compound from a distance to again wait for any fleeing enemy or provide the necessary fire power if needed.
The first two teams go through the front door and from where 1 section are we can see a sense of urgency about the follow up team and then suddenly on the radio the convoy commander
"We have five males all of fighting age and we believe these are the men we are looking for, we are going to wait for the police to question the men and make the necessary arrests, once there finished we will escort the police vehicles back to their HQ".
All five men were arrested caught, cuffed and now crying about how innocent they were. As far as 1 section were concerned no shots fired and we got someone, job done all that's left now is the long dusty ride back to camp, and to get in vehicle convoy order with us bringing up the rear again behind the Afghan army vehicles.
The convoy set off and around the first corner
 BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

A very deep long heavy snap boom that lasts a life time but only lasts for a second.
Inertia, slow but high adrenaline alertness (the slow motion affect), gutting, fear, terror, claustrophobia with every bad emotion you can think of, happens to you, being completely surrounded by the feel death all around, which surrounds the air, the noise and sense of everything. I didn't know what I was thinking, I let go of my mounted machine gun and put my hands to my helmet to protect my eyes and face from any shrapnel, no Idea why just self instinct.
In that moment I looked up towards the blast, the vehicle two up from mine the last Afghan Army wagon (modified 4x4 pickup), the front end of the vehicle was pointing towards the sky with the rear wheels off the ground and in slow motion just landed drop dead in the sand.
My heart just sank, I knew this was bad
There was still debree raining down tapping on the top of my helmet and bouncing off as I was still in the moment of the pause that people do before your brain re-engages and comes back to reality, starring at what was in front of me. I looked at Cpl back and his expression summed up everything I was thinking.
With haste I started searching for the med pack in the back of the vehicle, got my hands on it and burst out of the back doors with a sense of urgency and turned to my left and looked up to see Sgt Jock already at the vehicle helping the Afghans with any injury's, and I started to run towards my Sgt who then started shouting
 "No Roby No" I took one or two more steps and heard him shout again
 " Noo Roby STOP STOP" it was then it sunk in as he started waving frantically at me, I stopped and froze solid just silent and thinking what the hell am I doing.
 I could have just run into a mine field or a secondary bomb which the enemy liked to use for situations like this.
"Roby use the proven route, use the proven route"
and that's when my brain came out of neutral and engaged first gear (thank fuck Sgt Jock is switched on I could of just died), at the speed of a thousand gazelle's I doubled back on my own path around the vehicle on the right hand side this time, and up to the exploded Afghan vehicle.

I don't know how many people reading this have been in a IED encounter but the shock effect is massive and it affects everything you do and every thought you have, then this.

I started quickly checking over three of the men who had jumped out of the vehicle and as they had actually all jumped out they were ok, shaken and in shock but ok. Two of these guys then turned their attention to the driver who was in a bad way, they painfully got him out of the drivers seat and laid him out on the floor and we could clearly see this man was not going to live very long. (This next detail will be quite graphic but will describe what an IED does to a human body).

As the impact came from the front right tyre the blast shock wave had ripped the mans legs nearly off his body and were only connected to his torso by literally his outer skin, as the shockwave went through his body it turned all of his bones to mush and all his legs and torso every bone was still there but just like jelly, all of this mans insides were turned to mush nothing was working, his arms were dead weights, his throat had been severely damaged which gave him this zombie like grunt which added to the blood he was coughing up onto his dusty face was deadly, his ears had been blown out and his eyes were just pupils staring at nothing, I believe this man had no Idea what was happening after the blast, his heart was still going as he still had a very weak pulse and he obviously still had at least one lung working as he had an unmistakable slow wheezing where his body was still trying to function, you could see the spirit of the human body still fighting to survive.

This image will never leave my mind as Ive never seen a human in this way before, the sheer destructive force of an IED on the human body is something no man should witness in his lifetime. The troops around me were all looking at each other mainly in the shock of the terror which was before us and mainly because there was nothing in this world we had or could do anything with to help this man or save him. you could say his body was an instant write off  but still it does not take away the gutting feeling that no matter what we do or try we are powerless to stop this mans pain and he was in alot of it, the only saving grace was the fact he might not register any of it.
It was suggested that we give the man morphine but we all knew the pain would stop and so would his breathing.
The chopper was already inbound at this point and we had a man that was technically still alive so we got him on a make shift stretcher and under the supervision of Sgt Jock we started to move him towards the where the helicopter was going to land.
At this point I realise later just how incredible a leader Sgt Jock was, he was in as much shock as the rest of us but he had his team to organise and keep us going which he did a phenomenal job of doing, I had trouble just staying focused, the shock of thoughts in my head were all over the place.

As we got half way to the chopper landing site the casualties right leg flopped off the stretcher and was only hanging on by a few veins in his leg. we had to put him down at this point and this was the moment where I walked away, the other men helping me also had to step away to recompose, and some of the Gurkha men came running over to help out. This let me turn away as I felt physically sick all over and the shock had just caught up with me and was just overwhelming, I filled out the worst casualty report I had ever done and handed it to the boss who was in radio communications with HQ giving them an update.
Walking back to the vehicles I could see Brummy he had a metal detector out and was searching for any more IED's and clearing the path for our two vehicles still at the rear of the convoy and still had to have a route cleared around the blast area which Brummy was making good progress with, as I neared him we made eye contact but no words were spoken I just carried on walking to the back of my vehicle to get a metal detector and helped out Brummy sweep the area.
Looking at the blast site there were no wires, no signs no nothing, twenty vehicles had driven over the same ground as I could see the tyre tracks going straight through the blast crater, why the twenty first vehicle in the convoy, the one in front of Brummy's which was baffling him more than me at the time. Nothing made any sense for the rest of today.
Our casualty made it onto the chopper but died in flight on the way back to the hospital.

Back in camp for the debrief we all sat at the table quietly everyone lost in thought as to what had just happened, the Sergeant Major came down to see how we were and gave us a pep talk and offered any assistance for us to discuss anything.
It took a couple of days for 1section to come round and perk up a bit as we still had a job to do and in the desert you don't have a lot of time to reflect or dwindle on days like this too much as the next day we were all out on patrol again and that becomes your main focus, surviving what the next day can bring to the table.

Through my eyes in the Desert

This is what a contact sounds like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gwMb2fEooQ&feature=related



This is My Story

(Bang Ba Bang Bang)(Crack Crack Crack)(Thud Thud Thud)

"Contact left" were the words that came over the radio as the unmistakable rapid gunfire of the Taliban AK47's and PKM's fired at the men in 1 Section.

 1 Section had just walked into a well planned Taliban ambush and were pinned down by a frightening mass of rapid 7.62 hail of bullets bringing bad news their way, and slowly chipping away at any cover they had managed to get behind. As nearly all of 1 section had thrown their bodies down on the ground hard and crawled backwards into the treeline they just came from, the commander had narrowly made it in to cover with bark flying off the trees at speeds fast enough to take an eye out or do some serious facial damage, twigs branches and leaves flying off in all directions mixed in with the desert dust and grit being kicked up by the vast array of bullets coming in the commanders direction, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that things just got worse, as three of the Afghan army soldiers were pinned down in the open and as they were very quickly being out flanked on the right the Afghan soldiers could not move in any direction. Witnessing pure random luck, seeing the only thing keeping them alive was the ground where they lay it happened to just slightly dip around their bodies which were literally being buried in front of him by all of the dust and desert floor getting kicked up around them.
The commander Captain Triathlon instinctively at this point got on the radio to the nearest friendly base,

(static)
"Hello Foxtrot Bravo 1 this is Tango Zulu Tango, I want (Crack Crack Crack) I want mortar fire, add 50 meters on grid 9...0...4..1,...7...2...(Crack Crack Crack Crack Crack) 7...5 over"
" Read back grid 9...0...4...1,..7...2...7...5 over"
" correct I'm pinned down by enemy (Crack Crack Crack Crack.......thud thud thud thud) machine gun fire over"
"Tango Zulu Tango Rodger that wait out"
.....
.....
.....
15 seconds
"Tango Zulu Tango one round in the air you will see it explode at your end in 27 seconds"
"Rodger wait out"
.......
Twenty five
Twenty six
(Captain Triathlon for the first time breaks cover and pokes his head out ever so slightly from behind the tree.)
Twenty BOOOOM.............................then BOOOOM BOOOOM BOOOOM BOOOOM BOOOOM
" Foxtrot Bravo1 first round on target your other mortars just came in too fucking close to my men"
"Tango Zulu Tango we fired one round only"

( "Fuck sake" Captain T said aloud)

"I am now under enemy mortar fire, FIRE FIRE FIRE those mortars"

BOOOOM BOOOOM BOOOOM BOOOOM BOOOOM BOOOOM BOOOOM BOOOOM BOOM BOOM BOOOOM BOOOOM BOOOOM BOOM BOOM BOOOOM BOOOOM BOOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOOM BOOOOM BOOOOM BOOOOM BOOOM.

Silence.......................................................................................................................................................
................

MEDIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The next words over the radio net were from Sgt Mick
" Ive got five Casualties send me your medics"

I can remember hearing those words, I was down on one knee in some dead ground some 100meters away covering the left and rear flank with the rest of 2 section, we had just witnessed this whole event unfold in front of our eyes and not one of us were 100% on what had happened as the treeline was blocking our view.
In my own mind as I watched every single mortar bomb land, all the dust crash into the air and shrapnel flying off into all directions, I said to myself watching in silent amazement at the raw power of the mortars landing near my friends in 1 section "I'm glad that gunfire has stopped".
Immediately I got that eerie feeling, of death,(The silence after the storm)................ maybe.
As I realised why all the firing had stopped I was staring across at the tree line, I looked to the floor for a brief moment and in my earpiece, I looked up and recognised the voice Sgt Mick. "Ive got five casualties send me your medics"
I was the 2 section team medic with corporal Back, I don't know how he felt but I got the feeling this is where I earn that tax back bonus from the government we got after completing our tour of duty.

"Right yous two team medics get over there on the double" said Sgt Jock
At that moment without even blinking an eyelid I was up and my feet started moving one after the other and straight away I was sprinting like my life depended on it. I had no Idea what to expect my head was half filled with thoughts of every possible injury scenario I could imagine and half filled with keeping my body in a straight line as the terrain was just a nightmare to run across plus with all the kit I was carrying at the time jerking side to side with every footstep, my rifle in my right hand and my left trying to balance out my right while attempting to run like a Olympian sprinter. Corporal Back was now slightly ahead of me so I followed his path closely trying to match my steps to his. It was not just a straight run, down three embankments through three streams and climbing back up three embankments in the heat of the sun it felt like it took forever to reach 1 section, after a minute or two we broke through the tree line to Sgt Mick who had complete control of the situation and was standing over the casualties issuing orders to 1 section and talking on the radio (known as the dark art of extreme multi tasking).

"On me" Sgt Mick signalled "Roby (me) you start treating the Afghan soldiers, Cpl Back attend to the commander and Cpl Song" Sgt Mick then continued on the radio net back to HQ to start the process of getting a chopper in the air to evacuate our casualties and get them medical treatment.

Oh shit I thought as i realised the commander had been hit and one of my mates who i knew well. but i had no time to think of them I had three men in front of me i needed to check over, all three men looked at me shocked, deafened and in pain. My first priority was to check how bad their injuries were, I started physically checking the first soldier starting from his head to his back, arms and legs making sure there was no blood or anything out of place. Miraculously between the three of them I had a shrapnel wound to the hand and wrist, a shrapnel injury to the shoulder and a shrapnel wound to the leg to my relief, I quickly realised the combat situation we were in and saw 1 section were in defensive positions around the casualties which meant we were still in the enemy ambush killing area. On Sgt Mick's call we gathered up what men we could spare from defensive positions  to help carry and support the casualties out of the killing area, there was a slight open ground and a direct line of fire from the compound wall where the Taliban were just moments ago firing from so we had to move quickly.

" Everyone ready, lets move" I was the first man into the open and my eyes and ears were everywhere and paying special attention to the top of the wall and the doorway where the threat was most likely to come from "Go.....Go its clear" as I waved the men through moving with them at their pace trying to make myself as wide as possible yet as inconspicuous as a soldier can be standing in front of three injured men and four escorts getting them to the safety of a raised mound surrounded by another treeline, all the while never taking my eyes off the enemy firing points. "last man in cover" one of my mates shouted, happy days I thought to myself, now I got into a firing position to cover the rest of the men with the two remaining Brit casualties who by this time were stood up and ready to make a move, I gave a thumbs up and the men came through without haste with Sgt mick bringing in the rear, as he came close to me he had a quick sharp look behind him just to be sure.
Now we had some breathing time to re evacuate the situation not a lot but enough.
I got back to check up on the casualties, strapping on some bandages and working with the interpreter to keep them calm and to give them instructions on what I'm doing and what i need them to do, with the amount of pain these men were now in after they had come down from the initial shock of being surviving a one way machine gun range and what must of felt like the world around them had literally been blown to pieces by the Armageddon of mortar fire from both sides, the decision was made to give all three of these men morphine as the chopper at this point was airborne and only seven minutes away which was a good idea at the time.
At this point while i was filling out the casualties details it became apparent that Captain Triathlon had a shrapnel wound to his neck and was in complete shock and Cpl Song had shrapnel to his arm and leg and was also in complete shock.

Over the distance and carried by the wind was the distinctive sound of the Chinook chopper we could all hear it but we could not yet see it. Sgt Mick had 1 section minus the men with the casualties to go and secure a landing site for the chopper off to a flank behind some dead ground.
The Pilot came over the radio net to Sgt Mick wanting an update on our casualties to see if they had improved or worsened his reasoning being he had just received info on a more serious casualty in a different part of Helmand and based on our response the pilot would make the call to land for us first or leave immediately for a more serious casualty. Sgt Mick turned to me and asked what the state are the casualties in?
(Now I must point out that  this decision I knew instantly would change the course of the day, we were still within 200meters of where the Taliban were operating and they judging by there silence of gunfire were probably doing the same as us and attending to their casualties so the race was on and our situation on the ground just got more complicated)
"These men are not a high priority and are walking wounded" was my reply, Now I had a million thoughts running through my head but knowing I gave a honest reply and thinking that a soldier somewhere else in Helmand needs this medical treatment more than us at this time I thought was the right decision to make.

The chopper as it now hovered above where it would have landed made a sharp right in mid air and set off into the distance again. Sgt Mick then told us to get hold of the casualties and we moved them into some hard cover behind a few small buildings where they were in the shade and we could give them water to keep them cool.
Myself and Cpl Back had taken up defensive positions alongside 1 section while Sgt Mick then had to get back onto HQ to explain the situation and in a sense re order another chopper to come and collect our casualties who were in a stable condition but all had shrapnel in one limb or another between the five of them. With this lull in the battle it was an opportunity for all of us to get some water on board and munch a quick biscuit out of a ration pack and time for a quick cigarette.

I distinctly remember thinking 'ding' 'ding' round 2 but this time the gloves are off as what happened next was just like kicking dust in a mans face while he is down and as you walk away standing on his balls for good measure.

The decision to hold the ground and get into defensive positions and wait for the next chopper to get to us was ultimately our best option as camp was two and a half kilometers away along rough desert terrain with allot of streams to jump across and many obstacles that could hinder our path as with any patrol in Helmand with the kit you carry its never a simple stroll in the park as any soldier will tell you. (imagine carrying three 2 litre bottles of water from the supermarket around with you for 6 hours around your waist and on your back and that's just the water each man carries never mind the rest + in the sweltering heat) and we have five injured men to support. We heard the chopper was wheels up and would be at our location in 37 minutes and at this stage Sgt Mick decided to get myself and Cpl Back re united with 2 section as they were 2 men down and still 200meters to the the rear left flank so we got our kit together.

"Roby we have to do this together, we've got 200meters of open ground to cover and the only slight chance of protection we have is a small grass mound just over half way" said Cpl Back
"Yea Cpl Back seen, how do you want to play this because if we get caught out here were on our own" I said
Sgt Mick overheard " 1 section form a line overlooking that tree line in the enemy direction and be on the lookout".
"Shall we just leg it Cpl Back"
"yea lets just leg it"
"3.... 2....1 GO"

(Crack Crack Crack Crack Crack Whoosh BANG RPG Crack Crack Crack)

The inevitable happened
"Fuck Sake, Roby stay close"
At this moment in time we were on our belt buckles with our faces scraping along the ground crawling to what looked like a mountain of grass but it looked like an eternity away which we managed to cover in world record pace of about two seconds, we lay up against this grass mound and looked back to see 1 section had returned fire on the enemy and put down an overwhelming rate of fire that the Taliban could not handle so we saw our opportunity to leg it again as the enemy had now turned there attention to 1 section.
We approached 2 section and my brummy mate was laughing to himself "I knew that would happen", all I could do was smile back.
There was no time for laughing and joking as the enemy were not they had gone right flanking and seen us 2 section luckily our two end men were switched on and had pinned all of the enemy at the corner of a building about 300meters away which enabled us to start putting suppressing fire down on 1 sections enemy, successfully with a couple of our own rockets fired at the Taliban we drew all the enemy fire onto us which seems insane but is what had to be done to free up 1 section for them to withdraw with the casualties. This ploy however did no last very long as when 1 section withdrew the enemy advanced giving there tail end charlie a nightmare scenario.
2 section now were not fighting to the front and left flank but now to the right and left flanks. Sgt Jock shouted to move back through the blue gates and push through the alley way and get to the other side. Me and the brummy were the first ones through and as we peered round the corners of the alleyway left and right he shouted "contact right" and hit the deck as I turned around I hit the deck and saw the enemy on the roof of a building between 400 and 500 meters away "contact rear". My rounds landed close to the enemy and within a minute he had jumped off the roof and behind the compound wall and out of site, my mate brummy had also scared his target away. The rest of 2 section joined us in this alleyway which now meant we had lost site of 1 section.
 Sgt Jock saw a wide opening in the fields and got straight on the net to give a new map grid reference for the chopper to land and also informed Sgt Mick on where the new chopper landing site would be.

Sgt Jock gave us the new orders to secure the chopper landing site so we pushed out in force to secure the area, upon reaching sufficient cover and getting into as good a defensive position as we could find we were now surrounded by compound walls, alley ways in between one compound to the next, the open ground where the chopper would land and beyond that streams and ditches amongst the tree lines. The sun was still high in the sky which meant there was no real shade apart from the trees in the distance, the sun was hot, the ground was hot , my clothes were hot, I was hot and "oww shit" the barrel of my rifle was hot as I had misplaced my grip to bring my rifle up to a firing aim position and I could look through the scope to scan the ground in the distance for any signs of movement. In the distance and still out of sight 1section were still in and out of contact as they were moving in and around the compound buildings the shooting had died down to almost nothing only shots of deterrant on both sides as 1 section were escaping with casualties trying to move as quickly as they could to our location and the taliban not knowing exactly where they were but still in pursuit.

"Roby whats that over there in that alley way it looks like a hand" Brummy said to me pointing in the direction of where he wanted me to look, as both of us had our rifles aimed, and fingers ready on the triggers pointing at this alley way this hand then clenched a fist then reopened again, there was a pause........... and the pause was still there then Brummy looked at me and I looked back at him (we were too far away to try and shout something in Pashtu or English) there was another pause, I started to scan with my eyes a three sixty degrees circle thinking it could be a setup just in case. "There civiy's there only civilians" with relief in Brummys voice there was a line of women and children who just started running out of this alley way, I thought it Brummy said it "they shouldnt be here" we both stood up and started quickly waving them through past us and pointing to the way in which we knew was safe enough and away from all of the fighting, the civvys started running then all of a sudden "DRESH!!! DRESH!!! Fucking stop" "DRESH DRESH DRESH put your fucking arms out, putt your fucking arms out" one of the women confused by the whole situation had started to run towards me and Brummy and between a couple of wise men that we were we were not going to let this woman come anywhere near us as we had earlier experiences respectivley in our careers on suicide bombers, reluctantly with changing our stance from passiveley waving them on to full on rifle in the aim, the butt firmly in the shoulder one foot forward and shouting highly aggressivley holding our palms out at full arms length, and a hard look on our faces which normally does the trick.
The woman had stopped out of pure fear....but the tension was still in the air "come on move, move, run GO..... GO" we waved her on "Go...GO" and one of her friends shouted something we didn't understand ( the next few seconds would determine who would die and who would live or all or none of us)
The woman turned to her friend still with her arms open and ran towards her mates and they evacuated the area quite quickly. We both blew out the air we were holding in our lungs with relief, Brummy said he was getting to old for this but I told him he loves it really, and that was just our squaddy humour way of dealing with that as now.

(Crack Crack Crack) "that was fucking too close" one of the guys shouted on the opposite side of the secured chopper landing site "contact Front" " there trying to come around us, theres loads of them"
"MOVE" I shouted down the radio squeezing the pressel button "come through me and Brummy we will cover you from here"
With the troops moving through the dead ground and using all the cover God had laid down in this area they were pushing through us routinley one by one as me and Brummy laid down some routine suppressing fire, as Sgt Jock came past I heard
"Mick this is Jock weve just been bumped at our location were heading towards you, you will have to find a new chopper landing site"
I never heard the reply but I had a good idea how it went.
"STOP STOP STOP"
I looked round as I stopped firing
Brummy said "watch the corner of that building you were just firing at"
"Fuckin hell its a kid, nice one for that mate" I replied
" No no look closly"
"Hes carrying an AK Brummy, he only looks about four"
" yea keep watching"
"Now there is a un armed man running accross the gap,........... Cheeky fuckers there using the kids to run weapons accross the gaps in the walls so we dont shoot them or the un armed Taliban men, thats not right, Fucking Cunts"

"Lets move" Sgt Jock shouted, we were up and gone away from the incoming rounds and moving towards 1 section who had secured the third chopper landing site this afternoon, and we had to move fast as the chopper was visible on the horizon and that glorius sound of help was on its way again.
So were the Taliban!

(Woomf Woomf Woomf Woomf Woomf Woomf) was the sound of the rotating blades on the chopper as it cut through the hot arid climate air, this one was an American Huey and Sgt Mick was talking to the pilot on the radio on his aproach to land. (Crack Crack Crack Crack Crack Crack Crack)
" 2 section push right, RAPID FIRE, close them down while this chopper comes in" was the command given by Sgt Jock "PUSH FORWARD"
(Crack Crack Crack Crack Crack Crack Crack Crack Crack Crack thud thud) was the massive amount of fire we returned on the enemy (POP, POP) went two smoke grenades to blind the enemy fire (BOOM) as a grenade went in.
Then (BBBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR) (BBBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR) (BRRRR) (BRRRR)
What the fuck was that I thought?
The American pilot was fully aware of our situation and had watched 2 section literally charge at the enemy with fully automatic fire and as he landed he had swung his rear end towards the enemy which freed his door gunner up to open fire with a monster of a weapon. The monster weapon had stopped fring and the chopper had landed thumbs up from the pilot, all five casualties loaded on, door closed and as quick as thatthe chopper was in the air and away. (God Bless that American pilot who took on a massive risk to help us out)

Now it was on. Sgt's Mick and Jock got there heads togeather while the rest of us started doing what we do best as Infanteers as the Taliban started to out number us and and were starting to encircle us slowly but methodically, and as we respected them as an enemy and they were about to surround us they also respected us as their enemy and were keeping there distance from us as they knew they could not just run in wildly at us.
And that was it
"1 section peel right and move down the path towards the river MOVE"
"2 section peel left, move left down the road and follow it round the bend, break contact and move through the cover MOVE"
as both Sgt's ordered respectivly.

Right this was it as we had withdrew so far already we had 800meters left to get back to camp. I said it to myself in my head while waiting for the man to the right of me to stand up turn to his left tap me on the shoulder and run like anything down this road to find some good cover take up a firing position and supress the enemy again while the rest of the section repeated this process until we were all out of the line of enemy fire behind a building or round the corner of a wall.
Down to the river, cross the river, link back up with 1 section at the bridge, through the valley with a bend in it, up bastard hill with the graveyard on it and i will be staring at the back gate of camp.
We broke contact aroud the corner of this compound wall "keep moving lads" I said, we were all fucked at this point everything felt heavy my helmet on my head, I had sweat pouring down my face and into my chinstrap which was rubbing against my chin and getting irritated, my shirt colar was wet from sweat and rubbing against the back of my neck, my body armour was restricting my movements and being pressed against chest and back just had my shirt soaked in sweat, my shoulders were aching from 5 minites after I left camp to start the patrol and were by now just numb and worn like that pins and needles feeling you get when youve slept with your arm in some arm lock wrestleing manouver all night. legs felt heavy like two fat kids were clinging to each leg and would not let go until they got more chocolate. and my feet my poor feet stuck inside two hot smelly sweaty socks, encased in the really manly desert boots provided by the Army. Life doesn't get any better.

We approached the river and headed swiftly towards the bridge, 1 section had beat us there and secured it on both sides so we picked up the pace and got over the bridge to free them up and to save 1 section the possability of getting contacted on the bridge.

2 section now being the lead section approaching the valley with a bend in it got ordered by Sgt Jock to take the high ground and take up defensive positions while 1 section push through the valley floor and hold the rear. While we had the high ground dominated and a perfect overview position we could see the Taliban had withdrew and the farmers began to farm again, as we could see onto the farmlands and local village buildings and the whole area where our nightmare scenario had unfolded there was an air of peacefulness that seemed to roll through the valley and back to where we had just came from, the sun was glowing orangy red at half mast on the horizon getting ready to settle the events of the day, casting its shadow off the buildings and trees and into the valley getting ready for the cool night shift to come in and watch over Helmand province.

Back to camp for tea and biscuits where me and Brummy can take the micky out of each other over a well deserved smoke break, and when the fun is over its time to repack all of our kit  and ammunition and have it ready for the next patrol out of camp 0430 HRS when the sun rises once again.

All five men who were injured made a full recovery and were back in the action weeks later.

As the Soldiers we are, marching
with our heads held high
Knowing how lucky we were,
today nobody died,
Soldiers step into the battlefield,
hell reigns in the morning
peace flourishes in the evening,
its only time before the enemy yield,
With the enemy withdrew
there is not much to do,
Exept for sleep soundly at night
Tomorrow maybe your last fight.



I would like to dedicate this to Sgt Lockett MC who in 2009 made the ultimate sacrifice for his country and to the men of the 2 Mercian Regiment who have also made the ultimate sacrifice.









This story was written with ficticious characters and they have no relation to anyone in real life, these names were chosen at random and I mean no offence to anyone, This story varies from the truth and is based on how literally a day can go from bad to worse as a soldier on operations and what our soldiers do for our country on day to day basis and some of my experiences in Afghanistan, If there are any issues with this story then please email me and I will gladly resolve any issues you may have.