1st November
How do I even begin with trying to explain to people what it is you go through out here? People always say ‘I can’t imagine what it is you lads do’, and you know what that’s fucking spot on. Don’t get me wrong I’m loving it out here 110%, I love the operational lifestyle, the fighting, the adrenaline rush is like nothing I’ve ever experienced, so let me tell you what happened today.
Right 0830, patrol, I’m on ECM red, we are going on a patrol to M1T, to go to a mosque, where the mullah (holy man), who is massively on side with us, we went there to pump him for J2 (intelligence). Patrol leaves, as always, eye’s on us straight away, terry knows we leave before we even do! We head 200m west and break through a tree line, and everyone, and I mean everyone bugged out in front of us, all the kids and adults just pissed off sharpish, that was a big combat indicator that it was going to kick off, and how right that thought was. We were well into M1T, right in Hezbollah’s back garden, and the most surprising thing is we were less than 600m from Qudrat, talk about shitting on your own doorstep! We got to the mosque at compound 29 (C29), around us was C9, C30 and C31 M1T. We got in all round defense, then the Turp goes to the mosque with the boss to speak with the mullah, don’t know the long and short of the exchange but the important thing was ‘C30, 3 terry 20m away’, ”Fuck me”, when the Turp stood next to me I could hear his i-com going nuts, and we could hear them talking from over the bloody wall 20m away!
We were pinned in an open ally way if they decided to attack us, we would be proper exposed all round, so we got up and headed a bit further east to try and entice a scrap, we followed an irrigation ditch in front of C9 down towards C30 and obviously it wasn’t long ‘CONTACT’, and we were all fucking stuck in this ditch with nowhere to go! The only way was to head back to Qudrat, but we were pinned down with incoming fire. If we went forward it would have been a 10 man CASEVAC! So J……, called in a massive smoke screen and we had to run 200m across open ground, rounds whizzing and pinning everywhere, but we had to make it to a tree line and get to some form of cover, think I nearly got shot 3/4 times, I mean I felt the air rip past my head it was that close, so we got back to Qudrat and I was in turbo clip, all that weight sprinting again over open ground, I felt fucked.
I think that’s the bit that people will never understand, because getting shot at is the biggest buzz and adrenaline filled experience ever. But when you crash off it, fuck it makes you tired and fucked. There’s no switching off here though as in the early hours call sign Juno (US Blackhawk) is coming to pick up G…….., Scotsman 4 Para, got a shitty infection in his eye, he’s heading back to Bastion, lucky fucker, no stag, hot scoff and a bed for the night. Juno came in low and fast at 0230, wheels down, 30 seconds, G………. on and he was gone. Now to top it off got stag for 3 hours! This was the part of the tour that is wearing thin on me now, and the other lads too, we have no time to sleep or do admin.
1700 another patrol, 2 in one day mega! We had to meet up with 2 platoon again to give them our HIDE camera and a L96 riffle. left at 1715, and head to M1Z, quiet area, hardly ever contacted from this area, plus we had the cover of darkness. The weight again was starting to kill me quick, but just reg it out as always, we tabbed out, ’45mins’ the boss said so typically 1 hour 30 mins later we arrived after getting lost in the maze of compounds and alleyways. Spent 25 mins laid up in a compound, fuck knows where, normally wouldn’t stay static this long, but the boss must have felt confident as we had the darkness and the i-com was silent, then it took us another hour to tab it back in.
Debriefed, scoff then another 3 hours stag, there is no way that 14 toms can keep up this pace for 6 months, with no time off in between stags and patrols. We’ve been here nearly a month and the blokes already look man down! When I get on RnR I’m going to sleep for 24 hours, and if anyone tries to wake me stand by!
