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www.newsguardian.co.uk
News Guardian, Thursday, March 29, 2012
Many of those putting their lives on the line trying to bring peace to Afghanistan and other danger zones
This means war for volunteer soldiers
TA members training at Catterick. Photos: Tegan Chapman.
LAST week’s repatriation of the bodies of six British soldiers killed in Afghanistan was a stark reminder of the dangers of serving in a war zone. To someone sitting in the safety of a home in North Tyneside, the risks and hardships involved in taking on the Taliban in its homeland are difficult to comprehend. Perhaps even harder to take in is the fact that some of those fighting for our country are volunteer soldiers with everyday nine-to-five jobs to go back to once their tours of duty are over. They are people like you and me, except they give up their spare time to train for possible deployment to Afghanistan or other danger zones. Ten per cent of all British soldiers serving in Afghanistan are members of the Territorial Army (TA). The 5th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers is made up of reserve soldiers from as far north as Alnwick and as far south as Doncaster and has a base in Tynemouth. Like other reserve units up and down the country, it has been asked to supply a selection of its troops for deployment to war zones including Afghanistan. Sergeant Craig Douglass, of North Shields, has been in the TA for 22 years and served in Belize in
IN times of war, the Territorial Army swells the regular army’s ranks, and it is now a vital pool of specialist military talent. Tegan Chapman joined the 5th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers on a training weekend at Catterick in North Yorkshire as it underwent preparations for possible deployment to Afghanistan or other potential danger zones. 1992, Bosnia in 1995 and Iraq in 2003, as well as once spending two weeks in Florida with the US National Guard. He is due to be promoted to colour sergeant in a few months’ time. “Going on a tour of duty puts it into perspective when you are lying in a wet hole or standing on a cold hill in a windy field in Catterick, it is what all the training is for,” said the 39-yearold. “My family are very supportive of it, and they know I have been doing it for a long time. “They know I enjoy it and accept that it’s what I do and what I enjoy doing. “It is different when you are away on a tour, as everyone has their own coping mechanisms. “You don’t find out how your family are feeling. My dad will say he is all right and that’s that, but my mum is a bit more vocal about it, but she knows why I do it. “They are both proud of what I have achieved in doing the TA and getting promoted.”
The current incarnation of the fusiliers was formed by the amalgamation of the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers (Fifth of Foot) and the Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers (Sixth of Foot), along with two other fusilier regiments, in 1968. The regiment’s 1st and 2nd battalions are full-time soldiers, but the 5th
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News Guardian, Thursday, March 29, 2012
www.newsguardian.co.uk
37
are reserves leading a double life and with nine-to-five jobs to return to after facing the realities of war
Soldiers practising their aim. Left, our reporter Tegan Chapman being given a weapon demonstration. Right, Sgt Craig Douglass and, far right, L/Cpl Dean Thompson. comprises volunteers drawn from all walks of life. Directives by the Ministry of Defence state that at least one in ten services personnel on operations must be from a volunteer unit, and soldiers based at the TA’s Tynemouth headquarters will soon be helping meet that quota. Training for the mission is already
well under way in the form of gruelling field exercises to test the tactical awareness, patrolling skills and endurance of those involved to the limit. Because they are volunteers, serving in a war zone is not compulsory for TA members, but the mission has still been embraced enthusiastically. Sgt Douglass, a nursery nurse at
Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary, added: “My day job is totally different to what we do in the TA. This is my release from work, and work is my release from this. “I work for the NHS, so if I am mobilised they have to let me go and keep a job open for me when I get back. “I am very lucky that they are supportive. When I was in Iraq, I was getting letters from the kids on the ward, which was very special. “I was lucky when I went to Iraq that I had been on tour before, so I had a bit of an idea what to expect. “The big part of it is understanding why you are there and getting the young lads to understand the reason
why they are there.” On any given weekend, reserve fusiliers and riflemen might find themselves shooting on ranges, carrying out section attacks, marching miles in full kit, known as ‘tabbing’, and preparing for any eventuality they may face. While I was there they were called on to deal with the aftermath of a simulated explosion. Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are one of the biggest threats they could face should they be deployed to the conflict. They are the faceless enemy that has resulted in the deaths of countless British and foreign soldiers. The training is designed to prepare
the soldiers for action in a war zone potentially littered with IEDs. Their training required the troops to take on different roles to get the pretend casualties to safety, secure the area around the simulated blast and search for any further IEDs, as well as dealing with the press. Despite the threat of death in a far-off land posed by improvised bombs, there are scores of TA soldiers still willing to go to war for their country. Lance Corporal Dean Thompson, 20, from North Shields, has been in the TA for three years and is hoping that he gets a call to be deployed to Afghanistan before Britain’s troops are all pulled out. “My father got me into it because he was in the Army for 22 years, and when he came out, he joined the TA, and I joined with him,” said the 20year-old. “I enjoying being in the TA because it varies week to week. “We can be doing section attacks one week or target practice and dealing with IEDs another week. “My family understand that I might get mobilised, but I think it’s easier for them, in my case, to understand because my father and my uncle were in the Army.” As well as preparing for possible deployment to war zones such as Afghanistan, Northumberland’s TA soldiers are also in training to help out closer to home – safeguarding this year’s Olympics. Captain Chris Hall, second-in-command of Z Company, said: “For many young people, given the current economic climate and the difficulty in securing employment, the TA can offer great opportunities to develop valuable skills and, of course, discipline and self-confidence.” For details of what the TA has to offer, call 0845 600 8080.
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