Our Troops - My Thoughts

[Claw75]

best of luck with the op Geo -  hope it all goes well xx

[Laxie]

Will be thinking of you.  xx

[cia260895]

compared to your tour of duty in  N.I am sure the hospital will be a piaece of pee for yah

 gl 

[Geo the Sarge]

compared to your tour of duty in  N.I am sure the hospital will be a piaece of pee for yah

 gl 

I so Lolled at this Ian........if you only knew, am at work, will explain later

geo

[cia260895]

ouch

[mondatoo]

best of luck with the op Geo -  hope it all goes well xx

[Robert HM]

best of luck with the op Geo -  hope it all goes well xx

[RED-DOG]

I tell you what I fancy a minor rant whilst here, wtf are all these people celebrating some bint with a nose the size of a snow plough, who could only be loved by her mother.

I'm sorry Phat, but shame on you.

[Maxriddles]

best of luck with the op Geo -  hope it all goes well xx

[b4matt]

This thread-


It's made me think about subjects that are difficult and that I'd rather wash over.

It's moved me to tears.

It's made my chest swell with pride at how our armed forces act.

It's made me embarrassed at how 'we' treat our forces.

It's made me more aware of bullying and it's consequences.

It's made me proud to be British and embarrassed at the same time.

Is outstanding.

Thanks Geo. We're lucky to have shared this. x

This thread has to be best of Blonde.

[Geo the Sarge]

Appreciate the responses guys and can promise there is a lot to come however time is tight at the moment.

One for you all to ponder. In my first story I explained a difficult period we had with the media and 1 tabloid in particular who ran a story of how my brother and another had supposedly tossed coins to see who was going to lead the patrol in which he was killed, which, as I explained, was total nonsense.

Well guess what, the media ran a story shortly after we buried John Matthews of how he was only leading this patrol as the intended patrol leader had dental problems and John had volunteered to take this patrol.

Now, whether this is true or not is very difficult to prove. The soldier named was a very good friend of John's and indeed was one of the coffin bearers in what was a very emotional day. We have more respect than others and so this subject was not raised with the named individual, however it was discussed with others who were there. they have said this did not happen and in fact, John was one of three SNCO's attached o the Afghan Army as trainers and each had their own section of men who they were training and were responsible for leading on any such patrol. The men that John patrolled with that day we have been informed, were the men he had been training.

Whilst stories like this may glamourise or attempt to gain more respect or whatever for John, no consideration is given by these cretins for the effect such stories have on the named individual. As I said, it matters not if it was true or not, potentially these things happen in life. If it was the case, then this guy would have it on his conscience anyway, why rub salt in the wound. It's yet another example of the heartless way in which the media report on such things.

What was even more disturbing during our conversation was this.

These patrols have been attacked more often in recent times and serious concerns have been raised by the British Commanders due to the fact that despite all their efforts, the terrorists seem to know exactly where and when these guys are going to be patrolling. To let you understand, in Afghanistan it is not the case that the soldiers make their way out on foot and start their patrols from base and can then easily be monitored by the terrorists (this was the case quite often in N Ireland.)

For most patrols, they will leave by vehicle (armoured vehicle/helicopter) and will be dropped off at a point from which they will then commence their patrol. They will then complete their patrol at a given RV and will be picked up again and driven/flown back to base. Foot patrolling from and to a base is very very dangerous and is seldomn done.

The discussion centred around a few incidents that happened a few months ago between the higher formations of the British & Afghan Army. When we first got involved in the training of the Afghan Army and we took them on some operation/patrol, only the British Army higher formations knew the exact details of these patrols, timings/drop-offs/routes/pick ups etc.

Now this has came from a couple of the SNCO's that have been involved in the training.

Earlier this year the Afghan higher formations complained that they were not being kept informed of these operations and wanted to be given more details of future patrols. The British Army officers argued against this as they could not have any guarantee that this info would not be leaked by "plants" within the Afghan forces and at first continued to only give this info to those involved in the operations. the Afghan goverment put pressure on our government to have this info shared with the Afghan higher formations and is usually the case, our government, even knowing the possible implications relented and this info is now shared.

As these SNCO's said, is it any wonder that since then these patrols are being hit more regularly.

It really does beggar believe. Our government are always trumping off at how we should all be supporting our troops, regardless whether we condone them being sent there.

What pisses me well off is the fact that in my 23 years in the Army, I never experienced any lack of support from Joe public, I cannot always say that of my government. As much as some detested her, it wouldn't have happened in Maggies day.


Geo

[Tonji]

This thread-


It's made me think about subjects that are difficult and that I'd rather wash over.

It's moved me to tears.

It's made my chest swell with pride at how our armed forces act.

It's made me embarrassed at how 'we' treat our forces.

It's made me more aware of bullying and it's consequences.

It's made me proud to be British and embarrassed at the same time.

Is outstanding.

Thanks Geo. We're lucky to have shared this. x

This thread has to be best of Blonde.

 

Hope your well Geo?

Just a gentle prod for more of your thoughts Geo.

[lazaroonie]

just found this thread, and really astonished at the courage of Geo to write some of this stuff down.

Hope the operation was a success and you put that extra 2 inches to good use.....

 

[Geo the Sarge]

This thread-


It's made me think about subjects that are difficult and that I'd rather wash over.

It's moved me to tears.

It's made my chest swell with pride at how our armed forces act.

It's made me embarrassed at how 'we' treat our forces.

It's made me more aware of bullying and it's consequences.

It's made me proud to be British and embarrassed at the same time.

Is outstanding.

Thanks Geo. We're lucky to have shared this. x

This thread has to be best of Blonde.

 

Hope your well Geo?

Just a gentle prod for more of your thoughts Geo.

Yes mate, Im fine, it's getting annoying though, no word yet, I've got the GP chasing it (told him not to chase too hard before next weekend though.)

just found this thread, and really astonished at the courage of Geo to write some of this stuff down.

Hope the operation was a success and you put that extra 2 inches to good use.....

 

LOL, i could do with them Laz...........unfortunately they're gonna lob some off. I have an enlarged prostate (not too serious in itself, it's an old man's thing) and a shruken piss tube. They need to circumsise and then go in and stretch the tube.

You'll probs remember the Billy Connolly sketch about the guy who goes for a piss and it ends up everywhere but the urinal, well that's what I'm going through at the mo. Can be fkin hilarious at times but is becoming really annoying TBH.

Whenever I'm out I tend not to use the urinals and lock myself in the cubicle just to have a piss ffs!!. Also annoying I can never empty the bladder properly so end up visiting the loo more often than I care for, especially when playing poker.

Can't complain too much though, there's no pain and not life threatening so grateful for small merices eh.

I've written quite a bit more but want to wait till after the op so I can go Full Tilt for a week or two.

Great to see you back and look forward to seeing you at Luton.

OP at Edinburgh tomorrow at 1.

Geo.

[Geo the Sarge]

Finally had my op yesterday, worried over nowt to be honest, in, had the chop and tube straightened and back out of hossy all in 4 hours. The miracle of modern medicine eh. It hurts like hell, however that will only be for a few days. Been given painkillers but I’m not a lover of medicines etc. so take them only when it gets unbearable.

As promised, time to get down a few more thoughts and stories of life as a soldier.  Ironically I start up again on Rememberance Sunday whilst watching the Songs of Praise programme on soldier poets.

It’s very hard putting the horrors and thoughts of war into word, however some of these guys did it amazingly well. This is one of my favourite which I found some time back and recently posted on Tikay’s thread, I make no apologies for posting it here again:



                "Please wear a poppy," the lady said
                And held one forth, but I shook my head.
          Then I stopped and watched as she offered them there,
               And her face was old and lined with care;
                But beneath the scars the years had made
              There remained a smile that refused to fade.
                                   
                  A boy came whistling down the street,
                    Bouncing along on care-free feet.
                   His smile was full of joy and fun,
                   "Lady," said he, "may I have one?"
                When she's pinned it on he turned to say,
                     "Why do we wear a poppy today?"
                                   
                   The lady smiled in her wistful way
                 And answered, "This is Remembrance Day,
                  And the poppy there is the symbol for
                    The gallant men who died in war.
               And because they did, you and I are free -
                  That's why we wear a poppy, you see.
                                   
                      "I had a boy about your size,
                   With golden hair and big blue eyes.
                  He loved to play and jump and shout,
                   Free as a bird he would race about.
                As the years went by he learned and grew
                  and became a man - as you will, too.
                                   
              "He was fine and strong, with a boyish smile,
               But he'd seemed with us such a little while
                  When war broke out and he went away.
                   I still remember his face that day
                When he smiled at me and said,  Goodbye,
              I'll be back soon, Mom, so please don't cry.
                                   
                "But the war went on and he had to stay,
                  And all I could do was wait and pray.
                  His letters told of the awful fight,
               (I can see it still in my dreams at night),
             With the tanks and guns and cruel barbed wire,
             And the mines and bullets, the bombs and fire.
                                   
                "Till at last, at last, the war was won-
                  And that's why we wear a poppy son."
                    The small boy turned as if to go,
               Then said, "Thanks, lady, I'm glad to know.
                That sure did sound like an awful fight,
               But your son - did he come back all right?"
                                   
                  A tear rolled down each faded cheek;
                  She shook her head, but didn't speak.
                    I slunk away in a sort of shame,
              And if you were me you'd have done the same;
               For our thanks, in giving, if oft delayed,
          Thought our freedom was bought - and thousands paid!
                                   
                    And so when we see a poppy worn,
                   Let us reflect on the burden borne,
                    By those who gave their very all
                When asked to answer their country's call
                  That we at home in peace might live.
                Then wear a poppy!   Remember - and give!
                                   
                                              by Don Crawford