Afghanistan

[low plains drifter 9,461]

3 hours ago, DIDO.1 said:

They reckon kabul might fall. 

 

Trip hazards akimbo?

[FLATTOP 3,656]

My son done two tours Bastion then seven months in Kandahar the hatred he has for that shit hole is unreal when he left straight after the 2nd tour for 2/3 years he was a mess he’s still in close contact with the guys he served and almost died with but glad to say he’s started up a fire accessing business and is doing well now he’s got something to focus on.

Nothing good will ever come of that place you’ve only got to look at history to tell you sending troops there never seems to work.

Massive respect to the lads on here who have served there as a family who have had an insight into the medieval world that Afghanistan is and I suspect now will continue for years to come. 

[THE STIFFMEISTER 14,558]

5 minutes ago, FLATTOP said:

My son done two tours Bastion then seven months in Kandahar the hatred he has for that shit hole is unreal when he left straight after the 2nd tour for 2/3 years he was a mess he’s still in close contact with the guys he served and almost died with but glad to say he’s started up a fire accessing business and is doing well now he’s got something to focus on.

Nothing good will ever come of that place you’ve only got to look at history to tell you sending troops there never seems to work.

Massive respect to the lads on here who have served there as a family who have had an insight into the medieval world that Afghanistan is and I suspect now will continue for years to come. 

Glad to hear he’s doing well for himself and he still stays in touch with the lads ! 

Soldiers are guilty of letting lads drift away once they leave but that’s life i suppoose 

[TOMO 24,859]

10 hours ago, THE STIFFMEISTER said:

I can’t talk in a way that will not open a can of worms . I can’t pretend that I was all call of duty black ops , kicking doors and taking names .
but I can tell you some truths 

im a combat engineer , I served in 16 air assault brigade for 14 years . I was once part of a brotherhood and I turned away from it 2 years ago to serve my family and myself better. 

ive spoken before about leadership , about belonging , influence and the effect people can have on your life every once in a while . 
 

there’s been probably 5 people , in the military who have shaped and formed me into the person I am at home and at work . I’ve spoken before about my little mate who  has and continues to place himself in the way of hurt against the uks people . 
 

instead now I’ll write about another guy , every so often you meet a person who raises your standards . I was lucky , I was part of a very very competent section , from the lowest private , to the highest ranked snco . 
 

we had a new snco arrive ,  a staff seargeant called joe . We were aware of him , he had iconic status already , he was big , switched on , and incredibly fit . Like double Ironman man , swim the channel , up mount blanc and Everest Fit. He came in in his first day and brought paint into work . 
 

the next morning at phys he ran us harder than I’ve ever ran or heard of . We were pretty fit . But f**k me it was howling . Afterwards he said that’s the new standard , get with it or get out . 
 

it was like manner from heaven . We grew, slicker , faster , meaner until I can honestly hand in heart say we were the best troop to have ever pulled on a uniform in that Corps . Yes I  mean that . 
1 lad has an mbe 

2 at special forces 

5 with professional qualified degrees 

2 of the most junior lads are currently excelling as phase one instructors . all that was definitely done to the attitude joe imbued into us . A culture of fraternity and excellence steered by his lead from the front style . 
 

Me and my mate got it worst , I’ve lost count of the amount of times we’d get thrown about , “stop being f***ing clowns , your airborne Lance corporals , act like it ! “

As we rose through the ranks we found it easier and easier , we’d fight together , literally , and die together . On pt , on exercise , on operations . He did simple things , we got a new t shirt , an emblem of our own , you never went anywhere alone , always together , even to meals , we’d sit until everyone was finished then rise as one . It sounds cartoonish but it wasn’t . It lead to a culture , an ethos , an identity that we all still hold . 
 

his knowledge , his coaching , all led to the bettering of us as soldiers and indeed people . I ve been stood on a cliff in Dartmoor at night , with the clag all around us , holding a map and looking back at the 8 loaded lads behind me. And remembered his words . “Red in the bed , turn the dial and count your paces “ 

every tine I encounter adversity at work , it may sound twee , but regardless how little or big the challenge is the words he painted  on the wall that first day at work come to mind . 
“you have done this before “ 

now you may ask what does this have to do with Afghanistan etc . I speak to joe quite often , most weeks , just a whats app or a voice note or a picture from old . 
 

hes f****d . We were dispersed as a troop across the battle group . He was caught in an ied blast . Part of a three team . He walked away without a scratch , one lad was vapourised , the other was badly hurt. He suffers huge survivors guilt , never sleeps uninterrupted and has suffered for his reluctance to seek professional mental assistance . 
 

that’s what Afghanistan did to people . It destroyed great people and turned them into shells of them selves . 
 

they can f***ing keep it . 

 

 

 

great post mate ...but of course tinged with sadness as well ...thanks for sharing i realise it cant always be easy talking about such things...i dont think there can be many regular hairy arsed blokes like us on here that don't have the utmost respect for lads like yourselves that serve in the British armed forces ...

[TOMO 24,859]

20 minutes ago, FLATTOP said:

My son done two tours Bastion then seven months in Kandahar the hatred he has for that shit hole is unreal when he left straight after the 2nd tour for 2/3 years he was a mess he’s still in close contact with the guys he served and almost died with but glad to say he’s started up a fire accessing business and is doing well now he’s got something to focus on.

Nothing good will ever come of that place you’ve only got to look at history to tell you sending troops there never seems to work.

Massive respect to the lads on here who have served there as a family who have had an insight into the medieval world that Afghanistan is and I suspect now will continue for years to come. 

much respect mate....im glad your lad is on the mend ..it must be very hard having a son or daughter serving ....i imagine a lot of pride on one side ....but a shit ton of worry also ..

[DIDO.1 20,844]

Places like Afghanistan and Iraq are always going to pose difficult issues for the west. Can anyone watch videos of the villages that saddam gassed, see photos of children lying dead where they played in the streets and simply turn a blind eye. Unfortunately we removed one dictator and it causes decades of power struggles between other factions. Africa is the same. I cant remember if it was middle east or Africa where a charity built a new water pump and the various tribes of the town spent years killing each other over the new power over the water supply. 

The only real answer is totally let em get on with it. Remove em from our countries and totally back away.....but then China would steam in with its money. 

There's no real answer to it 

[Francie 6,362]

I look at it like this if your not defending your own country,then you've no buisness been in anyone elses armed to the teeth.

Governments dont care about there soldiers,I'm sorry to say it but the army are just pawns used an ABUSED by there masters to make them even more wealthy an fight proxy wars against there foes.

An when they leave,most have to defend for themselves,dropped like a bag of shite.

Brave people who put it all on the line to be used an abused.

 

Edited August 13, 2021 by Francie

[tatsblisters 7,926]

To say the Taliban on the face of it look like a rag taggle bunch of cave dwellers they do seem organised and have a never ending arms supply.

[DIDO.1 20,844]

27 minutes ago, Francie said:

I look at it like this if your not defending your own country,then you've no buisness been in anyone elses armed to the teeth.

Governments dont care about there soldiers,I'm sorry to say it but the army are just pawns used an ABUSED by there masters to make them even more wealthy an fight proxy wars against there foes.

An when they leave,most have to defend for themselves,dropped like a bag of shite.

Brave people who put it all on the line to be used an abused.

 

Yeah but soldiers want to fight, its part of human nature, even if they come to regret it later. You can't train for years to fight then spend your time polishing the parade ground. 

Equally if Angela Merkel built camps and started gassing minorities we would have to act. 

Britain wouldn't be the nation it is now without our leaders sending them off to build empires. 

Unfortunately I think as long as Islam exists there will never be peace on earth. Fighting them is like trying to fight cockroaches in a sewer 

[DIDO.1 20,844]

22 minutes ago, tatsblisters said:

To say the Taliban on the face of it look like a rag taggle bunch of cave dwellers they do seem organised and have a never ending arms supply.

True 

[WILF 44,262]

Soldiers do their job, when they are on the ground they are very, very good indeed……what happens after is totally in the hands of politicians and the people who elect them.

If you start talking in terms of “worth it” then we would all be saying WW2 wasn’t worth it.

The only people that ultimately let soldiers down are us…..they never let us down.

[Nicepix 5,650]

Oman, Cyprus, Northern Ireland and Afghanistan all demonstrate that you cannot fight a guerilla war whilst being bound by the Geneva Convention.  When the enemy has no rules or morales, how can you expect your own army to accept that they could be hauled up in court 20 or more years later?

Something has to give.

[WILF 44,262]

43 minutes ago, Nicepix said:

Oman, Cyprus, Northern Ireland and Afghanistan all demonstrate that you cannot fight a guerilla war whilst being bound by the Geneva Convention.  When the enemy has no rules or morales, how can you expect your own army to accept that they could be hauled up in court 20 or more years later?

Something has to give.

To be fair, hauling soldiers into court to placate terrorists is a fairly recent turnout (25 years ish) and we elected the people doing it.

Rules and a sense or right and wrong are what separate our professional soldiers from these utter animals so again, I don’t think that’s worth talking about.

[socks 32,253]

Afghanistan is a lost cause and always will be unless a full military presence is in place forever and no government especially ours can afford that. That may change if a rare mineral or oil is found other than that it’s not going to happen. 
the most intense fighting I encountered in my career was in Iraq and Afghanistan but by far the worst atrocities I witnessed that stay with you forever was in Kosovo due to the ethnic cleansing that was being carried out in the small villages. 
the greatest horror writers couldn’t stretch their minds to some of the vilest sick acts that were carried out there. 

[socks 32,253]

4 hours ago, TOMO said:

great post mate ...but of course tinged with sadness as well ...thanks for sharing i realise it cant always be easy talking about such things...i dont think there can be many regular hairy arsed blokes like us on here that don't have the utmost respect for lads like yourselves that serve in the British armed forces ...

You don’t show me any respect you fat fukcer …….