Description
Object description
British officer served as Platoon Commander of 4 Platoon, B Company, the 3rd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment (3 PARA) in Afghanistan om Operation Herrick 11, 2009-2010
Content description
REEL 1 Recollections of operations as 3rd Bn Parachute Regt in Operation Herrick 13 in Afghanistan, 2010-2011: background to enlistment; skills and knowledge gleaned from tour; role as platoon commander; awareness of situation and culture in Afghanistan; pre-deployment training; flight from GB to Afghanistan; initial impressions of Afghanistan; character of Camp Bastion; daily routine in patrol base; rations; accommodation and ablutions; waste disposal; contact with home; opinion of Afghan National Army; contact with Afghan civilians; character of Afghan National Police; preparations for patrols; conduct of patrols.
REEL 2 Continues: size of patrols; arms and equipment carried on patrols; clothing worn and equipment worn; terrain; climate; method of patrolling; attitude to being in combat; IED threat; procedure on finding IED; discovery of large IED; protective glasses worn against IED blast; IED threat to vehicles from Direct Shrapnel Charges; unit casualties; dealing with casualty; question of contrast between Afghanistan conflict and First and Second World Wars.
REEL 3 Continues: Taliban weapons; opinion of Taliban; engagement in which Taliban insurgent was killed in orchard; reaction to incident; attitude to tour; question of presence of ISAF in Afghanistan; public perception of British Army role in Afghanistan; question of media coverage of conflict; dealing with Taliban prisoners; view of Afghanistan conflict; opinion of role of battalion during tour; question of impact of conflict on Afghanistan; amusing story of South African soldier requesting to take live goat on helicopter.