WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:03.720 Hey, everyone, Welcome to the team house. I'm Jack Murphy 2 00:00:03.960 --> 00:00:07.240 here with today's guest Jay Morton. Jay served in the 3 00:00:07.240 --> 00:00:10.519 British Parachute Regiment and then in the Special Air Service, 4 00:00:11.320 --> 00:00:15.320 multiple deployments to Iraq in Afghanistan, and today he is 5 00:00:15.400 --> 00:00:19.960 an ambassador for Delta three Oscar, which we'll get into. Jay, 6 00:00:19.960 --> 00:00:21.519 thank you for joining us on the show today. 7 00:00:22.600 --> 00:00:24.039 Awesome, thank you for having me. Jack. 8 00:00:24.079 --> 00:00:28.719 Whereabouts in the world? I here, We're in Brooklyn, amazing. 9 00:00:28.839 --> 00:00:32.359 I've never been to New York. To Brooklyn's New York right. 10 00:00:32.520 --> 00:00:36.119 Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, come visit. Man, be happy 11 00:00:36.119 --> 00:00:36.679 to have you here. 12 00:00:37.920 --> 00:00:38.119 Yeah. 13 00:00:38.600 --> 00:00:44.520 I love the US. I was recently out in Montana 14 00:00:44.679 --> 00:00:45.439 in Whitefish. 15 00:00:45.560 --> 00:00:47.079 Oh yeah, beautiful out there. 16 00:00:47.840 --> 00:00:49.520 Yeah. San Diego, California. 17 00:00:49.679 --> 00:00:53.640 I was there for the NASCAR race and then spent 18 00:00:53.719 --> 00:00:54.799 some time in Laguna Beach. 19 00:00:54.840 --> 00:00:56.479 But I'm going back out in August. 20 00:00:56.640 --> 00:01:00.960 So yeah, I'm potentially gonna to stay over there for 21 00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:05.640 the three months on my esther during winter because our 22 00:01:05.640 --> 00:01:08.760 winters are pretty pretty rainy and wet over here in 23 00:01:08.799 --> 00:01:09.200 the UK. 24 00:01:09.879 --> 00:01:11.599 Well, it looks pretty nice where you are now. 25 00:01:12.920 --> 00:01:13.560 It's beautiful. 26 00:01:13.560 --> 00:01:16.760 We're midsummer and I live in a place called Bournemouth, 27 00:01:16.799 --> 00:01:20.959 which is on the coast, so my apartment's pretty much 28 00:01:20.959 --> 00:01:23.560 opposite the beach, which is good stuff. 29 00:01:23.680 --> 00:01:28.879 That's great, So Jay, I guess we'll start at the beginning, right. 30 00:01:29.560 --> 00:01:33.159 I usually ask our guests what their origin story is, 31 00:01:33.799 --> 00:01:35.319 if you tell us a little bit about you know, 32 00:01:35.359 --> 00:01:36.480 what your upbringing was like. 33 00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:42.120 Yeah, of course, so British born. I grew up in 34 00:01:42.159 --> 00:01:45.799 a town called Preston, which, if anyone knows the football 35 00:01:45.840 --> 00:01:49.719 team Manchester United, it's probably about an hour north from 36 00:01:50.319 --> 00:01:55.920 Manchester United, just a small working class city. Grew up 37 00:01:55.959 --> 00:02:02.200 with normal parents, mother and father, older brother, and went 38 00:02:02.239 --> 00:02:07.920 to school, loved playing sport, hated school, So there was 39 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:11.000 I think I'd always wanted to go into the military. 40 00:02:11.039 --> 00:02:14.120 At some stage I wanted to join the Royal Marines. 41 00:02:14.159 --> 00:02:17.280 Growing up, or before that, I wanted to be a fireman. 42 00:02:17.360 --> 00:02:20.039 I think as a kid full of testosterone, I was 43 00:02:20.080 --> 00:02:24.719 always driven, driven or drawn to kind of dangerous jobs. 44 00:02:25.120 --> 00:02:29.520 And yeah, at the time, there was a mate of. 45 00:02:29.479 --> 00:02:32.840 Mine at school that we were like two of the 46 00:02:33.560 --> 00:02:36.039 fittest guys in school and we're always kind of competing 47 00:02:36.080 --> 00:02:39.080 and battling in sports, and he actually joined the Parastreet 48 00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:42.680 Regiment when he left and went and enjoyed three Para, 49 00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:45.240 which is one of the battalions, and he come back 50 00:02:45.280 --> 00:02:48.360 on leave and always tell me these stories about what 51 00:02:48.479 --> 00:02:52.400 he was up to, and it was mainly around shooting 52 00:02:52.439 --> 00:02:54.759 guns and going out and getting pissed with the boys. 53 00:02:55.360 --> 00:02:59.560 But weirdly you kind of draw into that, and I 54 00:02:59.599 --> 00:03:03.560 think look back retrospectively, it's more about the teamwork and 55 00:03:03.639 --> 00:03:08.280 the camaraderie ship and being part of a you know, 56 00:03:08.319 --> 00:03:11.280 a shared purpose and a shared goal that you're more 57 00:03:11.400 --> 00:03:14.800 drawn to. But as an eighteen year old, nineteen year 58 00:03:14.840 --> 00:03:18.759 old lad, hearing stories about fighting in the town and 59 00:03:18.840 --> 00:03:21.439 like getting pissed and all that kind of stuff is 60 00:03:21.719 --> 00:03:23.000 what it's kind of masked as. 61 00:03:24.800 --> 00:03:27.360 So, Yeah, I ended up joining in the Parachute. 62 00:03:26.960 --> 00:03:32.000 Regiment age nineteen, which was a massive shock to the system. 63 00:03:32.319 --> 00:03:34.879 It was probably the first time I've been away from 64 00:03:34.879 --> 00:03:38.800 my hometown and traveled and went to live in a 65 00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:41.360 different place in the UK and they're based in Essex 66 00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:47.719 in Colchester. And yeah, shortly after, obviously we deployed to 67 00:03:48.039 --> 00:03:50.400 It was kind of the back end of the Second 68 00:03:50.400 --> 00:03:56.039 Gulf War and we deployed out to Iraq for three 69 00:03:56.080 --> 00:03:59.400 months on a short deployment, and it was the back 70 00:03:59.479 --> 00:04:03.680 end of that or that obviously you guys over across 71 00:04:03.680 --> 00:04:06.599 the Pond were talking about going over into Afghanistan. And 72 00:04:07.599 --> 00:04:12.039 we literally came back from that short deployment. We all 73 00:04:12.080 --> 00:04:14.759 got pulled into a tent just before we flew back 74 00:04:14.800 --> 00:04:18.480 and got told that the US are looking at going 75 00:04:18.519 --> 00:04:22.560 into Afghanistan and there's a potential that our battle group 76 00:04:23.160 --> 00:04:24.920 and battalion we're going to be the first ones to 77 00:04:24.920 --> 00:04:27.879 go in two thousand and six. And we flew back, 78 00:04:27.959 --> 00:04:31.240 had a short period of leave and then I think 79 00:04:31.319 --> 00:04:34.120 we had, you know, three or four weeks leave. We 80 00:04:34.160 --> 00:04:36.040 got pulled back in flown out to a man for 81 00:04:36.480 --> 00:04:40.120 a six week training package, had like a couple of 82 00:04:40.160 --> 00:04:42.720 weeks leave, and then deployed out to Afghanistan, and that 83 00:04:42.800 --> 00:04:47.759 kind of kicked off the Afghanistan deployment specifically for the 84 00:04:47.839 --> 00:04:49.360 UK and for you guys as well. 85 00:04:50.600 --> 00:04:53.800 Just to back up a little bit, what was the 86 00:04:54.000 --> 00:04:58.040 sort of selection process like to get into the parras. 87 00:04:59.720 --> 00:05:05.000 Yeah, yeah, so we run a selection process. It's in total, 88 00:05:05.160 --> 00:05:08.959 the training block is six months long. So we call 89 00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:11.279 that basic training. I don't know what you guys call it. 90 00:05:12.759 --> 00:05:17.600 And so yeah, it's a six month long period to 91 00:05:17.680 --> 00:05:21.079 take you from being a civilian, you know, an eighteen 92 00:05:21.160 --> 00:05:24.680 year old scrot all the way to being a well 93 00:05:25.279 --> 00:05:27.720 to join in a professional soldier in unit. Whether you 94 00:05:27.720 --> 00:05:29.680 can call yourself a professional soldier at the end of 95 00:05:29.680 --> 00:05:35.639 six months is debatable. And yeah, I mean the first 96 00:05:35.759 --> 00:05:40.519 six weeks it's pretty much shock of capture, shave your head. 97 00:05:41.720 --> 00:05:44.560 Give you a set uniform that you have to wear 98 00:05:44.639 --> 00:05:49.240 every day even when you're not in military uniform. When 99 00:05:49.240 --> 00:05:51.639 you're out in military uniform, it's a set of like 100 00:05:52.800 --> 00:05:58.439 blue Ronhill joggers, so the kind of leggings that the 101 00:05:58.519 --> 00:06:00.839 runners used to wear in like the seven tees and 102 00:06:01.079 --> 00:06:05.480 a maroon jumper. And then the kind of selection process 103 00:06:05.560 --> 00:06:08.399 for it. It's called Pea Company, So that's a week 104 00:06:08.480 --> 00:06:12.879 long selection process and it's passing, pass or fail, and 105 00:06:12.959 --> 00:06:15.399 it consists of a series of. 106 00:06:17.160 --> 00:06:17.600 Tests. 107 00:06:18.360 --> 00:06:21.160 So we've got the ten mileer, which is done I 108 00:06:21.240 --> 00:06:24.000 think I think it's one hour and fifty I'm not 109 00:06:24.079 --> 00:06:27.360 quite sure. We have a twenty miler. We have a steeplechase, 110 00:06:28.120 --> 00:06:33.959 a log race, and a stretcher race, and there's other 111 00:06:34.040 --> 00:06:38.959 things like the Trenasium, which is an assault course, and yeah, 112 00:06:39.000 --> 00:06:42.079 you're not allowed to fail or come off one of those, 113 00:06:44.120 --> 00:06:47.399 And to be honest, being nineteen years old, it was 114 00:06:48.160 --> 00:06:53.680 pretty fucking hard. I played amateur rugby growing up. I 115 00:06:53.680 --> 00:06:57.360 played rugby league, I played football, I played volleyball, and 116 00:06:57.439 --> 00:07:03.519 kind of nothing prepares you for for military basic training 117 00:07:03.600 --> 00:07:09.000 and specifically PEA company. You know, I wouldn't class myself 118 00:07:09.000 --> 00:07:13.680 as being one of the fittest people there. I definitely 119 00:07:13.720 --> 00:07:18.800 wasn't the weakest. I think personally, I have like an 120 00:07:18.800 --> 00:07:21.959 ability to just be able to hang on and not 121 00:07:22.079 --> 00:07:24.199 be the person that comes in first every time, but 122 00:07:24.439 --> 00:07:27.319 never fall off anything. And I think as a soldier 123 00:07:27.319 --> 00:07:29.399 in the parachute regiment, we're kind of looking for that 124 00:07:29.720 --> 00:07:32.160 those people that not only can do ten miles or 125 00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:36.600 twenty miles, but those people that can continuously push for 126 00:07:36.600 --> 00:07:42.279 forty to fifty miles, you know, with limited amount of sleep, water, food, 127 00:07:42.319 --> 00:07:46.160 all that kind of stuff. So yeah, so I got 128 00:07:46.160 --> 00:07:50.240 through first time, and but yeah, it was pretty hard. 129 00:07:51.399 --> 00:07:55.480 And for our American listeners, if you could explain a 130 00:07:55.519 --> 00:07:58.680 little bit about the history of the British paras and 131 00:07:58.720 --> 00:08:01.199 sort of what their mission is, how it differs from 132 00:08:01.199 --> 00:08:03.240 some of the other units like the Royal Marines. 133 00:08:05.920 --> 00:08:12.120 Yeah, so our powers the equivalent of your airborne And 134 00:08:12.360 --> 00:08:15.879 I'll get the dates completely wrong, but we were formed 135 00:08:15.920 --> 00:08:19.160 in World War Two. I'm going to say nineteen forty two, 136 00:08:19.279 --> 00:08:21.800 nineteen forty four, but I'll probably get that completely wrong. 137 00:08:23.199 --> 00:08:24.639 And yeah, we were. 138 00:08:24.480 --> 00:08:29.439 Formed as an airborne unit that was designed to be 139 00:08:29.560 --> 00:08:32.519 dropped behind enemy lines in World War Two and cause 140 00:08:32.559 --> 00:08:38.120 absolute havoc. So yeah, you know the kind of missions 141 00:08:38.120 --> 00:08:40.320 that we were. 142 00:08:40.159 --> 00:08:42.159 Done back then, we did just that. 143 00:08:42.240 --> 00:08:45.720 You know, because an infantry unit or a mechanized unit 144 00:08:45.759 --> 00:08:50.159 could be seen coming from so far out in terms 145 00:08:50.200 --> 00:08:53.639 of ground sign and movement and all that kind of stuff, 146 00:08:53.679 --> 00:08:56.879 they could be picked up by aircraft. An airborne unit 147 00:08:57.000 --> 00:09:00.320 was simply designed to just drop either behind enemy lines 148 00:09:00.320 --> 00:09:05.159 were close to and just go straight into combat. Obviously 149 00:09:05.440 --> 00:09:08.919 it's not used as frequently now, but I think the 150 00:09:09.039 --> 00:09:11.879 kind of ethos of the parachute regimen is still there 151 00:09:11.919 --> 00:09:14.879 in terms of we train to be able to deliver 152 00:09:14.960 --> 00:09:19.120 the fight at any moment's time. So even though we're 153 00:09:19.159 --> 00:09:21.720 not getting dropped behind enemy lines, we still carry that 154 00:09:22.840 --> 00:09:25.919 tenacity as a fighting unit into anything that we do. 155 00:09:27.200 --> 00:09:30.600 Hence why you know, we were the first unit that 156 00:09:30.639 --> 00:09:33.600 got picked Guard into Afghanistan in two thousand and six. 157 00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:35.200 Yeah. 158 00:09:35.399 --> 00:09:38.320 I will also get the dates and names completely wrong. 159 00:09:38.360 --> 00:09:43.639 But as I recall, our American Airborne got our berets 160 00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:47.320 from you guys. It was during World War Two, and 161 00:09:47.480 --> 00:09:50.159 I think it was the British commander's wife, who was 162 00:09:50.200 --> 00:09:53.279 a poet, thought the boys would look very sharp wearing 163 00:09:53.320 --> 00:09:57.559 maroon berets, and so we got the maroon beret from 164 00:09:57.559 --> 00:09:58.080 you guys. 165 00:09:59.279 --> 00:10:03.919 Yeah, awesome. You guys also have it as well. I noticed, yep, yep. 166 00:10:05.399 --> 00:10:10.120 I So fast forward a little bit back to that 167 00:10:10.159 --> 00:10:13.320 first deployment to Afghanistan. You said it was two thousand. 168 00:10:13.000 --> 00:10:16.279 And six, correct, two thousand and six. 169 00:10:16.639 --> 00:10:19.440 And so we talk about like the unit carrying that 170 00:10:19.480 --> 00:10:23.200 tenacity with it in the combat. What was that mission 171 00:10:23.279 --> 00:10:25.600 set and where were you guys deployed to in Afghanistan? 172 00:10:27.639 --> 00:10:32.080 Yeah, I mean, initially Afghanistan was looked at from a 173 00:10:32.159 --> 00:10:38.240 peacekeeping operation, and I don't think anyone knew that Afghanistan 174 00:10:38.360 --> 00:10:42.879 was going to turn into what it turned into. And specifically, 175 00:10:42.919 --> 00:10:48.799 you know, pre deployment, I was a private soldier and 176 00:10:49.440 --> 00:10:53.039 you know, twenty years old, and you didn't really have 177 00:10:53.360 --> 00:10:58.159 an idea of strategic position of why we were going in. 178 00:11:00.159 --> 00:11:03.200 You know, from my eyes, it looked like you guys 179 00:11:03.200 --> 00:11:05.519 were going in for whatever reasons, and we were just 180 00:11:06.159 --> 00:11:12.360 backing you up as allies across the pond. And initially 181 00:11:12.440 --> 00:11:16.840 when we deployed, it was there was obviously no fighting. 182 00:11:18.440 --> 00:11:23.519 So the UK built a huge military base called Bastion. 183 00:11:24.840 --> 00:11:27.559 So the US main one was was Kandahar Airfield, and 184 00:11:27.600 --> 00:11:30.960 then we built one called Bastian. At the time, Bastian 185 00:11:31.039 --> 00:11:35.360 hadn't been complete, it was still under construction, and we 186 00:11:35.360 --> 00:11:39.399 were living in those green army six by nine or 187 00:11:39.399 --> 00:11:41.759 whatever they're called tents, the campus ones that a bit 188 00:11:41.799 --> 00:11:49.080 a pretty much since nineteen forty two. So we were 189 00:11:49.080 --> 00:11:53.480 living in those, sleeping on camp cots, eating ten man rations. 190 00:11:53.480 --> 00:11:57.600 There weren't established kitchens, and they were constructing this camp Bastion, 191 00:11:58.080 --> 00:11:59.720 And I remember the first kind of week we were 192 00:11:59.720 --> 00:12:02.279 out there, we were just going out for some acclimatization 193 00:12:02.440 --> 00:12:05.159 runs because the heat was we were out there in 194 00:12:05.200 --> 00:12:07.759 the summer, so the heat was, you know, forty fifty degrees, 195 00:12:08.840 --> 00:12:11.799 but I always remember there was this fine dust everywhere 196 00:12:12.519 --> 00:12:16.240 and almost like cement, and we'd be out on runs 197 00:12:16.279 --> 00:12:20.120 just running through this cement dust whilst these diggers were 198 00:12:20.120 --> 00:12:24.080 like building walls and Mesco bastling walls, and yeah, we 199 00:12:24.120 --> 00:12:29.080 were just inhaling it like dumb twenty year old, but yeah, 200 00:12:29.159 --> 00:12:29.399 it was. 201 00:12:29.639 --> 00:12:30.960 It was soft posture. 202 00:12:31.000 --> 00:12:36.480 And we actually took two forty sevens into a town 203 00:12:36.559 --> 00:12:42.759 called Gesch and landed just outside and we put a 204 00:12:42.840 --> 00:12:45.480 patrolling through the town and nothing happened. 205 00:12:45.519 --> 00:12:48.039 It was reasonably pleasant and friendly. 206 00:12:48.080 --> 00:12:53.360 I actually remember there was an old man that was 207 00:12:53.399 --> 00:12:55.360 selling ice cream on the side of the street and 208 00:12:55.360 --> 00:12:57.919 he actually made me a mister whippy. And I was 209 00:12:57.960 --> 00:13:01.919 stood on one knee with my GPMG facing all arcs 210 00:13:02.000 --> 00:13:04.639 making sure the bad guys didn't come, and he just 211 00:13:04.679 --> 00:13:09.360 walked up to me and passed me this ice cream. 212 00:13:09.559 --> 00:13:11.919 I like to say, lad, you think I should eat this? 213 00:13:12.039 --> 00:13:15.440 Or is just like poisoned to what? And I ate 214 00:13:15.519 --> 00:13:17.879 it in the end. But but yeah, I mean that 215 00:13:17.960 --> 00:13:21.360 goes back to Afghanistan. You know, It's like I think, 216 00:13:21.399 --> 00:13:24.759 deep down probably you know, regardless of what happens there, 217 00:13:24.799 --> 00:13:28.960 I'm sure they're a friendly, welcoming group of people with 218 00:13:29.519 --> 00:13:31.879 a solid culture. I mean they're stone women as well, 219 00:13:31.919 --> 00:13:36.120 but I'm sure there's there's other good sides of their culture. 220 00:13:36.559 --> 00:13:37.120 And then. 221 00:13:38.440 --> 00:13:40.440 Yeah, we were in Gosh for a week or two 222 00:13:40.519 --> 00:13:43.600 weeks and then we got deployed. In fact, we were 223 00:13:44.519 --> 00:13:46.639 our role was CQ. 224 00:13:46.799 --> 00:13:47.840 Not cqb. 225 00:13:49.440 --> 00:13:52.879 Q RF, so Quick Reaction Force whilst we were in 226 00:13:52.919 --> 00:13:55.720 the camp and at this stage we'd move to proper 227 00:13:55.759 --> 00:13:59.080 accommodation I think, No, we hadn't. Were still the in 228 00:13:59.159 --> 00:14:03.080 the tent and our patrols unit were OUTE. So our 229 00:14:03.240 --> 00:14:06.759 kind of brigade or our battalion WRECKI force were out 230 00:14:06.840 --> 00:14:10.720 in vehicles the old school limis, so the old land 231 00:14:10.799 --> 00:14:14.080 rover defenders that had a fifty calor a GPMG on 232 00:14:14.120 --> 00:14:18.840 the back and a GPMG on the front. And they'd 233 00:14:18.879 --> 00:14:23.120 been hitting a contact and one of the vehicles had 234 00:14:23.159 --> 00:14:25.240 been hit by an RPG and they'd extracted from the 235 00:14:25.320 --> 00:14:29.080 vehicle and were you seeking cover somewhere And they put 236 00:14:29.080 --> 00:14:31.879 a call out to the Quick Reaction Force and it 237 00:14:31.919 --> 00:14:35.919 was myself and my company, so a company we got 238 00:14:36.039 --> 00:14:38.559 task for the job, jumped on two h forty seven 239 00:14:38.639 --> 00:14:44.919 lifters and landed in the middle of this farmers fielding Nawzad. 240 00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:49.679 And this is probably about three weeks into being in theater, 241 00:14:50.840 --> 00:14:52.799 and we all ran off the back of this helly 242 00:14:52.840 --> 00:14:56.759 and ran towards this wall, and I literally remember as 243 00:14:56.840 --> 00:14:59.159 the Helles were lifting, you could hear the crack and 244 00:14:59.159 --> 00:15:02.879 thump of rounds flying over our head. And obviously that 245 00:15:02.919 --> 00:15:04.799 got louder as the hell he lifted. And I remember 246 00:15:04.879 --> 00:15:07.639 just looking to the lads to the left and right. 247 00:15:07.679 --> 00:15:10.080 I mean, we're all just burst out in laughter with 248 00:15:10.200 --> 00:15:12.919 that kind of you know, that laughing in the face 249 00:15:12.919 --> 00:15:17.159 of adversity kind of thing. We we had no intention 250 00:15:17.279 --> 00:15:20.320 or idea that this operation was going to go noisy, 251 00:15:20.399 --> 00:15:21.480 let alone Afghanistan. 252 00:15:21.639 --> 00:15:23.240 Afghanistan was going to go noisy. 253 00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:30.399 And yeah, that turned into a probably a seven to 254 00:15:31.399 --> 00:15:35.120 nine hour contact of I was trying to fight forward 255 00:15:35.200 --> 00:15:39.080 to get to this women. At one stage, one of 256 00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:46.919 the one of the sections in my platoon when left 257 00:15:46.960 --> 00:15:50.720 flanking on a on a position on a compound, and 258 00:15:50.879 --> 00:15:55.279 I always remember prig Pol was the section commander, and 259 00:15:55.919 --> 00:15:58.240 he literally turned around to his team and when if 260 00:15:58.279 --> 00:16:00.320 you've got wife or kids, stay here, the rest of 261 00:16:00.360 --> 00:16:03.480 you come with me, and he took the guy's left flanking. 262 00:16:03.600 --> 00:16:09.840 And yeah, they they obviously went round engaged in with 263 00:16:09.960 --> 00:16:14.279 the threat where needed, and yeah, it was it was 264 00:16:14.320 --> 00:16:15.080 an interesting one. 265 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:15.279 It was. 266 00:16:15.399 --> 00:16:16.240 It was a long day. 267 00:16:16.279 --> 00:16:21.039 There was a lot of blood, sweat and tears, and 268 00:16:21.080 --> 00:16:22.759 we flew back in and and. 269 00:16:22.679 --> 00:16:23.600 That was pretty much it. 270 00:16:23.720 --> 00:16:27.919 That kind of launched into into that Afghanistan two thousand 271 00:16:27.960 --> 00:16:31.799 and six conflict of a lot of those style firefights. 272 00:16:33.960 --> 00:16:37.519 You know, it was pre Ied era, so it was 273 00:16:37.559 --> 00:16:40.039 pretty much going out and just getting into scraps every day. 274 00:16:40.720 --> 00:16:43.240 This is like one of those firefights with the Taliban 275 00:16:43.360 --> 00:16:45.679 or just sort of like trying to encircle you, going 276 00:16:45.799 --> 00:16:49.120 around the hedgerows and things like that, and sporadic fire 277 00:16:49.200 --> 00:16:50.320 all day. 278 00:16:51.080 --> 00:16:53.600 You'll know yourself track. It's like, you know, ninety five 279 00:16:53.639 --> 00:16:55.399 percent at the time, you don't even see the enemy. 280 00:16:55.519 --> 00:17:00.320 You just hear them. You very rarely see them. I'd 281 00:17:00.360 --> 00:17:03.759 imagine it's the same as if an enemy force came 282 00:17:03.759 --> 00:17:06.039 from a different country to my hometown. It's like, I 283 00:17:06.079 --> 00:17:08.400 know all the ins and outs, the nuts and crannies, 284 00:17:08.440 --> 00:17:12.400 the ditches, the back alleys, you know everything. You're not 285 00:17:12.440 --> 00:17:15.480 trying to close with and kill these people that are 286 00:17:15.480 --> 00:17:16.000 in your town. 287 00:17:16.039 --> 00:17:17.680 It's like you're just trying to get them out. 288 00:17:17.799 --> 00:17:23.319 Right, right. 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Visit blue choo dot com 308 00:18:28.440 --> 00:18:31.920 for more details and important safety information. And we thank 309 00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:37.680 blue Choo for sponsoring this podcast. And that was kind 310 00:18:37.720 --> 00:18:40.119 of like winding down the tail end of that deployment. 311 00:18:43.359 --> 00:18:46.880 Yeah, I mean that was that was pretty wild time. 312 00:18:46.920 --> 00:18:49.839 It was after that we went to sang In Valley, 313 00:18:52.119 --> 00:18:55.920 and I mean, for anyone listening that deployed and went 314 00:18:55.960 --> 00:19:03.440 to sang In Valley, we landed to so the Fob Jackson, 315 00:19:03.519 --> 00:19:10.240 which was actually one of our boys, Damian Jackson. We'd 316 00:19:10.240 --> 00:19:13.400 actually been tasked to go out to the Governor's building 317 00:19:13.440 --> 00:19:18.440 to support the governor because he was getting death threats 318 00:19:18.480 --> 00:19:23.440 from the Taliban. I seem to remember about him sexually 319 00:19:23.480 --> 00:19:28.880 abusing kids. Probably true, but at that time, you obviously 320 00:19:30.359 --> 00:19:34.279 you have to support the government. So we went out 321 00:19:34.319 --> 00:19:39.279 and set up shopping the governor's house which is now 322 00:19:40.079 --> 00:19:44.680 obviously not now but turned into Fob Jackson. And at 323 00:19:44.680 --> 00:19:47.319 the time it was this building and next to it 324 00:19:47.359 --> 00:19:50.039 was this orchard with this other kind of weird building. 325 00:19:50.119 --> 00:19:53.680 And we were there for about three or four days, 326 00:19:53.720 --> 00:19:55.119 and there was a river that went down the middle 327 00:19:55.160 --> 00:19:56.480 of it, and we used to wash in the river, 328 00:19:57.240 --> 00:20:01.920 and we put like positions all around the area. So 329 00:20:01.960 --> 00:20:04.160 we had three hundred and sixty three hundred and sixty 330 00:20:04.160 --> 00:20:10.279 degree defense And yeah, I always remember kind of probably 331 00:20:10.319 --> 00:20:13.000 about four or five days into it, so we were 332 00:20:13.039 --> 00:20:16.119 actually a while we were in afghanist at the same 333 00:20:16.160 --> 00:20:17.519 time I. 334 00:20:17.599 --> 00:20:22.119 Was there two thousand and four into two thousand and five. 335 00:20:22.200 --> 00:20:22.680 That winner. 336 00:20:23.920 --> 00:20:26.759 Yeah, I mean there were wild times, weren't they. Sometimes 337 00:20:27.480 --> 00:20:28.680 I'm like jogging them memories. 338 00:20:30.480 --> 00:20:31.240 Yeah, we were. 339 00:20:31.400 --> 00:20:34.279 We dug like a shell scrape in this orchard, and 340 00:20:34.359 --> 00:20:36.880 our position just looked onto a wall and it was 341 00:20:36.920 --> 00:20:40.480 like a six foot wall, maybe a little bit less, 342 00:20:40.519 --> 00:20:44.559 you know, like the thick mud walls. And I always 343 00:20:44.599 --> 00:20:49.039 remember because the icon Chatter and the the J two 344 00:20:49.079 --> 00:20:51.799 would suggest that they were going to attack from this 345 00:20:51.799 --> 00:20:53.920 this wall one night and they said they were just 346 00:20:53.960 --> 00:20:55.839 going to flood the place with fighters and send them 347 00:20:55.880 --> 00:20:59.079 over this send them over this six foot wall. 348 00:20:59.680 --> 00:21:02.720 And all night we were literally probably. 349 00:21:04.279 --> 00:21:07.160 Fifteen meters away from this wall, maybe less, and we 350 00:21:07.240 --> 00:21:09.559 just sat in the shell scrape, staring at this wall 351 00:21:09.680 --> 00:21:13.359 like eyes eyes on stalk, like literally match sticks in 352 00:21:13.400 --> 00:21:15.920 our eyes. Just I remember like a couple of the 353 00:21:15.960 --> 00:21:18.200 lad smoked cigarettes and like I was like, give me 354 00:21:18.240 --> 00:21:21.599 one of these cigarettes. I need to I need to smoke. 355 00:21:21.640 --> 00:21:23.880 None of us slept the whole night thinking that we 356 00:21:23.880 --> 00:21:28.119 were just going to get flooded with Taliban. But nothing happened, 357 00:21:28.119 --> 00:21:32.680 but probably around four or five days into it, we'd 358 00:21:32.680 --> 00:21:34.680 built like the positions up a little bit more, and 359 00:21:35.079 --> 00:21:37.400 we'd ran out of sandbags to build the positions up, 360 00:21:37.440 --> 00:21:41.039 so we were building them up with big cardboard boxes 361 00:21:41.079 --> 00:21:44.519 and just filling it with dirt and dust and hoping 362 00:21:44.559 --> 00:21:47.680 that that would catch around. And I was actually on 363 00:21:47.720 --> 00:21:51.119 top of this rooftop looking out onto if anyone's been there, 364 00:21:51.119 --> 00:21:56.279 that's listening, So it was trying to think where it was. 365 00:21:56.319 --> 00:21:59.960 It kind of looked so it was I'm trying to 366 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:02.279 remember the Cardinal. I don't think I can. I think 367 00:22:02.279 --> 00:22:03.680 it's to the south of. 368 00:22:03.640 --> 00:22:07.400 The west, kind of looked away from the bizarre and 369 00:22:07.440 --> 00:22:10.599 the town area and into kind of the bush. And 370 00:22:10.920 --> 00:22:12.559 I was on the side that was on the opposite 371 00:22:12.599 --> 00:22:15.359 side of the Governor's building with the river running down it. 372 00:22:15.759 --> 00:22:17.759 And I always remember this car drove past and it 373 00:22:18.079 --> 00:22:19.960 had like three or four heavies in it and they 374 00:22:19.960 --> 00:22:22.559 had the windows down and they were just staring up 375 00:22:22.559 --> 00:22:26.000 at this position. I I just remember thinking, that's that's 376 00:22:26.079 --> 00:22:28.160 not you know, they're not friendly. 377 00:22:28.759 --> 00:22:31.920 And probably about an hour later, we literally got hit 378 00:22:32.119 --> 00:22:34.519 three hundred and sixty degrees like all around the fob 379 00:22:35.720 --> 00:22:40.440 machine gun aka RPG one bat shells. 380 00:22:41.559 --> 00:22:44.359 And that kind of that was it. 381 00:22:44.440 --> 00:22:48.160 Then it kind of kicked off in Sanging and we 382 00:22:48.240 --> 00:22:51.079 pretty much stayed in Sanging for the for the duration 383 00:22:51.200 --> 00:22:55.920 of the the six month tour that we did. And yeah, 384 00:22:55.960 --> 00:22:58.400 I mean there's a million stories to come out of 385 00:22:58.519 --> 00:23:03.720 just that one that on that one location. I'm sure 386 00:23:03.759 --> 00:23:05.799 for a lot of people that served in Sanging listening, 387 00:23:05.920 --> 00:23:09.599 it was it was a hell hole and you would 388 00:23:09.680 --> 00:23:13.000 go out most days and most days you'd end up 389 00:23:13.000 --> 00:23:17.319 in a scrap and you'd be calling a tens, you know, 390 00:23:17.559 --> 00:23:21.079 your guys, a tens, which were phenomenal. And we had 391 00:23:21.599 --> 00:23:24.440 apatche helicopters from the UK and from the US as well, 392 00:23:24.440 --> 00:23:26.759 which were also you know, a godsend. If you heard 393 00:23:26.759 --> 00:23:29.839 that thing in the sky, you were pretty much free 394 00:23:29.880 --> 00:23:31.519 to roam wherever you wanted to go. But as soon 395 00:23:31.519 --> 00:23:33.880 as you went off station, just all hell broke loose. 396 00:23:35.279 --> 00:23:37.240 But yeah, it was it was an interesting time being 397 00:23:37.240 --> 00:23:41.240 twenty years old. I turned twenty one over there, and 398 00:23:41.359 --> 00:23:41.839 yeah it was. 399 00:23:42.440 --> 00:23:42.640 Yeah. 400 00:23:42.920 --> 00:23:45.079 I mean we could probably talk well podcasts just about 401 00:23:45.079 --> 00:23:46.519