On this day . . .
Author: Andrew Protheroe
The four years I spent in Iraq between 2004 and 2008 provided me with life lessons that forged the person I was then, shaped the person I became today, and will ultimately play a part in the the person I have yet to become. Some fantastic memories, but bad ones too.
Coming back into Iraq to undertake safety/security audits as I currently do has become a kind of weird therapy. It rekindles the excitement, whilst stirring the emotions - but always benefits me.
Today I have remembered the friends who didn’t get to leave Iraq the way they wanted, and pay homage to the ones who made sure I did.
Im not looking my best in the picture below, a little ‘char-grilled’ in fact. On this day the B6 armoured vehicle I was commanding was IED’d during an ambush. As PPO (Personal Protection Officer) my role was to take control of our Client, cross deck them into an escort vehicle, and drive off into the sunset safe and sound. Pretty straight forward really - not so much on this day.
Whilst I was doing my bit, if it wasn’t for the drilled reactions of the rest of the team things WOULD have turned out very different.
Whilst we say there is no substitution for training, ‘experience’ comes pretty close! Train hard, fight easy.
“‘Don’t trust it, test it’ ”
