Approache projection. Yeah, it was probably done about not about fifty twenty patrols every day before this happened. You know, every every day gone patrol could could last up to twelve hours, just all dependency, you know what. I minutes, But yeah, I wasn't never very long at all.
And you said and you said that when on the day day it happened, the routine patrol has changed three times.
Yeah, yeah, So why was that? I don't know. It was just there was all sorts of this is like where bubb was. It was like the commanders who were who sat in HG saying can't go, you can't go, they can't well yet we'd we'd always have to wait for the for the green light to go out. Yeah, and remember it was kind of like we woke up on the morning like a normal routine day, like wake up, go get our scoff, get breakfast. Then we'd go for a brief. The brief is it was always the same
made right, you're gonna go and do this. This is the freaks, that's what's gonna happen, blah blah blah. Then we'd go and load our weapons up and all that type of stuff and we'd sit I don't know, I make see pictures, but there's there's pictures. We just sounded like like Hesco type thing. Yes, yeah, yep. So we'd sitting there, we'd waiting on wait for the green lights, kept got put back, you know what I mean. The
patrols were like, what's going on? Then finally we were allowed out, and yeah, it was just like a normal day, like just left the gate. As soon as soon as you leave the gate, tally by talking on the radio, you can need them saying we can see the patrol leaving the gate. Now this was all like they're trying
our our interiorly he was. He was to all what I'm saying and standing But yes, I think we got abouts been about five the meters camp, you know, I mean it took us took us about two hours to get here because all the IV frond and stuff like that. I just remember remember anything about that day. Was left the gate, he went like a straight line our normal route, and then from here he was split off, you know what I mean, split off, go go go right or
all left. We decided to go left, and we came like came like a bun line, like a little irrigation ditch of the floor. Some was that reason. I was at the back of the back of the patrol with the with the detector. Yeah, we let thea go first. She arms an the ideas I can get it becard us. That was That was the same. I know it's cruel to say, but it's just like yours.
And I.
Got this tree line and I was at the back. It was like Rosie Rosie getting the front. So I was like, okay, like it was seventy pounds on me back. It was. It was absolutely red after what I mean it was, but you're constantly alert. You're not You're not to switch it off because you're like, oh fucking canam tired. It's like right, and I need you won't do this. That was my job. Now I've got the Valor, I've got the melt Detector whole album. So I'm gonna I'm
gonna clean room for the lads. And it was I told the world rights want of me, mate, I told them all left Maca. So I went right and approaches tree line. As I get to the tree line, I sat there and maybe Army he was giving me cover and got like a good feeling, you know, you know what I mean. It's always everyone always says always trust you go to the next SoCon it is one hundred
per century. Like I've got this good feeling that something didn't feel right or something, but it was good Rabbit and said that we made JORDI said, John, the fucking dodgying, amte properly dodgy And he was just like yeah, yeah, yeah not. And one of the one of the big indicators is like the farmers fields never get touched. That's how you know it's dodgy because obviously the Taliban around the area and the farmers don't want to come out and cut the fields and do all the crops on
that type of stuff. So that was one of the indicators. And yeah, kind of I was walking up to this tree line lifted the branch up and that's why I turned on and said to me, may when it's dodgying, and he was like okay, okay. Then I scanned the area once more with a metal detector and that's when
I took one more step of the right leg. That was when I stepped on this id and you just know if that like split second while it happened, it was just like just like tiniest little split settings like shit and then blow me into the air of five and ten meters a blanderomic back kind of like from there there was no pain all couldn't feel any pain. It was just like shock. I was in like proper like shock. I knew you I happened, but I didn't
know the severity of my injuries, you know what I mean? Yeah, Yeah, it was when the when the when the shock settled, that's when that's when the pain kind of got all of me, you know what I mean. It was just like it was like a blow todge all over my body, all over my legs, and everything just kind of hit me at once. It kind of went from hectic to like really quiet, you know, like like dust and all that. And I don't know if you ever get titt and I've got it, there's really bad nomal it's just like
that he sounds, that's all. I could eat it. And I could just see him one brushing around and everything that It was quite mad.
Could all could all your your soldiers get to you?
Yeah? Everyone everyone was there. So the first person who got me was we made many scouse. He came bruning straight over you kind of you just fucking had all me and wrapping me, and all was because I was I was in that of consciousness. Then he was slapping me and doing everything was sand in my mouth and all that, and he was picking all the sand out so and brief probably and it was liked two of the odd jobbie legs, putting putting tony gars on both
of my legs. But obviously I can I didn't even know. I didn't have a clue what had happened. I didn't know. I couldn't lift ver. But I didn't know if my legs are still there or not. All I wanted to know. All I wanted to know. I just need to get out there, you know what I mean. It was, Yeah, it was absolutely treendless. Then the lads kind of got me stable. Then they give me give me two shots of morphine which completely just absolutely knocked me clean out.
I was just like, oh it all the pain went. I just felt for world warm and fuzzy, you know what I mean, that there was no pain. The lads were talking to me, and I was just like kind of like when you're watching a movie. When you're watching a movie and you try your harder to keep your eyes open. Yeah, but you can't keep more than you're just like this is too nices and go to sleep. I'll watch it more type thing. Yeah, yeah, that's exactly how it fell for me. But I was only for
about ten minutes. Then after after that I'll say that, I'll say about I say about five minutes or something like that, the whole pain just comes straight back again. And at this point I was just I was waiting for the QR and F, which is a quick reaction force, to come out and get me. So they'd come out on a you'd come out in a quad for there
be a trailer on the back. There come flying from the forward of rain Based while I was injured, and my commander he literally had all of me like dragging me all the way because I just remember the lads couldn't pick me up to it was too heavy, and he just fucking moved everyone out of the way. Again he went, he went just grab out of my leg, so I was i'ming off, was like, I'm off the stretcher. I was all that his legs, so I was in full weight on his leg. He was like dragging me
all away. Was to drag me about hundred meters. Then he literally just picked me up and shot me on the back of this trailer. And that was as well.
Like I'm trying to like, I'll never be able to even know how much pain you're going through, But what kind of fucking pain was that?
It was like it was just pure burning. That's that's that's the only way I can explain it. Like it was it was burning. All me inside were ripped open as well, so it smelled that I could smell shit and pissing everything. I was just like I was freaking of that ship myself. But what happened is it came the blast, It went bright underneath you then bust all be inside like all me on my internal organs, all ten stuff. Yeah, so it was just a complete mess. But the pain with.
Your legs totally got with their legs totally blowing up. Yeah, they couldn't save anything.
The right leg, that was what I that's what I stepped the idea with that was that was completely off above the knee. The left leg that was I was hanging on below the knee, you know what I mean. But they just couldn't save it. It was that was that damaged. Yeah, I couldn't, couldn't do nothing about that. But this left leg when they put me on the back of the trailer, it was kind of hanging over the edge. So every time I was going over bums, I was like screaming. It was just like it was
whatever whatever's left of me leg there. We just bounced off the side of the splooey trailer. It was absolutely agony, but it was just like pure, pure burning sensation. That's that is it.
And you were you were conscious for the whole lot.
Yeah, cut all the way through, all the way through it. I've got asleep three or four times. That was when that was when I was getting stamped on and kicked and just telling me to stay awake. When I when I did fall asleep with a third tie, I no, I can't, I can't be done with this. I kind of like look to the right. I see my patuit size and on one knee, and I knew that he was getting help, you know what I mean. So I was just like, right, he's calling the QR and have
to come and get me out. So just fucking stay away. Went soon as you're in a FOB or the med center, we can get your other Chotter back to back to Campastion and I was I remember just getting getting driven back into the forward over in base, then into the med center and I was there. I can't remember they've done from there. They give me some sort of drug buy. You completely knocked me out and I was woke up, woke up in Birmingham after that.
What the fuck was going for your head? Bro?
Well you probably laughed at this because I don't even know why, why why, he even said. But when I was injured on the floor, met me beyond me the scouts, I said, I'm still gotta be I was still gotta be cocking bollocks. He went, yeah, he can't a lot of you mean, you're still gone him? So I was like okay. It was like a kind of release, you know, and I just I kind of like shoot the eyes again. But then joining your thing that was going through my head was there's another ied going off, but I was
getting Kazi back to the r F exce. If another one went off, it would have just took the full team, you know what I mean. That's that was the only thing going from my head when I was getting tuck to the the QR in Australia. But later that day we did find out that I think there was about thirty or forty I d's all where I was. So I'm not like injured in this place and there was like thirty or just started around everywhere.
So so just just walk for me through this.
You you step on it, is it released when you step off?
Or is it just when you step on it?
That's it? So soon I stepped on it, because it's like pressure blades, so soon as the metal touches a metal or whatever it is, that's it, and it completes a circuit.
Okay, So it's not it's not like if you take your foot off, that's that's it. If if you if you keep your foot on it, it won't go off, or it will just.
Go off soon you step on it. That's it. There's there's different types of IDs. Is like there's like that what you mentioned. There's the pressure blade I D, which is what I do. Then there's like a command wire where you can get I know, tally Ban will be over there and I'll just watch it. As soon as you go past, it will just put a wire. Yeah, but nine times I would tend the world like press play I DS and this idea with our steff On.
There was no there was no metal in it at all, so the metal detech and never picked it up at this point. Look getting really really clever, you know what I mean. It was just there were there was switch that would there were switched on. It would just fighting losing battle.
Has that changed your mind about joining it or you that's no, I'll.
Do it all again. I loved it, ye