3 PARA Patrick Bishop ‘The following account is based on interviews with the soldiers of the 3 PARA Battle Group. Inquests have not yet been held into many of the deaths reported in these pages. The author has made his best endeavour to report events accurately and truthfully, and any insult or injury to any of the parties described or quoted herein or to their families is unintentional. The publishers will be happy to correct any inaccuracies in later editions. Afghan identities have been obscured in a few cases in order to protect the individuals and their families. Table of Contents Cover Title Page Dedication List of Illustrations Maps 1 Day of Days 2 Green On – Go 3 ‘The Lawless Province of Helmand’ 4 Afghanistan’s Plains 5 The Road to Sangin 6 Operation Mutay 7 Rapid Reaction 8 Platoon House 9 The Testing 10 Jacko 11 Musa Qaleh 12 Operation Augustus 13 Eating Dust 14 Hesco 15 Attrition 16 The Musa Muckers 17 Peace of Exhaustion 18 Going Home Acronyms and Abbreviations Honours and Awards Acknowledgments Backad … About the Author Index Photo Insert Copyright About the Publisher List of Illustrations FIRST PLATE SECTION A Chinook is silhouetted above the Helmand desert. Taliban fighters. © AP/PA Photos Now Zad from ANP Hill. © Captain Nick French Private Damien Jackson during Operation Mutay. © Private Jamie Stewart Halton Patrols Platoon during Mutay. © Lance Corporal Lee Hewitson Looking out over the wadi and bazaar from a Sangin sangar. Morning for the mortarmen at Kajaki dam. © Corporal Andrew Evans Patrols Platoon Commander Captain Mark Swann and Lance Corporal Andrew ‘Chalkie’ White by their WMIK in Gereshk. © Lance Corporal Dave Bradbury A GPMG gunner engages Taliban fighters from ANP Hill. © Sergeant Peter White Private Martin Cork flying back from Mutay. © Captain Martin Taylor Captain Hugo Farmer and Corporals Quentin ‘Prig’ Poll, Stephen ‘Hoss’ Cartwright, James Shimmins and ‘Chalkie’ White in the shade of a stripped-down Pinzgauer. © Captain Martin Taylor Corporal Tam McDermott on the roof of the Sangin district centre. © Major Will Pike Hostile faces in Sangin. © Private Marc Holmes Private Neil Edwards, Lance Corporal Noel Brooksbank, and Private Marc Holmes and Alistair Hartley in a Sangin sangar. © Private Marc Holmes Lance Corporal Paul Roberts, Corporal Stuart Giles, Sergeant Brian Reidy and Medical Officer Captain Harvey Pynn. © Sergeant Dan Jarvie Soldiers doss down on the floor at the Sangin district centre. © Private Marc Holmes Corporal Mark Wright in the Sangin compound. © Captain Nick French Lieutenant Any Mallet leads a patrol into Sangin town centre. © Corporal Andrew Waddington Sergeant Dan Jarvie. © Crown copyright Major Will Pike, OC ‘A’ Company. © Crown copyright Captain Martin Taylor. © Major Will Pike WO2 Zac Leong. © Captain Martin Taylor Captain Matt Taylor. © Lieutenant Martin Hewitt SECOND PLATE SECTION Captains Alex Mackenzie and mate Piers Ashfield having a brew at Sangin. © Lieutenant Martin Hewitt Corporal Jay Jackson on stag in Sangin. © Corporal Dave Salmon Regimental Sergeant Major John Hardy. © Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Tootal Lieutenant Ollie Dale gets his head down in Sangin. © Corporal Dave Salmon The Pathfinders at Musa Qaleh. © Nick Wight-Boycott Sergeant Major Mick Bolton in front of the Sangin district centre. © Captain Euan Goodman A mortar section at Sangin fires in support of patrols on the ground. © Captain Euan Goodman A Chinook takes off from Sangin under fire. © Corporal Carl Tees Private Pete McKinley recovering from shrapnel wounds in the base hospital. © Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Tootal Corporal Bryan Budd on patrol in Sangin. © Captain Hugo Farmer Rifleman Nabin Rai after a contact with Taliban in Now Zad. © Major Dan Rex Major Huw Williams, Captain Nick French and a signaller at Musa Qaleh. © Captain Martin Taylor A .50-cal heavy machine gun inside a well-reinforced sangar at Sangin. © Major Jamie Loden Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Tootal in the desert near Musa Qaleh. © Captain Nick French Heading out to the helicopter landing site after a successful resupply operation at Musa Qaleh. © Crown copyright ‘Giving the Taliban the good news’. Watching an air strike go in outside Musa Qaleh. © Crown copyright Sergeant Christopher ‘Freddie’ Kruyer. © Staff Sergeant Pete Joiner Dinner at Bastion. © Crown copyright Major Adam Jowett, OC of Easy Company, chats with local elders. © Gaz Faulkner Captain Hugo Farmer on patrol in Gereshk in full kit. © Captain Emma Couper Private Dave Prosser and other members of Mortar Platoon. © Sergeant Freddie Kruyer A shura in Sangin. While every effort has been made to trace the owners of copyright material reproduced herein, the publishers would like to apologise for any omissions and will be pleased to incorporate missing acknowledgments in any future editions. List of Maps Afghanistan Helmand Province Sangin Gereshk Musa Qaleh Now Zad