James Cartwright - Sniper in Helmand: Six Months on the Frontline

Contents

Acknowledgement s

I would firstly like to thank every single soldier who fought alongside me during Operation HERRICK 6 and watched my back as I watched theirs. This tour was not conducted by one man but by a group of highly trained professional soldiers. Also I would like to thank all the officers and senior NCOs under whose command I fought for their excellence in leading me and the other soldiers.

I also want to extend a warm thanks to everyone who was involved in my treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Without your help my life would have gone in a very different direction, and it was also out of this treatment that this book was born.

Another person I feel deserves a big thank you is Phil Dedman. Thank you, Phil for working very closely on this project with me, and for being such a good friend not only to me, but also to my family. Without you, none of this would have been possible.

I also thank Ross Kemp and everyone behind the tour magazine for helping me put together my memories in the correct order and reminding me of events I had forgotten.

A big thank you goes to Pen & Sword for putting this book together and for all of their help and support.

My appreciation goes out to everyone who gave me copies of their photographs. I always feel that this form of media is best for remembering. I have tried to get in touch with everyone whose photographs I have used in this book. However, there maybe some outstanding so please accept this acknowledgment as my thanks.

Of course not forgetting the families of the nine 1st Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment soldiers who did not come home. My heart goes out to you and my thoughts are with you and them every year on 11 November at 11.00.

Finally, I give massive thanks to all my family for supporting me during the difficult readjustment to normal life and, in particular, to Annie for putting up with my mood swings.

James Cartwright

Foreword

by Andy McNab

T he British army has never been better trained, equipped and prepared for conflict, but that doesnt stop the reality of a tour of duty being every bit as dangerous as it ever was. Conflict hasnt stopped taking its toll both emotionally and physically. James Cartwright has experienced one of the most hostile and dangerous areas of conflict of the present war. The work of snipers is crucial to so many current military operations. What he successfully conveys in Sniper in Helmand is the real feeling of being in a war zone. He tells it how it is to the reader allowing them to experience the tactical decisions, pressures, acts of courage and of sacrifice that serving men and women go through each and every day.

Like me, James Cartwright started his army career as a boy soldier. We passed through many of the same establishments and Im sure got bawled at by many similar RSMs along the way! We have both experienced the harsh reality of war zones and come home battle scarred emotionally and physically. Like him, Id like to pay tribute to the men and women out there in the various war zones, the families left at home and also the many professionals who play such a vital role in the emotional and physical recovery.

Prologue

A s the convoy came up the road, Deano was on top cover, standing up in a hatch in the roof of the Viking vehicle in which he and Teddy were travelling. Just behind him, strapped to the roof, were jerrycans of fuel and other items of kit. At that point a Taliban fighter launched an RPG from a nearby rooftop, scoring a direct hit on the roof of the vehicle, detonating on one of the jerrycans and causing a huge fireball that totally engulfed Deano in burning fuel. He dropped down back through the hatch of the vehicle, desperately trying to put out the flames and ripping off his helmet and body armour. Teddy meanwhile placed his hand on the rear door handle, readying himself to open it, but could clearly hear the sound of rounds literally pinging off the door on the outside. The Taliban had learned where our doors were and created a choice for those inside either stay inside and burn to death or open the doors and be riddled with bullets.

At this point Deano jumped back up into the hatch of the vehicle, with no helmet or any body armour, and began to return fire with his SA80 rifle. At the same time, there was a short lull in the bullets pinging off the back door, so Teddy threw it open and, armed only with his 9mm pistol, leapt out and headed for a nearby an alleyway. There was deafening noise and dust all around him as bullets rained down and RPGs flew in from all directions. As he scrambled into the alleyway he came face to face with a Taliban fighter, shooting rounds into the air and screaming Allahu Akbar !. Teddy shot him dead on the spot before turning his attention back to the Viking. Realising that there was no movement from it, he ran back to the vehicle where he found Deano lying there unconscious inside, having been knocked out by the blast of another RPG hitting the roof.

Deano was in a mess. Severely burned from the blast and injured by shrapnel, he was losing blood and rapidly losing consciousness. He needed emergency medical treatment and quickly, as he was in a really bad way. Teddy clambered into the vehicle and dragged him out of the vehicle, all the while under fire from RPGs and automatic weapons, and slung him over his shoulder. Somehow he succeeded in reaching another Viking, throwing open the doors and heaving Deano inside. There was no room for himself so he had no choice but to run back another 50 or 60 metres, still under heavy fire, to another vehicle in which he took cover in the back.

All the while the fire support teams were bringing fire down on the enemy, but it was a relatively built-up town with high buildings all around which made manoeuvring almost impossible. The convoy was still under very heavy fire as it drove out of Sangin.