"I Found It Hard To Speak": A British Padre Describes Life With the Paras in Afghanistan

Sometimes talking is the only way to deal with things, as this wise padre understands. MP+

Padre reflects on Paras' Afghan experiences
A People In Defence news article
18 Feb 11

The Reverend Robin Richardson, currently deployed to Afghanistan with 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, here reflects on some of the experiences his soldiers face on the battlefield and the benefits of talking.

At one of our patrol bases last week many of the lads were involved in an operation in an area in which we are still facing a high level of resistance.

They had been out on the ground for nine hours when they were contacted by heavy machine gun fire from a tree line just a couple of hundred metres away. Forty kilogrammes of kit per man, and tired after hours on the ground, yet their reactions were as sharp as they always are.



The Reverend Robin Richardson, Chaplain to 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, currently deployed to Helmand province, southern Afghanistan
[Picture: Crown Copyright/MOD 2010]

Read the whole story here.