Gloucestershire councillor says he'll 'never forget' experience in Afghanistan
"I'll never forget the smell of explosions, the dirt, the human misery, the day my teammate was shot"
A Gloucestershire councillor has spoken out about how the Taliban shot his teammate and threatened to kill all his colleagues while working in Afghanistan.
Dominic Morris, a Conservative councillor who represents Fairford and Lechlade on Thames on Gloucestershire County Council, worked as a political officer for the Foreign Office in the South Asian country in 2012 and 2013.
He says he will never forget the smell of explosions, the dirt and the human misery he saw while embedded with the Parachute Regiment in the provinces of Helmand and Herat.
During a council meeting this week, Mr Morris referenced his Afghanistan experience when speaking in support of the Armed Forces Covenant.
The covenant is a pledge to acknowledge and understand that those who serve or who have served in the armed forces, and their families, should be treated with fairness and respect in the communities, economy and society they serve with their lives.
Mr Morris said the evacuation from Afghanistan this summer was tough for anyone who served there and reminded everyone of the huge debt they owe to those who serve in the armed forces.
"I will never forget the ramp ceremonies, loading the fallen onto helicopters in dusty bases,” he said.
"The smell of explosions, the dirt, the human misery, the day my teammate was shot in Afghanistan and the Taliban promptly arrived and sat over a cup of tea telling me very calmly that they were going to kill my entire team if we did not leave.
"The Dear John letter I got from the girl I wanted to marry and most recently, General Matt Holmes who ended his life this October unable to cope.
"As a nation, 457 fell in Afghanistan 2207 were injured, maimed or wounded and for those that escaped physical harm the mental toll stays with them.
"Early on, I believed the British state didn’t do justice and didn’t serve them properly. It was not prepared, it was not mandated to look after those who came.
"The British public stepped up, the Help for Heroes, the Headley Courtsand Cameron did better in his first term and enshrined the Armed Forces Covenant.”
Mr Morris said it was important for the county council to reaffirm and extend its commitment to those in the armed forces as there are currently 2400 people serving and 46,000 family members and veterans.
But he also warned that the world is getting more complicated with increasing threats from other aggressive countries and brave servicemen and women would be needed in the future.
"From Taiwan to Tallinn, from the Spratly Islands to the Suwalki Gap, Russia and China are tearing up our international order," he said.
"We will have to ask people, men and women, to deploy forward by air, land and sea in a new age of strategic competition.
"We must be prepared to look after them."
The council motion, which was put forward by Councillor Andrew Gravells (Con, Abbey) and seconded by Mr Morris, was supported by all political parties and was unanimously approved.