War veterans reflect 20 years on from Iraq invasion
The Salisbury based boss of charity SSAFA has been looking back
Its been 20 years since the invasion of Iraq by UK and US forces, the last major conflict British forces were involved in.
The Armed Forces charity, Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA), have been supporting former service men and women and their families since 1885.
SSAFA CEO Lieutenant-General Sir Andrew Gregory explained to us how the charity helps people:
“The heart of the charity is our volunteers, who reach out to individuals when we hear about them and help them get back up and running,” adding “We mentor those individuals leaving the services to give them the life skills they need.”
Sir Andrew was also deployed in 2003, and told us about the preparations ahead of the invasion:
“We planned for every scenario and my job was to make sure that we were ready, that when and if we conducted operations, we did it legitimately with the minimum of casualties.
“Whatever the rights and wrongs of the campaign, I think we did that,” he concluded.
Iraq, and the wider middle east, have seen troubled times since British forces pulled out of the country but Sir Andrew stressed the importance of supporting our own people who “sacrificed a great deal”.