150 Soldiers from Lancashire deployed to Iraq to help with the fight against ISIS
Around 150 soldiers from Lancashire are getting ready to head out to Iraq where they'll be helping in the fight against ISIS.
Around 150 soldiers from Lancashire are getting ready to head out to Iraq where they'll be helping in the fight against ISIS.
The 2nd Battalion of the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment will be deployed there for the next six months.
The soliders from Lancashire are part of a 500-strong team who are going out there to train the Iraqi and Kurdish security forces who are fighting against ISIS.
They've been training in Norfolk, practising how to cope with dangers that they might face when they're out in Iraq.
The British Army say our troops will have the best protection as they're using state-of-the-art Foxhound vehicles which will shield them from roadside bombs.
Commanding officers say that this mission is completely different to anything that the regiment has ever done before.
Major Nick Higgins, Officer Commanding B Coy, said: “Soldiers join up to go on operations and they want to deploy; so the Company’s motivation and morale is high. This operation is very different to what we’ve done before and that makes it interesting. “As light role infantry we are used to being on our feet, but the new Foxhound vehicles are excellent and they allow us to move around safely. We are operationally experienced, with recent tours in Afghanistan, but this is a very different role. We, alongside other coalition partners, are delivering training to the Iraqi and Kurdish Security Forces. So building strong relationships with those we are training is really important and we feel well prepared. “The training towards the tour has been a thorough and steady progression, including vehicle qualifications and working with the attached arms to understand what they are doing. This final exercise has brought everything together to test us for the worst case scenarios that we might face.” Corporal Nathan Pickering, from Darwen, has deployed on two tours of Afghanistan with 2 LANCS. The 24-year-old section commander said: “I’m really looking forward to going out to Iraq because we are doing very different work in a new environment, and as a corporal I will have a lot more responsibility. We’ve got a lot of young lads in the company who are going on their first tour, and they’re looking to me for guidance.”