Emotional letter praises ‘undefeated’ troops

Maj Gen Andrew Harrison thanks Parachute Regiment for saving ‘ten thousand Afghan souls’ in evacuation

THE Parachute Regiment’s Colonel Commandant has praised troops for having “carried crushed children and talked to our long-standing enemy” in an emotional letter after the military’s final departure from Afghanistan.

In a letter dated August 28th, the day the last RAF flight carrying British troops departed Kabul, Major General Andrew Harrison wrote to soldiers to mark the Regiment’s “final chapter” in the 20 year campaign.

Maj Gen Harrison reflected on how the Regiment was “in Kabul from the start”, as soldiers patrolled snow-covered streets in 2002, all the way to last week when its flag was “lowered for the last time in this campaign”.

“Paratroopers were among the first troops in, were never defeated, and finally extracted, under fire, with all their mates,” he said.

“At the very end, you carried crushed children and talked to our long-standing enemy to save innocent lives.”

During Operation Pitting, The Daily Telegraph revealed that soldiers from 16 Air Assault Brigade’s 2 Para had found themselves on “joint patrol” with the Taliban in what they described as a “surreal” experience.

Maj Gen Harrison also set out in his letter that the Parachute Regiment had throughout the 20-year war gone “beyond expectation” and displayed “unparalleled physical endurance”, as they “fought to save a nation”.

During the war 457 British soldiers were killed.

Maj Gen Harrison acknowledged that within the Regiment “every battalion lost soldiers” and that they “experienced grief, and grievious wounds”.

“The regiment’s Afghanistan campaign now echoes our greatest battle honours,” he said.

“It shows indefatigable fortitude, remarkable empathy and boundless compassion.”

He added that the campaign also showed the “extraordinary courage” of the Regiment’s soldiers.

“This long campaign may never be judged a victory, but it has forged legends of combat and brought pride to a nation.”

Just over two weeks ago 600 paratroopers were flown into Kabul to launch an evacuation programme to rescue 15,000 people from the country.

However, during that time a sucide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport resulted in the deaths of more than 150 people, among them British nationals.

Maj Gen Harrison added that at the final count of the operation “almost ten thousand Afghan souls and five thousand others were plucked to safety”.

“Because of you, they, the lucky ones, can now dream of a brighter future.”

He also suggested that the 14 days the soldiers had endured were a “fitting conclusion to the Regiment’s history in Afghanistan”, citing the “masterful demonstration of military evacuation”.

In reference to the explosions last

‘Paratroopers were among the first troops in, were never defeated, and finally extracted, under fire’

week, which included 13 US troops among the dead, Major General Harrison said it was “worse” for the soldiers because they “lived the explosion” and “had to deal with its aftermath”.

“Across the Afghanistan campaign, almost every Paratrooper will have suffered mental and physical exhaustion at some time,” he added.

It comes after General Sir Patrick Sanders, one of the UK’S most senior military commanders, warned in The Telegraph that troops involved in the Afghan evacuation may feel guilt at having been unable to get everyone out.

Now that soldiers have returned to the UK they are undergoing a period of isolation in Colchester before they can be reunited with their loved ones.