Company of Makers exists to support veterans and their families who are struggling on civvy street no matter how long ago they left the armed forces. We do this...
Afghanistan: In Order to Put Things Right, You Have to Understand Where You Went Wrong.
Frank Ledwidge is angry. His hard-hitting, bleak and perhaps controversial perspective is born out of his work in Afghanistan and personal investigation, “I wanted to know what the human cost was…The image we had of ourselves was, we are here to help” but “We were seen as…invaders…That came as something of a shock to me.”Frank’s background was as a lawyer and a Reservist, “I joined one of the more discrete units of the Navy, a Joint-Service unit with the Army and Air Force…Got called up to Bosnia, then Iraq as a Military Intelligence Officer on the ground and ended up as Head of Branch and retired after 15 years…In real life, I worked in international organisations and for the British government in Security and Justice…in the former Soviet Union…Balkans, Afghanistan, Libya” more recently “in Ukraine during the war there.”Frank does not hold back with his views “...after Iraq, where I felt we’d been… lied to, my job in Iraq…was literally to look for weapons of mass destruction…that pretext was entirely false; I went into Afghanistan, sincerely believing that it was ‘the good war’...enemy…‘evil’...our side…essentially ‘good’ and we were going to defeat the enemy and replace them and sort that country out...and I think very many of us went into that…on that basis…It was very clear that by 2010, things were critical…The question had to be asked, ‘So what are those costs, how many people have been killed or injured, not just in physical terms, but also psychological…?’...Nothing was achieved. The evacuation was a chaotic disaster…I’ll just be blunt and truthful…There’s no sugar-coating this.”He also explores lessons learned for the future, “In order to put things right, you have to understand where you went wrong.” Frank closes with empathy for fellow veterans, “There’s a small minority who aren’t fine, so if you know anyone like that, just say hello and be their friends…Bare them in mind, the war’s over but they’re still here.”Did you serve in Afghanistan or Iraq?In order to better understand the wellbeing of Afghanistan & Iraq Veterans with which we work, we're asking you to answer a few short questions.If you’re a member of the Armed Forces community and need support with your mental health, Op Courage can help. Or you could phone the Combat Stress Helpline on: 0800 138 1619Company of Makers exists to support veterans and their families who are struggling on civvy street no matter how long ago they left the armed forces.We do this by running a programme of Podcasts | Talks | Workshops.Company of Makers are trying to reach, and better understand, all members of the armed forces community who are also gamers. We’re especially interested in those that have served in Afganistan & Iraq.To find out more contact us.
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1:17:32
Afghanistan: The Only Thing You Have For Company Is Those Experiences and They’re All Horrific.
James Malone remembers leaving Lympstone, “In every fibre of being, I felt like I could do anything…You just wanna get stuck in.”His tour was “Something that definitely changed the course of my life. War does that…to everyone who experiences combat…the first major casualty…was sobering…we had fairly regular contact, gunfights, rocket attacks, IED strikes…I was a Point Man, barma-ing, trying to stop people standing on IEDs…first into most situations, whether clearing a compound to set-up for overwatch, or a firefight or…a Shura with Elders, you’re first in there, first through any doorway, you don’t know what’s on the other side...”James talks about an incident that he has not shared before outside his most trusted circle, “...What was difficult to deal with was I no longer had control…When you’ve got something going on in your head…it’s like being in solitary confinement and the only thing you have for company is those experiences and they’re all horrific…I kind of dealt with it by pulling the pin and being a bit of a social hand grenade…I felt like I was going down in flames. It got to a point where I was contemplating filling my pockets up with stones and walking into the sea.”“It is hard to talk about…but I think it’s important…There’s going to be someone else…who had a very similar experience…So I need them to know that there are other people out there too and they understand…Afghan definitely corroded that feeling I had of being able to do anything.” Now through working with Afghan veterans as a full-time photographer and film-maker, “I’ve been able to rediscover a little bit of that again.”Did you serve in Afghanistan or Iraq?In order to better understand the wellbeing of Afghanistan & Iraq Veterans with which we work, we're asking you to answer a few short questions.If you’re a member of the Armed Forces community and need support with your mental health, Op Courage can help. Or you could phone the Combat Stress Helpline on: 0800 138 1619Company of Makers exists to support veterans and their families who are struggling on civvy street no matter how long ago they left the armed forces.We do this by running a programme of Podcasts | Talks | Workshops.Company of Makers are trying to reach, and better understand, all members of the armed forces community who are also gamers. We’re especially interested in those that have served in Afganistan & Iraq.To find out more contact us.
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1:10:22
Afghanistan: Have You Got Your Big Boy Pants On? It’s All Kicking Off!
Tom Corrigan wanted to be an Apache pilot... “I thought, ‘Yeah Apache, that looks pretty awesome, up for a bit of that’. It’s something I’d wanted to do since I was a pretty young lad, I just thought, ‘that looks pretty epic.’”Tom’s first tour was in 2009, “You were just chomping at the bit to get out there really…We all thought it was going to be fairly quiet…we’re here as a peace-keeping force…It was not like that, it was full on…intense...We were up 10 minutes and…‘Troops in contact requesting Apache’. So my front seater was like ‘Right, have you got your big boy pants on? It’s all kicking off.’ It’s literally my first airborne in Afghanistan and it’s firing on targets straight away…I certainly wasn’t prepared for how quickly it was going to go from, you’ve literally arrived in theatre to off you go it’s all happening now. There’s no build-up, it's…0 to 60 like bang.”Tom returned in 2011 as a front seat Gunner Commander. We hear about the technicalities of flying, finding targets, tactics and engaging. Also about the impact on Tom, “It was a rollercoaster…We had certain days where we had big mass casualties, multiple British Servicemen, either with horrendous injuries or being killed and it was really hard because you felt you’re doing everything you can…You have to do what you think is making a difference at the time and I hope what we did out there did have positive impacts on some people. It’s quite mixed emotions.”Forward to today, he plays guitar in a rock band, “It started off as a bit of fun and it’s all got quite serious now… Music is such an amazing creative force…this really positive aspect in my life…even some negative emotions that you’ve had it’s been, ‘Well let’s do something with this, let’s write it…and put it into a song…That real freedom to be an exaggerated version of yourself…When I’m on stage it’s not me, it’s a stage version of me. It’s really liberating…jumping around and pretending to be a rockstar. I can’t recommend it enough!”Did you serve in Afghanistan or Iraq?In order to better understand the wellbeing of Afghanistan & Iraq Veterans with which we work, we're asking you to answer a few short questions.If you’re a member of the Armed Forces community and need support with your mental health, Op Courage can help. Or you could phone the Combat Stress Helpline on: 0800 138 1619Company of Makers exists to support veterans and their families who are struggling on civvy street no matter how long ago they left the armed forces.We do this by running a programme of Podcasts | Talks | Workshops.Company of Makers are trying to reach, and better understand, all members of the armed forces community who are also gamers. We’re especially interested in those that have served in Afganistan & Iraq.To find out more contact us.
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1:07:08
Afghanistan: You want to feel worn-in and seasoned and up-to-speed as quickly as you can
Nick Denning gives us an insight into his life and responsibilities as a very new Platoon Commander in Helmand Province.“It was all a very rapid, flash-to-bang experience getting there…You want to feel worn-in and seasoned and up-to-speed as quickly as you can…You wait for your first patrol, your first contact with the enemy, your first engagement with the local nationals…There was just this huge sense of ‘This is it’…I knew from the start I had a very strong command team…We spent the first third of the tour in Nauzad…the latter 2/3 in Sangin…We did patrol and counter-insurgency. We also took part in a number of Company level, Battle Group level and Brigade level operations, where a concerted, deliberate offensive was mounted.”We hear about the impact of sustaining fatalities and surreal realities of war, “The most bizarre thing, it started raining… We were just sat there in the middle of the desert, and I just remember feeling absolutely empty… And then the show has to go on.”Nick also describes his respect for his soldiers, “They just got on with these tasks…the exertion was incredible…I think 53 was the highest temperature we experienced…and just the quiet grit they had will stay with me forever.”Did you serve in Afghanistan or Iraq?In order to better understand the wellbeing of Afghanistan & Iraq Veterans with which we work, we're asking you to answer a few short questions.If you’re a member of the Armed Forces community and need support with your mental health, Op Courage can help. Or you could phone the Combat Stress Helpline on: 0800 138 1619Company of Makers exists to support veterans and their families who are struggling on civvy street no matter how long ago they left the armed forces.We do this by running a programme of Podcasts | Talks | Workshops.Company of Makers are trying to reach, and better understand, all members of the armed forces community who are also gamers. We’re especially interested in those that have served in Afganistan & Iraq.To find out more contact us.
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1:24:20
Afghanistan: There at the Beginning of Op Herrick and There Until the Very End
Liz McConaghy “amassed 10 Op Herricks”, deployed three months at a time as part of the Chinook Force...“We were there at the beginning of Op Herrick…when Camp Bastion didn’t even exist… and we were there, pretty much at the end, when we turned the lights off and walked away. Because of that, we saw the whole campaign grow and develop. Lots of mixed emotions throughout the entire journey.”Liz joined the military to, “...have a purpose and do a job and it’s fair to say, Afghanistan gave me that in bucket loads. Every single day…we were making a difference to someone.”Finally in 2020, PTSD, “Caught up with me in spectacular fashion…so much that I ended up taking a huge overdose to end my life.”Liz is a real ‘overcomer’. She’s written a book about her journey and it’s from the heart, told with real honesty and absolutely tons of humour.“It was my life, it wasn’t even a job to me.”Read Liz's book Chinook Crew 'Chick'.Did you serve in Afghanistan or Iraq?In order to better understand the wellbeing of Afghanistan & Iraq Veterans with which we work, we're asking you to answer a few short questions.If you’re a member of the Armed Forces community and need support with your mental health, Op Courage can help. Or you could phone the Combat Stress Helpline on: 0800 138 1619Company of Makers exists to support veterans and their families who are struggling on civvy street no matter how long ago they left the armed forces.We do this by running a programme of Podcasts | Talks | Workshops.Company of Makers are trying to reach, and better understand, all members of the armed forces community who are also gamers. We’re especially interested in those that have served in Afganistan & Iraq.To find out more contact us.
About Land, Sea & Air - Stories from the Armed Forces
Company of Makers exists to support veterans and their families who are struggling on civvy street no matter how long ago they left the armed forces. We do this by running a programme of Podcasts | Talks | Workshops.
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