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.”

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