Alloa Advertiser | News | Afghan tour is 'just another job' for Argylls

Friday, 9th May, 2008

Published: Wednesday, 26th March, 2008 12:00

Afghan tour is 'just another job' for Argylls

By Nicola Findlay

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Lance Corporal Alex Pedley, pictured with his wife Maureen and son Dylan, is one of the Argyll soldiers being sent to Afghanistan.

Pic by: David Robertson

AFTER months of training a Tullibody soldier is preparing for a six month tour of the Helmand Province of Afghanistan with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.

But despite the dangers they will face, Lance Corporal Alex Pedley (36) says it is just another job.

And that after extensive training, he and his fellow soldiers in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders are more than prepared for the challenges that lie ahead.

This is the first time that the 5th Battalion of The Royal Regiment of Scotland has been sent to Afghanistan and they will be working with the Afghan Government to enhance security in the region and help defeat the Taliban.

During his 15 years in the battalion, Alex has been posted far and wide, from active service in Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Iraq, to training in Kenya and Cyprus.

Alex told the Advertiser, “I have been deployed all over the world so to me this is simply another job.

“You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t feel apprehensive but when you get over there the training kicks in with everything you do.

“For the past 14 months the battalion has been training constantly and we are all now ready to go and get the job done and come back home to our families, and I think I speak for every soldier when I say that.”

During the deployment in Afghanistan, Alex will be based in Fob Delhi with ‘A’ Company and will be responsible for making sure supplies, such as food and clothing, get through to the soldiers in his company.

Alex went on, “The fact is we go to places like Afghanistan and Iraq to help people and make the country a better and safer place, and that is something that gives us all a great deal of satisfaction.

“It is all about winning hearts and minds and we are the best in the world at doing that.

“I don’t think I have ever been better prepared or have been given so much equipment for a deployment.

“We are the best trained army in the world and we know exactly what we will be facing in Afghanistan.”

However, leaving his wife Maureen (35) is still one of the hardest parts of Alex’s job, and it has been especially hard ever since their son, four-year-old Dylan, was born.

“It is always hard going away for six-months and leaving loved ones behind,” said Alex.

“I was sent to Iraq a couple of days after Dylan was born, which was really tough, and I missed the first six-months of his life. It will be just as hard when I have to go to Afghanistan so I have tried to spend as much time as possible with my family before I go.”

While Alex is in Afghanistan, Maureen will be living with her family in Menstrie instead of their army home in the battalion’s base in Canterbury.

She told the Advertiser, “I would rather be in Scotland than Canterbury while Alex is away because at least I have the support of my family up here.

“It’s tough being left behind and it doesn’t help when you are down in England miles away from your family.

“However, we have been married for 14 years and have been together since we were 15-years-old so I am used to him being away a lot.

“I have to accept that it is part of what he does and, to be honest, you don’t really think about it until they are away.

“You have to try to look at it as just another job but it is hard, particularly when you see things on the news. Dylan is also at the age when he is starting to ask questions about why his daddy isn’t here and when he is coming back.

“When he was younger he didn’t really notice Alex was away but now it is quite hard to explain. However, I still think he is too young to really understand what’s happening.”

Although Maureen has decided to stay with her family during the deployment there is plenty of support available for those who choose to stay in Canterbury.

The battalion’s Welfare Officer has organised trips and events for the wives and children of soldiers and the families will also be kept up-to-date with regular text messages.

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