fire in the hole!

Yes Marc this one is defo my favourite from the whole tour!

how many rockets did you have to fire before you got the perfect shot?

well this was about the 4th time I'd been able to set up and catch the mortars over 3 months as most of the time when they were firing its not planned but when the boss let me know they were going to be firing at a certain time i'd get set up... but then there's only a few bombs fired during each fire mission so its not something i could try over and over again! lol! My main concern was focus as it was always pitch black when i set up and couldn't check the focus so just worked of gestimating the distance... I then used Lamp mode, a tripod and a remote shutter switch, when ever the firer is going to fire he'd shout "Firing" then push the trigger so on the command I'd open the shutter... I think the loaders bright head torch really gives it that bit of extra light as well, as his heads down pointing at the rounds while its fired lighting up the ground and the shells on the floor.. Luckily he didn't move his head as the couple before i opened the shutter before he put his head down and got the trails from his head torch making things a bit messy...

well done on the front page, and a great set too :D

whoop whoop! well there's a good start on my return! :)

it's always amazing to see images from you hubby..

How is the war going? Are you guys making any progress? Be nice to hear what you lot on the front lines think rather than what's fed to us via the BBC..

Ta,
JB

thanks jon :)


well we are making progress but at a cost, as you all know the death toll has increased terribly this last tour herrick 10 being the worst yet... the same with injuries at least one serious casualty a day...

The progress we are making is substantial, where i was in Basharan located directly south of Babergee during panthers claw all the Taliban were forced out allowing us to then work with the locals to rebuild a school and get plans under way to get the turbines repaired to provide these areas with electricity, then there's the wells providing fresh water, 50 were installed in the Bashran area, allowing children to grow up with fresh clean water, electricity and schooling... the locals are extremely happy with all this and this then leads to them supporting us (ISAF forces) and then assisting us with our fight against the Taliban...

In my opinion we can win this for the Afghan people but it won't happen for another generation, 10 years and we'll see a massive difference as the youngsters will have grown up only knowing change and feeling the benefits of this change and our presence... Its not going to be easy but we've started now and that commitment has cost the lives and the sacrifice of so many already, we can't leave now we must continue, to honour those who have fallen and and give there sacrifice a purpose!

What we achieved in Basharan is being repeated all over Helmand it just costs alot to get to that stage but it is possible...

They are the future of Afghanistan:

Good work, you guys are doing well out there, full support from me :)

Fantastic mate, on all levels.

it's good to hear your thoughts hubby, thanks so much for posting. Good luck to you and your fellow soldiers.

It is nice to listen to what people actually there are saying. Even if you never agreed with the purpose, you should always support your countryman.
The pics are awesome. and congrats on being on front page.

Awesome pic man.. Fair play to you lot serious respect

you guys have got my vote!
way to go and thank you!

Yeah, well done mate! All the best!

O

Great picture. And thank you so much for what you are doing. Be Safe

this is really amazing,

wow, good to hear from someone actualy out there. thanks for the pictures and all that you are doing

buddies in

Fucking lush photo <3

nice work