Author is a Royal Anglian Veteran, Julian Whippy.
The book delivers first-hand accounts of the British forces tasked with invading Iraq in March 2003.
The volume is meticulously researched and is the culmination of hours of interviews with a broad range of veterans, including tank crewmen, helicopter crew, paratroopers, Royal Marines, Fusiliers, REME, bomb disposal experts, and submariners.
Engaging structure moves from ‘9/11 and all that’, to ‘SCUDs, Goolies and Gold’ and the literal and metaphorical minefield of UXBs; through to ceasing of Major Combat Operations, with a final chapter on where the veterans are now
Codenamed Operation Telic, the British component of the invasion of Iraq in 2003 was the largest gathering of British troops since the Second World War.
Whilst the British public prepared for the worst as its soldiers were facing weapons of mass destruction, most servicemen and women were under no illusion that they were invading Iraq to rid the people of Saddam Hussein.
While much has been said about WMD and Tony Blair’s government, not nearly enough has been heard from those men and women that took part in Operation Telic. Based upon dozens of veteran interviews, personal diaries and archival material, this book tells their stories, in their own words.
From controlling the vast Allied Air Forces at 34,000 feet in an AWACS plane down to submariners beneath the warm waves of the Persian Gulf firing Tomahawk Cruise missiles, from the steaming hot turret of a Challenger Tank as it is peppered with RPGs, to being on your belly in a sandstorm disarming unexploded bombs — these veteran accounts cover the whole spectrum of experiences.
Polarised public opinion and the post-war media portrayal of the war has detracted from what was achieved by these forces, when tasked to do so, often with insufficient or inadequate resources. These are their stories of courage, fortitude, pride, and brotherhood amidst the harsh realities of modern asymmetric warfare.
