bobdina
05-03-2010, 03:00 PM
Staff Sergeant Karl "Badger" Ley worked in temperatures of 122F (50C) defusing improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and braved being targeted by insurgent snipers, while deployed to Helmand.
The 29-year-old bomb disposal expert from Sheffield saved the lives of countless British soldiers and Afghan nationals during a tour of duty in which three of his closest friends were killed and several others were injured by Taliban bombs.
SSgt Ley, who is married with four children, insisted he was not a hero and said: "I was just doing my job – and by the way it's nothing like The Hurt Locker."
In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, the soldier with 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment (11EOD), Royal Logistic Corps, said: "Soldiers tend to be scared of IEDs because they know that they can kill.
"They don't scare me because it's my job to defuse them. It's all about being in your comfort zone. When I'm defusing bombs I'm in my comfort zone.
"I have been under fire many times and that is something which does scare me. I hate it because I am not in my comfort zone but many guys in the infantry enjoy it, they get a real buzz out of being in a firefight - but it terrifies me."
The use of IEDs by the Taliban has soared in the last two years and the devices are now are responsible for 80 per cent of all British casualties.
The experts charged with defusing them are known as IED operators.
The number working in Helmand cannot be made public for security reasons but they make up just a small fraction of the 300-strong Counter IED Task Force.
The bomb disposal specialists always deploy with support from specialist Royal Engineer searchers.
SSgt Ley has defused more than three times as many bombs as some of his colleagues have, but insists he has done "nothing special".
The staff sergeant, whose job title is Ammunition Technician, told how he was ambushed by the Taliban as he took the "long walk" along a track to defuse a bomb.
He said: "I was a few metres from the bomb and about 100 metres from the rest of my team when the Taliban spotted me and opened up.
"Two RPGs flew over my head and I could hear the bullets cracking above me. I just turned and ran. I was terrified. By the time I reached my blokes they were all laughing at me. I think they saw the look on my face."
During one 72-hour operation last September he defused 28 pressure plate IEDs, tackling 14 bombs in a single nine-hour period.
The operation took place close to a British base which was being targeted by Taliban bomb teams.
He continued: "I was with WO2 David Markland, who was the Royal Engineer Search Advisor in my team. We were waiting for the searchers to finish when we were attacked.
"All of sudden there was this enormous weight of fire raining down upon us.
"The bullets were flying just above my head, literally inches away. I got down on my belly but Gary was a big bloke and was struggling to get behind cover.
"The Taliban position was eventually suppressed by our troops and we set about defusing the devices.
"It was a bit nervy – I think the Taliban got wind that we were removing all of the devices they had spent hours laying and were not very happy. I cleared seven on the first day, 14 on the second and seven on the third.
"It was very hard work, shattering actually, the temperature was hitting 104F (40C) and you had to keep your focus and remain methodical."
SSgt Ley and WO2 Markland worked together for the next five months and became firm friends, trusting each other with their lives.
But on Feb 8, just prior to Operation Moshtarak, WO2 Markland was killed when he triggered an IED in the Nad-e-Ali district of central Helmand while conducting a search operation.
SSgt Ley admitted to being devastated by the loss of one of his best friends.
The death formed part of a grim period which left many within the Counter IED Task Force bereft and distraught.
On Jan 11, Captain Daniel Read, another IED operator with 11EOD, who had previously been injured in an explosion yet had returned to the front line, was killed by a homemade bomb.
Then, only days after WO2 Markland's death, Sapper Guy Mellors, a member of a search team from 33 Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers was killed by a home made bomb in Sangin on Feb 15.
"It was a really bad period," said SSgt Ley. "After Dave was killed I had a little cry but you don't have time to mope – you just have to man-up and get on with it. But I think we were all deeply affected."
Earlier, Captain Daniel Shepherd of 11EOD was killed last July, and Olaf Schmid, a bomb disposal expert also with the same regiment, was killed last October after five months working in Helmand, the day before he was due to fly home for two weeks' leave.
"Olaf Schmid was a very good mate of mine and he was killed very early on in our tour," said SSgt Ley.
"That was a big blow. He was fantastic bloke – he lit up a room, he was such a big personality.
"I had known him for a very long time and whenever I was sent on a course the first thing I would do would be to look at the list of names to see if Olaf was on it – if he was you knew you were in for a good time."
Major Tim Gould, the officer commanding of the Counter IED Task Force, said the tour had been one of the most arduous in his regiment's history.
He said: "We haven't sustained losses like this since the early days of the 1970s when bomb disposal was in its infancy.
"You will not hear any of my men complain about the workload or the dangers but it has been unrelenting and arduous.
"The teams are out almost every day doing fantastic work and there are a lot of soldiers and Afghans alive today because of their courage – but there has been a price to pay and we have lost more men in the last six months than the regiment has lost in over 30 years."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/7436183/Defusing-139-Taliban-bombs-was-nothing-special-says-British-soldier.html
The 29-year-old bomb disposal expert from Sheffield saved the lives of countless British soldiers and Afghan nationals during a tour of duty in which three of his closest friends were killed and several others were injured by Taliban bombs.
SSgt Ley, who is married with four children, insisted he was not a hero and said: "I was just doing my job – and by the way it's nothing like The Hurt Locker."
In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, the soldier with 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment (11EOD), Royal Logistic Corps, said: "Soldiers tend to be scared of IEDs because they know that they can kill.
"They don't scare me because it's my job to defuse them. It's all about being in your comfort zone. When I'm defusing bombs I'm in my comfort zone.
"I have been under fire many times and that is something which does scare me. I hate it because I am not in my comfort zone but many guys in the infantry enjoy it, they get a real buzz out of being in a firefight - but it terrifies me."
The use of IEDs by the Taliban has soared in the last two years and the devices are now are responsible for 80 per cent of all British casualties.
The experts charged with defusing them are known as IED operators.
The number working in Helmand cannot be made public for security reasons but they make up just a small fraction of the 300-strong Counter IED Task Force.
The bomb disposal specialists always deploy with support from specialist Royal Engineer searchers.
SSgt Ley has defused more than three times as many bombs as some of his colleagues have, but insists he has done "nothing special".
The staff sergeant, whose job title is Ammunition Technician, told how he was ambushed by the Taliban as he took the "long walk" along a track to defuse a bomb.
He said: "I was a few metres from the bomb and about 100 metres from the rest of my team when the Taliban spotted me and opened up.
"Two RPGs flew over my head and I could hear the bullets cracking above me. I just turned and ran. I was terrified. By the time I reached my blokes they were all laughing at me. I think they saw the look on my face."
During one 72-hour operation last September he defused 28 pressure plate IEDs, tackling 14 bombs in a single nine-hour period.
The operation took place close to a British base which was being targeted by Taliban bomb teams.
He continued: "I was with WO2 David Markland, who was the Royal Engineer Search Advisor in my team. We were waiting for the searchers to finish when we were attacked.
"All of sudden there was this enormous weight of fire raining down upon us.
"The bullets were flying just above my head, literally inches away. I got down on my belly but Gary was a big bloke and was struggling to get behind cover.
"The Taliban position was eventually suppressed by our troops and we set about defusing the devices.
"It was a bit nervy – I think the Taliban got wind that we were removing all of the devices they had spent hours laying and were not very happy. I cleared seven on the first day, 14 on the second and seven on the third.
"It was very hard work, shattering actually, the temperature was hitting 104F (40C) and you had to keep your focus and remain methodical."
SSgt Ley and WO2 Markland worked together for the next five months and became firm friends, trusting each other with their lives.
But on Feb 8, just prior to Operation Moshtarak, WO2 Markland was killed when he triggered an IED in the Nad-e-Ali district of central Helmand while conducting a search operation.
SSgt Ley admitted to being devastated by the loss of one of his best friends.
The death formed part of a grim period which left many within the Counter IED Task Force bereft and distraught.
On Jan 11, Captain Daniel Read, another IED operator with 11EOD, who had previously been injured in an explosion yet had returned to the front line, was killed by a homemade bomb.
Then, only days after WO2 Markland's death, Sapper Guy Mellors, a member of a search team from 33 Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers was killed by a home made bomb in Sangin on Feb 15.
"It was a really bad period," said SSgt Ley. "After Dave was killed I had a little cry but you don't have time to mope – you just have to man-up and get on with it. But I think we were all deeply affected."
Earlier, Captain Daniel Shepherd of 11EOD was killed last July, and Olaf Schmid, a bomb disposal expert also with the same regiment, was killed last October after five months working in Helmand, the day before he was due to fly home for two weeks' leave.
"Olaf Schmid was a very good mate of mine and he was killed very early on in our tour," said SSgt Ley.
"That was a big blow. He was fantastic bloke – he lit up a room, he was such a big personality.
"I had known him for a very long time and whenever I was sent on a course the first thing I would do would be to look at the list of names to see if Olaf was on it – if he was you knew you were in for a good time."
Major Tim Gould, the officer commanding of the Counter IED Task Force, said the tour had been one of the most arduous in his regiment's history.
He said: "We haven't sustained losses like this since the early days of the 1970s when bomb disposal was in its infancy.
"You will not hear any of my men complain about the workload or the dangers but it has been unrelenting and arduous.
"The teams are out almost every day doing fantastic work and there are a lot of soldiers and Afghans alive today because of their courage – but there has been a price to pay and we have lost more men in the last six months than the regiment has lost in over 30 years."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/7436183/Defusing-139-Taliban-bombs-was-nothing-special-says-British-soldier.html