Mutual Support

In 2012 I returned to work 2 weeks after completing 4 rounds of chemotherapy. I could barely walk up a flight of stairs, let alone conduct the spectrum of tasks required of a junior officer in the Infantry. I certainly wasn’t ready to join the Battalion in Afghanistan.

But my Regiment knew something that I didn’t: that focusing on helping others would provide a distraction from my own pity party for one.

I was given command of the ‘Everest Platoon’ consisting of Gurkhas who had been injured on operations overseas. Overnight my reality changed (again) as I became responsible for 30+ Wounded and Injured Soldiers in the seaside town of Folkestone.

Over the next few months, we helped each other to heal. Our days were spent conducting physical and mental rehabilitation.

· 0600 – 0700 pool sessions.

· 0900 - 1030 physiotherapy / khukuri patterns.

· 1100 – 1230 conceptual / theory training for infantry tasks.

· 1400 – 1530 strength and conditioning / cardio.

· 1600 – 1800 leadership training and mindfulness.

In the evenings we would regularly go to ‘messing’: collecting around a fire pit, preparing goat curry, telling stories, singing songs, sharing kahini and a beer or two – a picture that will be familiar to anyone who has served with Gurkhas going back to 1815.

The next day if one man missed a session without a good reason, five of us would be knocking at his door to make sure that he was ok and get him to the next one.

I learnt more about what was possible in the face of adversity from these men than anything I have seen or experienced since. Some of them have returned to full time service and continued with their military careers, others were eventually medically discharged and have moved on to civilian lives. One of them (a double above the knee amputee) Hari Budha Magar climbed Mt Everest. All of them had their own battles and demons. None of them quit.

Whilst resilience starts with oneself, those around you are of critical importance. Surround yourself with people of substance and quality and I am confident that you will get through the very darkest of times. If you need an ear – reach out, I am here.