{"id":8084,"date":"2011-12-14T11:45:17","date_gmt":"2011-12-14T11:45:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?p=8084"},"modified":"2011-12-14T11:45:17","modified_gmt":"2011-12-14T11:45:17","slug":"in-depth-the-ongoing-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2011\/12\/14\/in-depth-the-ongoing-war\/","title":{"rendered":"In-depth: The ongoing war"},"content":{"rendered":"

Enough support for British soldiers of Afghan conflict?<\/span><\/h2>\n

It is 11 November. Silence. People stop and think. When the two minutes has been and gone there is a return to work, to chatting to a friend, checking a Facebook news feed. Meanwhile, young troops are fighting a contentious war abroad in Afghanistan. A war that is geographically removed from our consciousness the majority of the year, a war that needs to be worth the sacrifice of young soldiers, armed forces personnel who deserve the maximum possible levels of support.<\/p>\n

The current death toll <\/a>of British troops that have bravely lost their lives in Afghanistan is at present 391. If they return home safe from a conflict zone it does not necessarily mark the end of their experience. They may have to recuperate from injury, deal with trauma, integrate back into family life and prepare to return to the war zone again. Prime Minister David Cameron has set a provisional date to be out of Afghanistan by 2015. We have now been at war for over a decade which raises the question whether enough is being done to support the welfare of our troops when a precise end to the conflict cannot be certain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lee Harris is a 24-year-old Corporal with the Royal Military Police and was in Afghanistan in May 2009 for six months attached to the Infantry (Two Mercian). The welshman is due to return to the conflict zone in April. Referring to Afghanistan he said, \u201cThe amount of deaths and injuries were never supposed to be anywhere like they are.\u201d Lee avoids telling his family the truth about his tours to stop his mum worrying. He said, \u201cI tell them I\u2019m in a nice place like Bastion or Kandahar, when really I\u2019m out with the group in some rubbish little hell hole.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Return from the hell hole<\/strong><\/p>\n

So what happens to troops who aren\u2019t as fortunate as Lee and return from the conflict zone in need of help? Reverend Joe Rooney is an Officiating Chaplain to the military (OCM) and is stationed at Beachley Barracks near Chepstow with the 1st<\/sup> Rifles Regiment of the Army. He acts as an initial point of contact for forces personnel returning home from Afghanistan and plays a vital role in ensuring that they seek the correct psychological and physical support if needed. He said, \u201cThere is never enough support for anybody who has been into a conflict situation but having said that there is a great deal of support available.\u201d<\/p>\n

Headley Court <\/a>is a specialised rehabilitation centre in Surrey specifically for injured troops. Joe gave an example of the heroic nature of a recuperating victim of the Afghan war he encountered on a visit to the centre who had lost a limb and was learning to walk on an artificial limb, \u201cThey just realise they have got to get on, they have got to live and their families have got to be dependent on it, so they just do it,\u201d he said. Organisations like the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association provide additional accommodation for families visiting Headley Court and the charity, Help for Heroes supplemented the facilities there with a swimming pool and expanded gym.<\/p>\n

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