TROOPS SPECIAL REPORT: `We can win another war'

From the Swindon Advertiser, first published Sunday 9th Feb 2003.

A GULF War veteran said troops would be ready and raring to go if there is another conflict.

The soldier, who does not wish to be named for security reasons, was sent to the Middle East in December 1990 and helped force Iraqi soldiers out of Kuwait in a three-month deployment.

Now based in Warminster, he has complete confidence in the armed forces' ability to win another conflict. He said: "They have a job to do and they will be raring to go and do it. They will be feeling positive and highly motivated. The soldiers are highly trained and they will push any doubts to the back of their minds."

The Gulf War veteran was grateful for the public support troops received in 1991. He realises the latest campaign has not received the same level of backing, but hopes people will rally behind soldiers if they are called into action.

"It made such a tremendous difference to know that you had the backing of the public," he said.

The veteran vividly remembers his time in the Middle East and was sad to leave his team in March 1991.

After several weeks of training and a number of early teething problems, the Warminster-based soldier joined half-a-million personnel for a 300km hike across the desert.

Major targets were bombed during air strikes which began in January 1991, and towards the end of February ground forces moved into Kuwait.

The soldier said: "We defended positions after the Americans had followed through. A lot of the Iraqi soldiers gave themselves up but there were some minor engagements. After the main part of the conflict, we spent a lot of time clearing away debris and bodies. When I left, I was devastated because I was leaving the team."

During the Gulf War soldiers took a cocktail of drugs to protect themselves from chemical and biological warfare. The Warminster-based soldier said the unpredictability of any future war was a worry.

He said: "We had a clear mandate last time, where we had to get the enemy out of Kuwait. Who knows how they will react this time when they have to protect their wives and daughters in their homeland?

"If Iraq does have weapons of mass destruction it wouldn't take much for Saddam to press a button if he is going under."

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