An Ordinary Soldier

Afghanistan: A ferocious enemy. A bloody conflict. One man's impossible mission

Doug Beattie MC

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
• Year: 2009
• eBook ISBN:
  9781847398925
• Print ISBN:
  9781847393999

On 11th September 2006 - exactly five years after the attacks on the Twin Towers - a modern day Rorke's Drift was played out in the town of Garmsir, known as the Taliban gateway to Helmand Province. 40-year-old Capt. Doug Beattie of the 1stBattalion Royal Irish Regiment was charged with the mission to help retake Garmsir from the Taliban. His commanders said it would take two days; it actually took two weeks of exhausting, bloody conflict in which at times he would be one of only a small unit up against a ferocious enemy in impossible conditions.For his repeated bravery Doug Beattie was decorated with the Military Cross.

AN ORDINARY SOLDIER offers an extraordinary insight into the mission in Afghanistan and, crucially, the relationship between British troops and the Afghans they serve alongside. Above all, it's Beattie's personal story of being what he modestly calls 'an ordinary soldier' - someone who balances being a loving father and husband with that of fighting in the world's most hostile place. It demands to be read.

Table of contents

• Cover
• About the Author
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• CONTENTS
• Acknowledgements
• Maps
• Preface
• 1 Suicide Bomber
• 2 James Bond and Trying to Kill My Best Friend
• 3 Bully Boys, Rudolf Hess and Me
• 4 Big Blue Wing Commander
• 5 From Fun to Fighting
• 6 Old Enough to Know Better
• 7 Where Did It All Go Wrong?
• 8 Up Close and Personal
• 9 Taking Casualties
• 10 A Call to Prayer
• 11 A Question of Ethics
• 12 The Horrors of War
• 13 Out of Sight, Out of Mind
• 14 Ambush
• 15 That Was Close
• 16 Going Under
• 17 Pulling Out, Going Back
• 18 Going Home, Going to the Palace, Going Back Again
• Epilogue Citation
• Glossary
• Picture Credits
• Photographic Insert