Speaking about the incident, Cpl of Horse Harrison said: „The first round hit a machine gunner in the stomach and killed him outright. He went straight down and didn’t move. „The second insurgent grabbed the weapon and turned as my second shot hit him in the side. He went down, too. They were both dead.“

Podle něj byly podmínky naprosto perfektní – bezvětří a skvělá viditelnost. Kulka letěla k cíli tři sekundy. Horse Craig Harrison použil britskou pušku L115A3. Aby kompenzoval odchylku, musel mířit o 1,8 metru výše a 50 cm vlevo. Několik týdnů poté, Harrison přežil přepad, při kterém bylo jeho vozidlo zasaženo 36krát a jedna kulka prošla i jeho helmou.

During the Taliban ambush, his patrol vehicle was hit 36 times. He said: „One round hit my helmet behind the right ear and came out of the top. „Two more rounds went through the strap across my chest. We were all very, very lucky not to get hurt.“

Později najelo vozidlo, ve kterém jel na nastraženou výbušninu a zlomil si obě ruce. Nyní je v Británii na léčení a po vyléčení se chystá vrátit do Afghánistánu.

But critics said it was „offensive“ that civil servants who work only at Army bases or accompanying ministers on walkabouts should be given the same medal as the troops who face the Taliban on a daily basis. A total of 235 British forces personnel have died while serving in Afghanistan since the start of operations in October 2001, but no civil servants have been killed.

Tato informace se objevila poté, co vyšlo najevo, že zaměstnanci ministerstva obrany dostali letos na bonusech za „výkonnost“ 47 milionů liber (1,35 miliardy korun). Zaměstnanci ministerstva obrany berou za to, že jsou v Afghánistánu více než osm tisíc liber (necelých 230 tisíc korun), což je přibližně pětkrát více než vojáci.

But one civil servant who recently returned from Afghanistan said it was right that he received the OSM. “We are not on the front line facing the Taliban, but could be blown to pieces at any time,“ he told the paper. „I shall wear my medal with pride inside and outside the office.“ At a presentation ceremony in July, Armed Forces minister Kevan Jones said: „The welfare role these people do is vital in operations and I thought it important that they get public recognition.“

Princezna Anna vyznamenává vojáky ze 152. transportního regimentu Operational Service Medal; Foto britské MoD

Shodou okolností včera vyznamenala princezna Anna vojáky ze 152. transportního regimentu medailemi za operační nasazení. Tito vojáci z teritoriální armády obdrželi medaile za nasazení v afghánském Hílmandu. Konkrétně za:

• 12,000 kilometres travelled by road
• 5,000+ tonnes of ammunition delivered to combat troops
• 10,000+ tonnes of rations delivered to combat troops
• 15,000 tonnes of water delivered to combat troops
• 8.5 million litres of fuel delivered to combat troops
• 100 tonnes of medical supplies delivered to combat troops
• 15,000+ tonnes of infrastructure equipment delivered in support of the local Afghan communities
• £1bn+ of drugs seized/denied