Military Wife Speaks Out About Families

When the men( or women) in  our lives go off to war , the wives and husbands left behind have their own battle to fight. It starts the week before they leave; there’s a tension(with a underlying fear) that falls on the family,and a realisation that you may lose them; never see them again,and all the arguments about the chores they never got around to; getting home late as they had to have one more beer and all their infuriating habits are forgotten.

I was left behind to cope with my daughters tantrums; her crying and rebelling and my eldest boy who withdrew into his room,  these problems can be expected people deal with stress and loss differently and its only natural that the kids missed their father and were frightened for him.

I suddenly found myself having to deal with the stuff that my husband usually dealt with, trying to keep normality in the house hold, literally everything was down to me and like every Military wife /husband i did it,but it was hard as I had to deal with my own feelings of lonliness, worry and the constant fear of the knock on the door with the dreaded news.

Sunday was definitely the worse day for me I suppose it was because Sunday was our day spending it together going for walks in the forest,visiting antique fairs or just lazing around the house cuddling up and watching TV.

The long nights listening out for every noise in case somebody broke in; tip toing downstairs in the dark with a heavy object just to make sure.  Lying in bed not being able to sleep thinking of my partner feeling sad, lonely and in need of a hug.

I was a bit upset and stressed my car had broken down and I had to get it towed home, the same day my son was opening a window it jammed and his hand went  through the glass so I had to deal with that; how do I board up a window?  did my turn as duty nurse sorting out his cut hand. Later that day I spoke to my mother in law explaining to her what had happened just needing a bit of support and she said those imortal words WELL YOU KNEW WHAT YOU WERE GETTING IN TO WHEN YOU MARRIED A MILITARY MAN. No you dont, nothing can prepare you .

My hat goes off to all the men and women left behind,I really believe they should receive a medal recognising the part they play. They keep things running smoothly, so that the fighting men and women can concentrate on their job rather than worrying about their families.

Ambush on the Road to Baghdad Out Now

Ambush on the Road to Baghdad is now out! It is a quick read and you can download free from this link here "Smashwords" below is the blurb for the book.

Blurb

Ambush on the Road to Baghdad is the personal experience of a contractor working convoys in Iraq. The book highlights what coalition forces have to face on a daily basis and what they have to go through to survive. This is the second book about the war on Iraq by the U.S bestselling author Simon Chambers.               

Top Ten War Movies

These are my top ten military movies. There were so many movies to pick from it was difficult narrowing them down. If you think I missed any really good ones out then please say. Will be interesting to see what different movies people like.

#10
Black Hawk Down
A good attempt at portraying the Cluster F##K that was this capture mission from start to finish. How anyone got out alive beats me. I met a Ranger who had been there and I asked him how realistic was the fighting scenes.He reckoned there was more ordnance being used and there was more fire coming down. Everyone had an AK47.

#9
The Green Berets
This is a blatant bit of Pro American Vietnam propaganda. John Wayne at his best.Good action scenes .The only things that spoilt it was the Vietcong all bunched up in the scene where 'Puff the Magic Dragon' blasts them with its gattling guns and Wayne forgetting to hook up when he jumped his T10 chute from the back of the C130.

#8
The Dogs of War
OK as a Contractor I'm a bit biased but this is a good bit of boys own yarn. I enjoyed it all the way from beginning to end and the Multiple grenade launcher is now on my Christmas wish list.

#7
Cockleshell Heroes
The bravery of a few good men in flimsy canoes who sacrificed all to destroy German shipping was one of the most heroic missions of WW2.This film shows you how hard they trained before going on what they all expected was a one way mission.For most of them it was.

6th
Battle of the Bulge
The Germans were supposed to be the bad guys but you actually end up feeling some sympathy for them in their desperate rush to get fuel for their tanks.Some good characters and the German crews singing the Tank song is still a rousing piece of music.

#5
9TH Company
Although a Russian film its very well made if not a complete fabrication of the true story.You get to see all the main characters build and get to like them so their unit getting wiped out at the end comes as a bit of a shock.Gory and equal to Saving Private Ryan for realism.

#4
The Great Escape
An all star caste made the first rule of being taken prisoner seem very real.The prisoners duty is to try to escape. Steve McQueens motorcycle stunt is still the most memorable bit of the film for me.

#3
The Longest Day
A star studded cast made this one of the best war films of its kind. The only bit that spoilt it for me was Richard Burtons pilot character having his leg held on by safety pins.Hmm?

#2
Saving Private Ryan
Loosely based on fact this is a gritty,no holds barred account the barbarism of war. Tom Hanks played a goo part in this and his character is very believable. Not for the squeamish.

#1
A Bridge Too Far
As a former Paratrooper this is one of my favorite films. A slight bending of the truth when it came to the American airborne capturing Nijmegan bridge as the British had already taken it. Attenborough was embarrassed by some veterans walking out and he tried to explain it away by stating that it was not supposed to be a documentry.It was made with American money.

My Ten Favourite Parachute Jumps

Was talking about this with a few of my mates and decided to put it up here. These are my ten favourite parachute jumps.

 

 

 

1.My first balloon jump on my course.Id never flown before and that was the highest Id been. Scared the shit out of me.

 

 

2 My eleventh jump since becoming a Para was into Ginkle heath for the 1970 anniversary drop with 10 Para.I was one of the youngest soldiers on the drop. Fantastic.

 

 

3 1971 jumping with 21 and 23 SAS in to Belgium as saboteurs to test their cold war defenses. First time Id jumped at night into snow.

 

 

4 1977 My first foreign Parachute course with the German 272 Falschirmjager battalion. Great time.

 

 

5/ 1979 Jumping at Fort Brag with the 82nd Airborne. First time I jumped a jet. C-141 Starlifter was one hell of a buzz.

 

 

 

6 1996 Jumping with the Estonian Special Forces. Russian drogue system only opens the pilot chute and its cross between free fall and static line. Strange system but good fun.

 

 

 

7 2000 Jumping into the Merville gun battery as part of the Normandy anniversary events.No Dz.Just jumped over the battery just like WW2.What a buzz.

 

 

 

8 2002 Jumping into Driel, the Polish DZ at Arnhem. First time round parachutes had landed their since 1944.What an honour.

 

 

 

9 2004 Jumping onto the DZ next to the John Frost bridge,Arnhem to prove they could have jumped there in 1944. Another honour not lost on any of us.

 

 

 

10 Dropping onto Sannerville DZ Normandy. First time that had been done since 1944. Another great honour for us.

 

 

What is your favourite Jump?

 

 

 

Military Parachuting for fun!

I joined Pathfinder Parachute Group Europe after I left the regular army. Id been a Paratrooper in the British army: also a free fall parachutist. I enjoyed it, but it no longer gave me the thrill I sought. It had got old hat. I still got a buzz, but it was beginning to wear off.

 

As a Paratrooper I had enjoyed the thrill and danger that military parachuting produced. A battalion drop at night, accompanied by several other C130 hercules flying above and below and to one side. Performing a double door despatch and with heavy drop aircraft coming up behind to drop your vehicles to you (Hopefully on a different DZ).

 

After a three hour, low level flight, with fellow Para's puking into sick bags and sometimes into their helmets you just wanted to get out of the door and 'into the silk'. Then a forty minute stand up while you waited for the pilot to find the DZ and all the while carrying a heavy personal weapons container with your rifle and equipment with maybe extra mortar rounds, ammunition for the GPMG or the other 101 items the QM handed you before you got on the aircraft. It was bloody hard work, but I loved it.

 

 

I wanted a similar challenge and found it in Pathfinder. They do parachuting in its purest form. It hadn't changed much since Leonardo Da Vinci did his first drawings of a Parachute on the back of his toilet door.

 

There was none of this 'Stable exit' positioning in the door as in the free fall world. Just sit in the door with your feet outside and turned towards the rear of the aircraft. Hands across the reserve, tap on the helmet and the reassure words of the caring jump master in your ear. GO! and you slide gracefully into the slipstream to wait for the ground to come up and step onto it with the correct pause of Tup! Three! Or in my case hurtle earthwards and arrive.

 

There is no weapons containers, no three hours low level flying before a jump and the only time anyone is sick is if they had too much to drink in the bar last night, and strangely they still use round parachutes.The classic cars of the Parachuting world. All Pathfinders members train military style and wear their old combats during training. The military discipline kicks and it rubs off on the civilians on the course.

 

The BPA in there wisdom stopped round canopy parachuting in England several years ago, which was very short sighted. Pathfinder although a British led veterans Parachute club, is based in Holland where the Dutch happily allow them to jump in the style they were taught in the military using American military surplus chutes and from a verity of aircraft from a Cessna Caravan, former Russian AN2 Colt or the good old DC3 Dakota.

 

Pathfinder run a basic course for the novice and refresher courses for the former paratroopers amongst them. The instructors are mainly British, former Paratroopers, from famous sky diving teams such as the Red Devils and The Silver Stars with thousands of jumps between them, but all dedicated to keeping round parachuting alive in the civilian sports community.

 

 

I think my proudest moment with Pathfinder was leaping into space over the Ginkle heath Drop zone in Holland to commemorate the battle for Arnhem and to help the public remember the veterans and their sacrifices. This is my sport and it keeps me sane.