SCARBOROUGH soldiers are glad to be back on home soil after a six-month tour in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province war zone.

Members of 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment (Green Howards) returned to Weeton Barracks, near Blackpool, where they were welcomed by friends and family.

Cpl Carl Peterson, of South Cliff, said it was good to see his wife Rachel and three-year-old son Ashton again. He said: “It was good, but emotional, to get back.”

During the tour, members of 2 Yorks had the demanding role of mentoring the Afghan National Army (ANA) which Cpl Peterson said was both tough and challenging.

“We have definitely made a difference,” he said. “The Afghan soldiers can now go out on a night patrol on their own and they couldn’t do that before.

“You could see a difference in the ones that had come straight out of training. We have still got a long way to go but we are going in the right direction.”

Cpl Peterson added the experience had also had an effect on his own troops.

He said: “I’ve seen a bigger change in our own soldiers. We went out there with a lot of young lads who have grown up quickly. I’ve commanded a lot of young lads who weren’t original Green Howards but now it is something they are proud of.”

Tragically, the battalion lost Cpl Damian Lawrence, from Whitby, and Sgt Lee Johnson, from Stockton-on-Tees, who were both killed in action during the tour.

Cpl Peterson said: “Damian was a good friend. To be honest when I was out there it never really sunk in. You’ve got a job to do and you have got a lot more to worry about. It only sunk in when I got back home.”

Fellow Scarborough soldier Pte Tim Gargan raised more than 1000 for the Army Benevolent Fund by being sponsored for growing a bushy beard.

He said the conditions had been tough because he had spent such a long time “out on the ground” in the district of Sangin. He said: “It was quite hard work. I really enjoyed it and I liked working with the Afghans.”

The battalion regularly came under fire from Taliban forces. Pte Gargan said: “We had a tick list showing troops in contact and it filled the whole wall.”

He added he was impressed with the response from people at home and was overwhelmed when complete strangers had shook him by the hand and said he was doing a good job.

He said: “A taxi driver from Beeline said to give the 6.50 fare to my appeal. It’s been in the news quite a lot when we’ve been away. It’s just a job for us but we have people coming up and saying stuff like that – it’s very humbling.”

The battalion operated out of the ANA’s own Camp Shorabak and worked in seven-man sections, integrated into the ANA company groups, in forward operating bases and patrol bases throughout the whole of Helmand Province.

Soldiers from the battalion were heavily involved in Operation Mar Karadad – during which the town of Musa Qala was taken from the Taliban.

One of the battalion’s commanding officers praised the work carried out by the Scarborough soldiers.

Major Jake Little, who commanded B Company during Operation Mar Karadad, said: “They were excellent from the first day to the last. They are hard, they are fit and they are brave.”

He added conditions had been rough, especially in the remote patrol bases, but his troops had coped well.

Major Little said it would be a long time before the British presence in Afghanistan would no longer be required but itwas difficult to tell when that would be. He said: “Whether that’s five, 10 or 20 years, it’s impossible to tell. You just can’t tell how the security situation will change.”

From The Scarborough Evening News on Friday, April 4, 2008.