I should not be surprised but I was taken aback this week when Donald Trump claimed that European troops were not on the frontline during America’s war on terror and his country had never needed support from Europe.

For the record America is the only country to have triggered article five of the North Atlantic Treaty which states that an armed attack against one NATO member is considered an attack against all members, obligating them to assist the attacked member. This mutual defence clause was only been invoked once, following the September 11 attacks on 2001.

And it is a bit rich coming from President Bone Spurs, the draft dodger in chief, who had his call ups for Vietnam put back a number of times during the 1960s, before his family got a doctor to make the claim about his bone spurs health issues which prevented him from serving in the Vietnam War. Having said that his current heath issues seem a lot more serious these days.

During December 2007 I headed out to Afghanistan’s Helmand province to report on the deployment of 2 Yorks regiment which had just taken part in the liberation of Musa Qala, which was an Afghan National Army-led operation where one of 2 Yorks’ comrades was killed and I was privileged to be invited to attend his memorial service.

On Xmas day 2007 I was about to accompany a squad on a foot patrol around the village which was definitely still on the frontline. I saw British soldiers talking to villagers to hear their concerns. Having said that I did photograph Corporal Damien Lawrence, who was from Whitby and is on the far left of the picture above, and a couple of months later he was unfortunately killed in an IED explosion which kind of brought home to me the danger I had placed myself in.

I recently have been in communication with his mother and I am hoping to give her a framed print of the photo later this year. I was always a bit cautious about contacting the family, in case they felt I was intruding on their grief, but in the end I think they were pleased with the shot as I had recorded him doing what he enjoyed best.

I also visited troops at forward operating bases (FOBs), and you don’t need me to tell you that the clue is in the name as they were definitely on the frontline. Conditions were fairly basic but they were making the best of it. I am fairly sure I saw members of the Taliban walking or riding motorcycles past when I was there.

For the record I find Trump’s ill-advised and misinformed comments insulting to say the least. His recent comments relating to Greenland show his total lack of historical knowledge and they only fit in with his fascistic and autocratic political agenda.

To be honest I am not sure what is happening on the geopolitical landscape at the moment but it does seem odd that the leader of the free world is aligning himself with leaders who were previously considered enemies. But here is a gallery of my shots from the trip and, trust me, they were all taken on the frontline unlike Trump who would not know what life on the frontline is like.