Disclaimer: I don't own Our Girl. Everything you recognise was created by Tony Grounds and is owned by the BBC.
Azizi
I am not quite sure what to make of this new team that the British have sent us. Certainly their leader Captain James is a massive improvement. That Captain Hamilton that was here previously was the most arrogant little man that it has ever been my misfortune to serve alongside and that is really saying something because there are some shocking officers in our army that have only got to where they are because of the quality of their political and financial connections. Hamilton used to treat us as if we were five year olds and it's not like he had ever seen a lot of action. But James – Charles as he tells me to call him in private – is a totally different type of man. I mean, I can't imagine Captain Hamilton even telling me his first name, let alone suggesting I use it (although his men did call him Dicky behind his back!). He was too busy sucking up to his CO to do his job.
James will be the fourth and the last British officer I have to "mentor" me but it seems already as though he will be the best. For starters it seems that he has actually bothered to read his intelligence pack. He's one up on "Captain Hamilton" already! As soon as he got here he invited me to come to his quarters to talk about the political situation in the region as well as his thoughts, having read the intelligence briefing, and to get my thoughts. I nearly fell off my chair when he asked for my thoughts. No British officer has ever asked for my thoughts before. I suppose my first two officers, Captain Hughes and Captain Smith, had me when I was an inexperienced lieutenant and an inexperienced captain, respectively. But by the time Captain Hamilton was assigned here I had been leading my men for 18 months, all spent in this region, and he never once asked for my opinion.
We talked for several hours about the situation in the region and my belief that there is an active Taliban cell here, even though our intelligence suggests that they have left the area. We talked about patrol schedules and finally he asked me about my men and volunteered information on his. He asked me whether we have a combat medic (I told him proudly that yes we do; he is newly qualified) and he told me that he only has one and that his medic is very young and he is not sure about her. He told me that his Corporals have seen action before and that about a quarter of his platoon are Afghanistan veterans, but that the rest have never served in this country and are totally raw.
That became clear within days when his second section, with his female medic, got pinned down within sight of the base. Intercepts suggested that they were targeting the female. She froze and one of his soldiers opened fire on a compound, full auto. Luckily no-one was hit but it could have been very different. The Captain obviously realised that he needed to spend more time with that section. That's why he, and they, came up to the mountains with us today.
I think it's fair to say that I wasn't sure about the female. The British have sent females before, but not for a while. Captain Hughes had a female medic in his team. She was significantly more senior though; a corporal I think. I think it must be more difficult for this female. She is young. It may be her first trip away from her country. Captain James told me that she is a late replacement and that all the others have been together for over six months. That must be hard for her.
However it is difficult to get a read on her. She seems to be a good person. Sohail told me that she stopped one of the British soldiers picking a fight with him on the first day and she has befriended one of the young girls from the village. But then she doesn't seem to be a good soldier. She froze under fire.
As the British arrive at the mountain command post the other soldiers seem to be shunning her. As Captain James greets me and I take him into the compound I notice them all ignoring her. Later, as we come out to brief the Captain's section I see further evidence of it as they all deliberately look away rather than acknowledging her. I am sent off to move the kids on. I can understand why the Captain wants them away from the troop concentration and kick myself for not noticing them and acting sooner.
Afterwards I return to ask our medic Akmal about the British medic and he tells me that she knows her job well and was very professional with him. Akmal was mentored by a female British medic during his training so I know that he would not have a problem with her sex; one of the few among my men that I could say that about. As I stand talking to Akmal, and Captain James stands talking to Medic Dawes, a shot rings out.
We all rush up to the sandbagged firing position. The British are all calling to each other, trying to find out what has happened. Corporal Kinders asks whether anyone has eyes on, and Medic Dawes replies, surprising me that she is so observant.
The soldier who has been shot is the one that has caused the trouble, picking the fight with Sohail and unloading in the compound. But he is in the minefield. And he has the mine detecting equipment. What an idiot! He complains that he is bleeding and one of the men says that he needs a medic. Only a green soldier would expect a medic to go to treat someone in a minefield without detection equipment. Those of us who have seen the effects of mines close up know that you don't send anyone into a minefield without the right equipment.
But Medic Dawes surprises us. She tells Captain James that she knows her mine-clearing drill. He tells her, as I would, no fucking way! She challenges him again and then tells him that as a female she doesn't expect special treatment. She's absolutely nuts. Female or male I would never send anyone into a minefield without proper detecting equipment, but he backs down. I'm pretty surprised. I suppose it is his man bleeding out down there and maybe he feels bad for misjudging Dawes. Whether she froze or not on her first contact it's absolutely clear now that she's as brave as they come.
James takes two men and the medic and moves down to the bridge. I call up some of my men to the firing position and bring out more to take positions down the track to the river to give them further cover. By the time I have got everyone positioned to my satisfaction the medic is already lying at the edge of the minefield probing around with her combat knife.
I share an incredulous look with Medic Akmal and Sergeant Gul. I have never seen such bravery. And from a woman as well. She continues to crawl forward. We are all keeping our eyes peeled for the shooter but he must have retreated. I can't think that he wouldn't take a pot shot at a female medic crawling across a minefield if he was still here. Although maybe he is transfixed by her bravery as well. No, that is not the way the Taliban think. Although it is possible that he will let her get closer to the injured soldier before he shoots her. That would cause maximum hurt and that would be the way Taliban think. We must keep a close eye out.
Suddenly there is an explosion. No! She was so close. Akmal and I share a look. It was not a big explosion. There is a possibility that she could still be alive, although seriously injured. I silently reassure the medic that I will not send him down there. Hopefully the British will send a chopper with a winch.
I can hear Captain James hoarsely screaming at Dawes, seeking any sign of life. I feel for him; now he may have lost two soldiers. Suddenly Sergeant Gul exclaims sharply and I look up. Dawes has sat up. The cheers from the position above us suggest that she is OK. We do not have radios so I don't know what is happening. She moves towards the casualty and doesn't seem to have any issues moving. If that's the case then she is one lucky soldier. And let's face it, she is definitely a soldier and not just a woman. I have never seen anyone, man or woman, act so bravely in my life. She has just been blown up by a mine but her first thought is to treat the casualty. Amazing.
I can hear the helicopter approaching and glory be - they have sent a small one with a winch. It's good that it's a small one. Earlier in the war they sent a Chinook to extract casualties from a minefield and the downdraft from its rotors caused a mine to explode. Hopefully we will not have that problem here. Captain James is getting annoyed about something. He is shouting at the medic. As the rescue tether is lowered and the medic prepares the casualty I can see what he must have been shouting about. He didn't want the medic to go up on the winch, where she would have been exposed to sniper fire, but the medic has defied him. She really is brave. She ignores the threat from the Taliban and she ignores the threat from Captain James! Maybe she is thinking, like I have concluded, that if the Taliban were going to take a pot shot at her they would already have done so. Nevertheless it is another very courageous thing she has done. Risking her life twice in 10 minutes.
As the helicopter departs her comrades scream and shout encouragement, seemingly forgetting that only 30 minutes ago they didn't want anything to do with her. Afterwards the Captain calls another section up to use their mine detection gear to salvage the equipment left inside the minefield. The Captain is insistent, and I agree, that no equipment should be left behind for the Taliban to extract and potentially use. He sets off back to the FOB with Two Section, leaving me to co-ordinate the recovery of the equipment. Then I leave a detachment at the mountain base and we return to the FOB.
The Captain is waiting for me inside the ops tent. I confirm that the equipment has been salvaged and ask about his injured soldiers. He tells me that the male is conscious and expected to live and that the medic is battered and bruised but on her way back.
I tell him, "You must be proud of Medic Dawes, Captain."
He smiles at me sadly, and then looks around, noting the absence of anyone else, "I asked you to call me Charles, Idris. Yes I am. I was wrong about her, but I've learnt my lesson. Hopefully the men have learnt theirs."
I think they probably have.
A/N 1 The name Idris means "studious person" – I thought it was right for Captain Azizi.
A/N 2 The reference to the Chinook downdraft setting off a mine is a reference to the disaster at the Kajaki dam early in the war when British soldiers waited 6 hours for a helicopter with a winch before being sent a Chinook which tried to land, setting off a mine which resulted in one soldier receiving fatal injuries. The incident has now been made into a film.