Highs and lows

May 17, 2011

FIRST things first I must apologise for the lack of updates in the past 10 days or so.

As you may well appreciate atmospherics change in an instant out here and we are either called away to cover something outside, or we’re tasked with something else.

The past 10 days have been busy to say the least, with plenty of highs - and sadly lows.

The low point has of course been the announcement of the death of Marine Nigel Mead of Plymouth’s 42 Commando RMs.

The 19-year-old’s death struck a chord in me as, after deploying on operations with 42 Commando on Herrick 9, the unit made me an ‘honorary Royal Marine’.

In the grand scale of things it may not mean much to most people, but for me it was a pat on the back and a sign of acceptance and trust.

So when news broke of the death of Mne Mead it hit home, quite literally.

I’m a born and bred Plymothian and I know how proud Plymouth is of its Royal Marines.

I maybe out here, where the focus is very much on ‘getting the job done first before grieving’, but I know there will be a great many marines who are truly hurting inside.

That was all too evident reading the full eulogy for Mne Mead.

As I scrolled down I counted no fewer than 21 tributes from his Commanding Officer and members of Lima Company alone.

His death – the first for 42 Commando during this Herrick 14 deployment – obviously hit home to the lads too.

We spent the best part of a week with the unit two weeks ago.

Throughout the foot patrols – and the time spent at the patrol bases with the lads – the recurring theme of conversation was that of the threat of Improvised Explosive Devices.

As I wrote in a piece for The Herald in Plymouth, tragically the lads were expecting something like this to happen.

Sadly it was only a matter of time.

Closer to home the city is grieving too. The Vicar of Bickleigh’s church has paid tribute and countless comments have already been posted on The Herald’s website.

It’s a world away from here but it seems we’re all united in grief.

The full extent of that grief will be perfectly evident when 42 Commando returns home in the autumn.

For now though the work continues.

So once again, I apologise for the lack of updates on here.

Last week we were out and about for five days in the Nahr-e Saraj region of the upper Gereshk valley with the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Warthog Group) and 3rd Battalion the Mercian Regiment.

Rather than blobbing the three-day operation on the end of this blog, I’ll write a more colourful account, which will follow this entry.

Hope you’re all okay.

Twitter: @tristan_nichols