“Op TELIC 9 – Arnhem in Basra” is the incredible story of Arnhem Company’s lethal tour of Basra City in Southern Iraq. The narrative is told by the Company Sergeant Major Carl Gardner, who is the senior and most experienced soldier in the company. In this must-read book, we hear stories which have never been heard before by the public and the horrendous conditions the soldiers are put through by the deadly Iraqi Insurgents.It's November 2006 and Arnhem Company is part of an armoured infantry unit, deploying to Iraq as part of The 2nd Battalion the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment’s seven-month operational tour. Once they land in Iraq, they are under constant rocket attacks from the Iraqi insurgents. They have to complete their in-country training before patrolling the lethal streets of Basra City. It does not get any easier as the insurgents attack them with machine guns, handheld rockets, and the devastating roadside bombs.It’s a case of step up or go home in a body bag. Some of the attacks are so aggressive that the only way the soldiers on the ground can explain it, is to tell people at home to watch “Black Hawk Down” the movie. This sustained fighting comes with a cost as 29 officers and soldiers get killed over the next seven months, with many, many more receiving life changing injuries. This book captures the reflections and feeling Carl and his soldiers go through in this life changing tour.He knows the British Army involvement in Iraq is unpopular with the British public and he has even heard comments like “American puppet in another Muslim country.” At the start of the tour, he does see them as a forces for good and will give his explanation why. It interesting how his thoughts are challenged during the tour and how as a soldier and a human being they change. He will explain what it feels like to lose a close friend in war and how it effects not just him but his family at home. The reader will get an in depth look at the hardships our soldiers and families go through at a time of conflict. You will find it hard not to be put through different emotion of anger, surprise, and sadness.This gives this book a unique and honest outlook that no other book from this conflict has given to date. This is the reason why “Op TELIC 9 - Arnhem In Basra,” is a must-read book, for all generations and a lesson in hardship that everyone should read.
