We've seen rare reports of Naval Strike Wing, RN Medics, RN Clearance Divers and RN Loggies in Afghanistan but, in general, the contribution of non-RM members of the Naval Service has been invisible. The universal wearing of dessies doesn't help either, leaving the Great British Public and the mass media with the impression that only the Pongoes and Crabs are involved. I've started this thread in an attempt to redress the balance somewhat. Just to reinforce my point:
And this about another Naval nurse:
Here's an article published on the RN website yesterday:
Petty Officer Emily Staines said:
..."Lots of people don't realise that there are a lot of Royal Naval personnel working in Afghanistan. I've talked to the trainees about what I've done and some of them have said that they can't wait to finish their training and get out there to serve their Country. My experience is different to the other instructors. I haven't yet been to sea, but I think the fact that I have been to Iraq and Afghanistan gives me credibility with the trainees. It shows that as Naval Nurses we are military people doing a military job."...
Nursing Times said:
A medical assistant who has been training nurses in Afghanistan has been awarded a certificate of recognition by the Royal Navy. Natalie Chinniah, 26, of Buxton, Derbyshire, volunteered to teach a group of Afghan nurses trauma management at a hospital in Helmand Province. All 12 nurses graduated from the two-month course in March. The project will help to enable the hospital to operate its own ambulance service. Ms Chinniah has served as a medical assistant to the Joint Forces Medical Group since September 2008. She is regularly attached to a foot or vehicle patrol in Helmand Province. The current tour is her second in Afghanistan since she joined the Royal Navy in 2004. She said: "The tour has been a real experience. I've been shot at and have been on the receiving end of rocket attacks"...
RN website 15 Mar 2010 said:
With no coast, Afghanistan may not be the most typical posting for a Royal Navy Aircraft Handler but it goes to show how much the three services cooperate with each other on their deployments. So it is that Petty Officer Dennis 'Harry' Harrison finds himself working in the Military Support and Stabilisation Team (MSST) in Helmand Province. He is responsible for radio broadcasting messages to the locals, for example the dangers of explosives and why children should not play with them. He is also out on patrol regularly and when any operations come up he straps a very heavy portable unit to his back and broadcasts messages to explain what we are doing and warning the locals of possible danger...
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