The Telegraph
A Paratrooper who ran to the aid of a wounded American soldier while under heavy fire could be among the first British troops to be awarded a gallantry medal in Afghanistan.
Pte Peter McKinley has been praised by his commanders for a "massive display of bravery" after saving the life of the US sergeant in one of the most intense battles 3 Bn the Parachute Regiment has experienced during its deployment to Helmand province.
Military sources said he would receive recognition for his courageous act. Pte McKinley, 21, was part of a 100-strong force of Paras that came to the rescue of an American convoy of 10 vehicles that had been ambushed near the town of Sangin in northern Helmand.
The Americans had taken high ground where the Paras formed a defensive cordon, but as darkness descended a force of 30 heavily armed Taliban crept close to their position and opened fire with rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine guns.
The first RPG round that announced the assault tore into a Humvee jeep, badly wounding two American soldiers from a logistics regiment who had taken cover inside.
As the soldiers screamed "medic, medic", Pte McKinley, the trained first aid soldier in his eight-man section, jumped up and sprinted across open ground to the vehicle as enemy rounds passed overhead.
He found the Americans covered in blood with the sergeant's face shredded by shrapnel, an eye dislodged, his scalp torn back, a broken arm, a neck injury and fragments in his legs.
"They were still firing at us when I ran back to the Humvee," said the soldier from Manchester.
"The sergeant was in a pretty bad way but my training just kicked in and I spent about 15 minutes looking after his wounds, stemming the flow of blood and keeping his airway clear."
A medical officer later confirmed that the injured soldier was a "P1 Casualty" - the highest priority for evacuation and treatment - and he was evacuated to the British base at Camp Bastion.
Major Will Pike, the commander of A Company, said that for Pte McKinley ''to answer the call and go to someone and save their life'' while under fire was ''massively impressive''. He added: "He was very brave while completely disregarding his own safety.
"He also treated the American soldier beyond the level that as team medic he is expected to perform. We have a lot of private soldiers who are very young and just out of training but have proved very steady while under fire."
The fighting on June 13 was part of the early stages attempting to gain control of Helmand from the Taliban in an operation being led by the 2,000-strong 3 Para battlegroup.
The Paras, who arrived in Helmand two months ago, have been pushing forward into the hostile north of the province over the past two weeks. Yesterday two Taliban ambushes of civilian convoys left 30 people dead, officials said, as coalition and Afghan forces killed at least 11 militants.
More than 10,000 coalition and Afghan troops are fanning out across four southern provinces to combat the Taliban. A total of almost 6,000 British troops will have deployed to Afghanistan by the height of summer on a mission to bring control to an area that is in the grip of drug barons and Taliban insurgents.
www.telegraph.co.uk
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The British military - best in the world.
A Paratrooper who ran to the aid of a wounded American soldier while under heavy fire could be among the first British troops to be awarded a gallantry medal in Afghanistan.
Pte Peter McKinley has been praised by his commanders for a "massive display of bravery" after saving the life of the US sergeant in one of the most intense battles 3 Bn the Parachute Regiment has experienced during its deployment to Helmand province.
Military sources said he would receive recognition for his courageous act. Pte McKinley, 21, was part of a 100-strong force of Paras that came to the rescue of an American convoy of 10 vehicles that had been ambushed near the town of Sangin in northern Helmand.
The Americans had taken high ground where the Paras formed a defensive cordon, but as darkness descended a force of 30 heavily armed Taliban crept close to their position and opened fire with rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine guns.
The first RPG round that announced the assault tore into a Humvee jeep, badly wounding two American soldiers from a logistics regiment who had taken cover inside.
As the soldiers screamed "medic, medic", Pte McKinley, the trained first aid soldier in his eight-man section, jumped up and sprinted across open ground to the vehicle as enemy rounds passed overhead.
He found the Americans covered in blood with the sergeant's face shredded by shrapnel, an eye dislodged, his scalp torn back, a broken arm, a neck injury and fragments in his legs.
"They were still firing at us when I ran back to the Humvee," said the soldier from Manchester.
"The sergeant was in a pretty bad way but my training just kicked in and I spent about 15 minutes looking after his wounds, stemming the flow of blood and keeping his airway clear."
A medical officer later confirmed that the injured soldier was a "P1 Casualty" - the highest priority for evacuation and treatment - and he was evacuated to the British base at Camp Bastion.
Major Will Pike, the commander of A Company, said that for Pte McKinley ''to answer the call and go to someone and save their life'' while under fire was ''massively impressive''. He added: "He was very brave while completely disregarding his own safety.
"He also treated the American soldier beyond the level that as team medic he is expected to perform. We have a lot of private soldiers who are very young and just out of training but have proved very steady while under fire."
The fighting on June 13 was part of the early stages attempting to gain control of Helmand from the Taliban in an operation being led by the 2,000-strong 3 Para battlegroup.
The Paras, who arrived in Helmand two months ago, have been pushing forward into the hostile north of the province over the past two weeks. Yesterday two Taliban ambushes of civilian convoys left 30 people dead, officials said, as coalition and Afghan forces killed at least 11 militants.
More than 10,000 coalition and Afghan troops are fanning out across four southern provinces to combat the Taliban. A total of almost 6,000 British troops will have deployed to Afghanistan by the height of summer on a mission to bring control to an area that is in the grip of drug barons and Taliban insurgents.
www.telegraph.co.uk
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The British military - best in the world.
