Borders Lieutenant salutes war effort

Ally McGilvray • Published 6 Nov 2009 12:33 0 Comments

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HE has commanded countless soldiers in conflict zones around the world; but, back home in the Borders, his wife makes it clear who's in charge.

Lieutenant Colonel Ted Martin, who has served the British Army for more than 40 years, has just returned from a five month tour of Iraq - despite being retired for more than three years.

However, after being caught shaking the sand off his desert storm uniform at the breakfast table, he was quickly marched out the kitchen by his beloved at the home they share near Innerleithen.

The 58-year-old former physical training instructor rejoined the army after the TA extended the age limit for recruits from 55 to 60, and, earlier this year, was appointed Commanding Officer of Basra air base - the army's last outpost in the war-torn Arab nation.

He had been there before. In 2003, he was involved in the US-led invasion of Iraq, one of the largest deployments of British forces since World War Two, to oust former dictator Saddam Hussein and liberate the country.

However, this time he was sent in to bring the 4000 British troops left stationed there home.

"The story of Iraq is a complex one," Lt Col Martin said. "It's complex in as much as we don't know whether we were justified in going or not. All I can say is when we went into Iraq in 2003 for the liberation, thousands of people - if not hundreds of thousands - were delighted to see us and were delighted of the intervention after 30 years of an oppressive regime.

"My role this time was Commanding Officer of the Basra air base which saw me assisting in its closure.

"It really meant making sure that everything the troops required for their existence at their base was forthcoming - all their basic life support requirements: food, water, transport and fuel.

"My main job then was to transit all the British troops out through Basra, back to the UK, and facilitate the incoming US troops, because they have a mandate that keeps them there for a further three years, to continue the work that was going on in that region.

"I was closing existing contracts with all the civilian contractors that provided the basic life support services and then facilitating the Americans in taking up the new contracts. It meant I was dealing on a daily basis with every issue you could possibly imagine, from security to financial to accountability, and so it went on.

"My other task was to consolidate six years of accounting for our own equipment, material and finances so we could zero balance the accounts and hand them over to the national audit body. The main reason for that was to show the national audit authority that whatever the military does it is accountable to the government and the nation.

"I had many difficult challenges to deal with but one of them was to resettle many of the civilians who were employed on the base. It might have meant finding them other work or advising what else they could do with the life skills they had learnt working with the coalition forces.

"A lot of these people were often intimidated by the extremists. They would always come into and leave the base incognito and would often have to change their place of residence and disguise their movements as much as possible because, quite frankly, they were under threat of death just by their association with coalition forces.

"Those people that weren't able to be protected after our presence was extracted were offered a government gateway scheme where they could transfer their immediate family and themselves into the UK as immigrants. And I think we assisted about 180 of these families.

"The job itself was monumental. I left home on March 1 and I returned on July 29."

But he added: "It was good to see the it through, having been there at the start, and I'm absolutely confident that we've left Iraq in a far better place.

"The difference I noticed is we have a more determined, forward-thinking set of people (in charge) that want to take the country out of the dark ages and that must surely be a reflection on the intervention of the coalition forces back in 2003.

"For those people who try to blame the coalition forces for all the deaths that the Iraqis have suffered since, I would say it is not the coalition forces that have caused the deaths - it is the fundamentalist extremists that often come across from other countries like Syria and Iran.

"We didn't oppress them or stop them forging forward their own democratic existence.

"When we left all our outer bases and moved into Basra air base that is because the Iraqi army and security services are now better trained and better prepared to protect themselves, as best as any nation can, against a lunatic fringe and all the problems that are caused by terrorism throughout the world today."

The invasion of Iraq was led by the United States, backed by British forces. However, the reasons for going to war in Iraq have been a source of long-standing controversy.

According to then US President, George W. Bush, and the UK Prime Minister of that time, Tony Blair, the reasons for the invasion were "to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), to end Saddam Hussein's support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people."

But United Nations weapons inspectors found no evidence of WMD and, after the invasion, the US-led Iraq Survey Group concluded that Iraq had ended its weapons program in 1991.

"The reality is we were in Iraq because there was a fundamental threat to western security and values and I will always believe that we did the right thing and we are doing the right thing now by seeing it through," Lt Col Martin said. "When I left Basra, there was just myself as the Commanding Officer, and seven others. We flew out on the morning of July 22, having closed the air base down, and it was a great feeling.

"I took the (British) flag down and my Brigadier flew in from Kuwait to say a final farewell to the US general that assumed command. I then gave him the flag on the helicopter landing site and stepped on to the helicopter, followed by him and a quick photograph, and then that was it. There was no pomp or ceremony."

But he added: "It was probably one of the highlights of my achievements throughout my military life."

The son of a soldier, Lt Col Martin, seemed destined for a career in the army. He joined the Royal Engineers, as a 15-year-old school boy, in January 1967 and later transferred to the Army Physical Education core in 1973.

He went on to represent his country at international level in various sports including the triathlon and quadrathlon, for which he was crowned world veteran champion in 1995, completed 40 years service before he was compulsory retired aged 55.

His last job in the army was commander of the PT school in Aldershot, Hampshire, where he trained instructors for the field.

Lt Col Martin joined the Territorial Army, part of Britain's reserve land forces, soon after and, in the last three years, he has completed a tour of Iraq and Afghanistan.

One of his tasks, as quarter master, was to ensure that the troops had all the right gear. But, before the invasion, a government watchdog warned much of the army's equipment was not up to the rigours of desert warfare.

A report by the National Audit Office in London found that tanks, helicopters, self-propelled guns and heavy lifting vehicles all struggled in the desert heat and dust. It also concluded that some of the clothing issued to troops was hopelessly inadequate and that boots melted in the heat.

Lt Col Martin said: "My view of the equipment conflicts with the common views that have been banded about. For years the good kit that had been developed was hardly ever on general issue. The kit now has improved beyond all recognition."

But he added: "The main stories in the news referring to vehicles and the shortage of helicopters is one that I would uphold. We're not in a good state with helicopters or general road vehicles. We have improved our protection on road vehicles greatly but it's never going to be fully protective because as we improve our armour the terrorists improve the size of their bombs.

"I was in Afghanistan about 20 months ago and we could have done with a lot more helicopter support taking troops in and out of remote bases as we relied heavily on air support from the Americans and that remains the case today. We need an improvement in our helicopter capacity and the government will have to address that issue if we are going to continue in Afghanistan.

"It's something that is being taken forward but not quickly enough and not before the loss of a lot of lives."

The peace of Peeblesshire must seem a million miles away from the war in Iraq for the doting grandad, who moved to the area five years ago. However, the soldiers who lost their lives on the battlefield during his command are never far from his mind.

Lt Col Martin said: "By the time I got there they hadn't had an attack on the base for about four months but then, from March time onwards, we probably had about two or three rocket attacks every fortnight. These were Chinese rockets and quite frankly they were deadly.

"We had to be looking all the time for them coming in. They were fired from a great distance away and if they landed within the base, which was about the size of 100 football fields - they would either take out equipment and infrastructure or, on three occasions, took out life."

Taking a moment to pause, he added: "We lost three Americans in a direct hit in the last one in the penultimate week before I left."

Almost all British troops in Iraq were pulled out because the agreement that allows them to be there expired on Friday. The withdrawal marks the first time since the invasion of Iraq more than six years ago that there will be almost no British troops in the country.

A group of about a dozen have remained to help train Iraqi police as part of a NATO mission.

Lt Col Martin was back home on gardening duty this week. However, with the coalition forces currently engaged in a war against the Taliban in Afghanistan, it remains to be seen whether it is his last mission.

"I actually enjoy working with youngsters in a conflict environment and feel I have a lot to give through lifelong experiences," Lt Col Martin said. "Having kept myself relatively fit and active, I feel I could probably give one or possibly two more tours."

But he added: "Whether I could convince my wife of this remains to be seen. On my first mobilisation (after retirement) I had to pretend that I was compulsory called up - that was the only way I could get out the house - but I don't think I could pull that one off again."

For more information on a career in the army contact the local careers office in Galashiels on 01896 758842 or email: armysenrec.galashiels@acio.mod.uk

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