DAVID BECKHAM VISITS KANDAHAR AIRFIELD

The last leg of David Beckham’s visit to Afghanistan saw a night time arrival into Kandahar Airfield. Less than 12 hours before, insurgents were still active in the area. The base had been subject to a sustained ground attack involving an insurgent gang who had released mortars and small arms fire on the northern perimeter.


David had been made aware of the attack whilst in Bastion and had been relieved to know that there had been no coalition fatalities. He was keen to meet the II Sqn RAF Regiment gunners who had been in the thick of the fighting. “I think you guys have done an amazing thing” he said, as Sgt Jamie Thorpe explained A Flt’s involvement in repelling the attack.

Jamie said “We were part of the Quick Reaction Force and we just responded as any other job. We were aware of the amount of support we had from all the nations and we just played our part”. His part, as he modestly says, was to take the fight to the insurgents outside the perimeter fence and also foil a potential attack from the south of the airfield.


David then spent time with members of A Flt chatting about what it’s like to be away from your family when on operations and saying how much Brooklyn has been very interested in what his dad would be doing. It is a question that many of A Flt had been asked themselves by their children. Conversation then inevitably turned to football, with the Regiment inviting David to take part in a 5-aside match. David smiled and said time and injury had currently got the better of him at this moment in time but thanked them kindly for their offer.


Summing up his visit to Afghanistan David told the Regiment gunners that “the whole experience here has been unbelievable. It really has opened my mind to what Afghanistan is like and the great job our troops do”.