'Afghan heroes risked their lives for Brits — they fully deserve our loyalty'

Drenched in sweat, dirty and physically and mentally exhausted from hours of patrolling in the stifling and inescapable Afghan heat UK troops would take a quick shower back at base and a much-needed rest. But their quietly-spoken Afghan colleagues, equally tired having been by their side all day in the brutal Taliban-dense Helmand ‘Green Zone,’ would then start their work as translators in earnest. These men would hunch over a hand-held radio for hours listening in to the Taliban screaming instructions to each other about how and where to attack these troops next. The same scene was being played out in forward operating bases throughout the vast Afghan deserts and mountains as translators helped US forces, Danish troops and many other nationalities. Those hours these brave, mostly young men from the other side of Afghanistan, spent listening to the radio saved countless lives, offering a crucial intelligence insight into Taliban planning. I saw this on many occasions with Royal Marines and regular Army troops, where these mostly college-educated translators would form close bonds with British forces. They went on patrol, sporting poorly-fitting body armour and helmet, taking the same risks as the troops and facing death in battle or perhaps after a knock on the door from the Taliban. If anybody back home suspected he was working with UK forces. he could face brutal torture before being beheaded, his family also risking a terrible end. Those who survived had to return to their homes after each deployment, lying to suspecting neighbours that they had been “abroad” and some not getting away with it and paying with their lives. As I saw them, never complaining, always willing and smiling, happy to be earning money and perhaps working against the brutal Taliban, they thoroughly deserved our loyalty. In remote Nowzad, in northern Helmand I witnessed first-hand how helpful these translators were and just how vital they were to the British mission. In 2006-7 I joined Royal Marines from 42 Commando, based in Devon, at the forward operating base in Nowzad, where they were being regularly hammered by Taliban small arms and rockets. This was a dusty mud and wooden compound in the middle of a virtual ghost town which had once been a trading hub for merchants in the region. Around the size of several tennis courts it was right on the High Street, with its deserted and boarded up supply shops and blown up mud homes, detritus spilling into the dirt street. Every night the translator sat patiently, hunched into listening to what was called “Icom chatter” or tuning into the Taliban’s insecure two way radio communications. After a few minutes he would hand the radio to someone and then quietly knock on the door of the ‘operations room’ and enter to update the Company Commander in charge. One time during the day he looked particularly alarmed and consulted an intelligence officer who tracked down the Officer in Command, informing him of an imminent attack. Having pre-mapped points throughout the village and studied carefully the terrain they knew exactly where the Taliban would attack from and pre-empted it with their own mortar strikes. On many occasions I have seen these translators joining hazardous patrols, one in particular in Kajaki in 2007, also in northern Helmand, with 1 Battalion, The Royal Anglian -nicknamed “the Vikings.” The translator walking alongside the patrol commander deep into Taliban bandit country was able to tell the Major in charge exactly when and from where the Taliban were going to attack. It was incredibly creepy hearing the voices of these diehards from a cruel mindset casually plotting to kill everyone on that patrol including myself. The expression among some troops was “they want to kill you or worse,” leaving the imagination to conjure up dreadful images of Taliban cruelty - and there was plenty of evidence to support it. Having heard the warning from their translator these battle-hardened British infantrymen, recruited from the east of England and the east Midlands, would smile confidently and continue their “march to contact,” which means deliberately walking into an ambush. The translator gave them an edge. His presence meant they were ready for battle and after an hour of shouts, acrid smoke, gunfire and explosions from mortars, around 12 Taliban had been killed, with no casualties on the UK side. It is hard to know how much our troops owe to these Afghans but many owe them their lives and the UK has to learn from this and pay its dues in future- by keeping our foreign allies safe.