Operation BANNER: A Soldier's War in Northern Ireland

On this episode we talk with Neil Hogg about the British Army's Operation BANNER which ran from 1969 - 2007.    300,000 British troops served in Northern Ireland during this period with more than 20,000 deployed at its peak.  In the first part of the pod we cover a brief history of the troubles, the effectiveness of the Provisional IRA, how we trained for a 6 month tour and what it was like to conduct operations in Londonderry during the late 1980s.

In the second half Neil discusses in public for the first time an IRA ambush in which the vehicle he was travelling was struck by a roadside IED killing two soldiers Steve Cummins and Miles Amos.  He then gives a powerful and moving account of his subsequent battle with PTSD.

On desert island dits Neil's choice of books are Tornado Down by John Nichol and Dirty Work by Glen McNamara.  His film pick is The Odd Angry Shot about the Australian SAS in Vietnam.

The team's pick this week is the SAS Survival Handbook by Lofty Wiseman and The Interrogator by Hanns Scharff.

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This episode brought to you in association with ISARR a veteran owned company.

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