The commanding officer of The Black Watch is to offer the public a unique insight into the battalion’s most recent deployment to Afghanistan.
Lieutenant Colonel Edward Fenton will speak of his pride in the men and women of 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland following their return from Helmand Province marked this week by a series of parades in their Tayside and Fife heartlands.
A 450-strong force has just completed its return from a gruelling six-and-a-half-month tour of duty which saw the battalion play a major role in securing Nad-e Ali district.
The soldiers joined Afghan security forces on a series of missions that saw them regularly involved in contact with Taliban resistance.
They also faced the daily threat posed by improvised explosive devices (IED), though that threat was lessened by warnings locals.
Despite the dangers faced there were no deaths on this tour, though there were a number of casualties across the force.
Lt Col Fenton praised the ”remarkable” men and women under his command, describing them as ”the very best of their generation.”
He told The Courier the soldiers had ”performed superbly under intense pressure.”
”The threat from insurgents and IED’s was ever present, day in, day out throughout the tour, but they met every challenge head-on,” he said.
The commanding officer will offer a detailed account of that action during his lecture at the AK Bell Library in Perth at 6.30pm on May 23.
It is being held in aid of the Friends of The Black Watch Castle and Museum. Tickets priced at £15 (£7 for Friends) are available from the Black Watch Castle Museum on 01738 638152 or by emailing friends@theblackwatch.co.uk.
Museum manager Emma Halford-Forbes said: ”This will be a great opportunity to hear first-hand about the deployment and some of the highs and lows of a very tough six months.
”It is rare to have an opportunity to hear from the people who are actually on the front line.”