'Blade runner' soldier aims to set new record for quickest return to combat

Published on Sunday 28 February 2010 21:53

A SCOTS soldier who lost his leg in Afghanistan is planning to make the fastest return to combat of any amputee, less than 12 months after his injury.

&#149 L-Cpl Ritchie on his last tour of duty in Afghanistan

Lance Corporal Jack Ritchie, 21, wants to set a record after his leg was amputated at the knee following a landmine blast in August.

He first walked three months after the explosion and last week began running on a carbon "blade" prosthetic leg.

He is working out in the gym to prepare to rejoin his regiment, 1st Battalion Scots Guards, which deploys to Afghanistan this month for six months.

L-Cpl Ritchie from Carnoustie, in Angus, is determined to join them for the second half of the tour and the battalion has a place for him on the mission Operation Herrick 12.

He said: "There's nothing to stop me going back to join the Scots Guards for the later part of the tour.

"I've been told that is a realistic timetable and that I am on target to achieve it.

"With the prosthetic leg I've got at the minute there is no problem getting back to Afghanistan and deploying to a forward operating base (FOB).

"Going on foot patrol is a slightly tougher challenge, but we'll see how it goes.

"Seeing the medics treat my leg since the explosion I've become very interested in medicine and hope to pursue that in future.

"I'd like to go back to a FOB and help the doctor at the forward aid post, for example.

"I'm aiming to get there in a few months. I want to get back out there within a year of my injury."

L Cpl Ritchie is regarded as one of the most promising junior leaders in his battalion and has astonished senior officers with the speed of his recovery.

He told how he was hit on 8 August after volunteering to serve with the Welsh Guards at their base near Chah e Anjir in lawless Helmand province.

He said: "We were getting heavy contacts with the enemy every day. They were hitting us with .50 calibre heavy machine guns and a Russian anti-aircraft gun. You wouldn't go a day without getting shot at.

"There was a lot of enemy about and we knew we would have to clear them out of the compounds close by.

"We went to clear one compound and knew the enemy was getting very sophisticated in its use of IEDs (improvised explosive devices].

"I was covering the lead man who was sweeping for IEDs with a detector as we approached the entrance. I was off his left shoulder with my weapon up covering him in case he came under attack.

"There was a big explosion and I got thrown about ten feet up in the air with a load of debris.

"When I hit the ground, my helmet strap was pushed up to my nose. I tried to find cover because I was sure the attack would be followed up. I tried to roll over, but I couldn't move.

"I looked down and saw my boot with my left foot still in it at about 90 degrees to my left."

He was transferred to the field hospital at Camp Bastion before being flown back to Selly Oak hospital in Birmingham.

There he spent seven weeks before being discharged with a through-the-knee amputation to begin his rehabilitation at Headley Court in Surrey.

He said: "I don't want to let this injury hold me back. I believe I still have a future with the Scots Guards and want to get out to Afghanistan as soon as possible.

"It is true that I'm aiming to be there less than a year after the explosion. I just don't want to miss out on what the other lads will be doing out there."