Black Watch home with heads held high

SOLDIERS from the Black Watch have arrived back at their Highland base – after a tour of duty in Afghanistan where “Scots luck” saw them return without any fatalities.

Commanding Officer Lt Col Ed Fenton described the mission to clear insurgents in Helmand Province and hand security over to the Afghan forces as a “massive success”.

The task was achieved without any deaths within the battalion, which Lt Col Fenton put down to a mixture of “professionalism and good luck”.

At Fort George Barracks at Ardersier, on the outskirts of Inverness, yesterday he said: “With some Scots luck, we managed to escape without any fatalities. It is of great credit to the strength of our guys.

“There were some close shaves. But this has been a very rewarding experience for us all and we have seen what a huge difference we have made.”

The battalion was responsible for a variety of tasks including training and mentoring the Afghan security forces.

Starting next week, there will be a series of Homecoming Parades to thank family and friends for the support received during the deployment. They will take place in Inverness, Forfar, Kirkcaldy, Dundee and Perth.

Around 450 soldiers from the historic regiment – now known as 3 Scots – had been deployed to Afghanistan in October 2011 as part of 20 Armoured Brigade in charge of Task Force Helmand.

They were part of a battalion of 1,500 UK troops responsible for Combined Force Nad-e Ali in Central Helmand.

There were a number of casualties.

Lt Col Fenton said: “We believe the country will be a better place because of the hard work done by our guys in partnership with the Afghan people.”