The Unconventional Soldier

CONTENTThe guest today is former soldier and author of "Fire Force - A Troopers War In The Rhodesian Light Infantry" Chris Cocks. Chris was born in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia in 1957. In 1976 he was conscripted for national service, and ended up serving 3 years in the Rhodesian Light Infantry or RLI. Then 18 months with PATU, the Police Anti-Terrorist Unit.The RLI was an elite commando regiment formed in 1961 and played a pivotal role throughout the conflict which took place from 1964 to 1979. Originally conceived as a conventional infantry unit, the RLI evolved into a specialized counter-insurgency force, renowned for their relentless pursuit of guerrilla fighters. The ranks of the Rhodesiam Army consisted of regular soldiers, national servicemen, reservists and foreign volunteers from all around the world but their tactics, techniques and procedures were limited to what the country could afford to obtain in the face of rigid international sanctions.This led to the development of highly mobile, aggressive fire force operations. This concept used helicopters and paratroopers to great effect and earned them a formidable reputation as they fought a large guerilla force and inflicted a heavy price on their enemy with an estimated ratio of 35 enemy casualties for each of their own. Despite these battlefield successes a small isolated country like Rhodesia could not sustain the cost in treasure and manpower of a high intensity COIN campaign and in 1979 British-brokered all-party talks lead to a peace agreement and new constitution guaranteeing minority rights. The following year Zanu leader Robert Mugabe won independence elections and the now Zimbabwe gained international recognition in April of that year. On this pod we’ll explore the stories behind their tactics, training, and the complex legacy they left behind as one of the world’s most efficient military units.Chris's book choice on Desert Islands Dits is "Chickenhawk" by Robert Mason. My choice is Chris's book "Fire Force" a no holds barred and brutal account of his service in 3 Commando and former soldiers will recognise the black humour in the face of adversity alongside the visceral account of close combat and death in the African bush.  Fire Force is available to purchase on Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fireforce-Mans-Rhodesian-Light-Infantry/dp/0958489092WHERE TO GET OUR DESERT ISLAND DITS BOOK CHOICESMost of our book recommendations can be bought via the Unconventional Soldier Bookshop. 10% of each purchase supports the pod and helps independent book stores on line sales.  "BUY ME A COFFEE"If you want to support the podcast you can buy me a coffee here.SOCIAL MEDIAInstagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod.Facebook @lateo82. Twitter @TheUCS473.Download these and other platforms via Link Tree.Email us: unconventionalsoldier@gmail.com. This episode brought to you in association with ISARR a veteran owned company.

CONTENTThe guest today is Ben Skipper a freelance feature writer and author with books and articles published on art, military and field sports subjects. He is an Associate Member of Royal Aeronautical Society and the Pen and Sword Club for military journalists and writers. His interest in British armour was cemented by a visit to the King’s Royal Hussars in the early 1990s as an undergraduate in the Territorial Army. He joined the RAF in 1997, and served in conflict zones including Kosovo and Sierra Leone. He also played rugby for the RAF.A Former Force Protection NCO Ben, suffered increasingly with a range of balance, muscular and co-ordination issues to the extent doctors thought he might have onset dementia. It was during tests, that an MRI scan picked up bright spots of damage in Ben's brain and it was found that Ben had experienced a traumatic brain injury during his days in the RAF. Symptoms of his brain injury started to impact on his life and became progressively worse after leaving the Service in 2002.Ben is also a freelance consultant academic specialising in Veteran social culture. He has written various papers regarding the symptomatic presentation and effects of combat-related PTSD, not only upon the individual but also on the family and community. This input has been sought and included in Lord Ashcroft's "The Veterans' Transition Review" (2014) and "The Value of Participation in University Armed Services Unit's" by Newcastle University. Other projects include a visual campaign promoting positive Veteran representation and an exhibition of contemporary Veteran Art.He also finds time to be a County Member East Midlands Reserve Forces and Cadets Association who work to support the growth of the Reserves and Cadet Forces in Nottinghamshire.On this podcast we discuss his forces background and work with Fallout which is a new collaborative historical studies enterprise featuring the work of Dr Philip W. Blood, Dustin Du Cane all working on the fringe of contemporary thought. Links to Fallout can be found in the show notes.The main focus is on veterans however. We cover a variety of issues including public perception, politicisation, charities, armed forces covenant, do we need a vetterans minister and much more.  Ben's book choice on Desert Islands Dits is "The Darling Buds Of May" by H E Bates. My choice is "Schimitar into Stanley - One Soldier's Falklands War " by Roger Field.Ben's webpage "I...am a Veteran" can be found at https://www.iamaveteran.co.uk/WHERE TO GET OUR DESERT ISLAND DITS BOOK CHOICESMost of our book recommendations can be bought via the Unconventional Soldier Bookshop. 10% of each purchase supports the pod and helps independent book stores on line sales.  "BUY ME A COFFEE"If you want to support the podcast you can buy me a coffee here.SOCIAL MEDIAInstagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod.Facebook @lateo82. Twitter @TheUCS473.Download these and other platforms via Link Tree.Email us: unconventionalsoldier@gmail.com. This episode brought to you in association with ISARR a veteran owned company.

CONTENTThe guest today is Andrew Long  a Cold War historian and author whose book “The story of BRIXMIS and the secret Cold War:  Intelligence gathering operations behind East Germany” was released on 30 July 2024.The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) was a focal point during the Cold War, with Soviet and East German forces stationed along the 1,400 km Inner German Border. Due to the repressive police state, the West had limited intelligence on these forces. NATO, stationed in West Germany, needed up-to-date intelligence on potential threats from the East.BRIXMIS (British Commanders’-in-Chief Mission to the Soviet Forces in Germany) played a key role in gathering this intelligence. Established through a 1946 agreement, BRIXMIS allowed British military observers to operate in East Germany, gathering intelligence from 1946 until 1990. Their missions involved using modified vehicles and photography equipment to document Soviet and East German military activities, despite constant risks from secret police and counterintelligence. Alongside their French and American counterparts, BRIXMIS provided vital intelligence that helped maintain peace during the Cold War.Andrew's book choice is the Carla trilogy consisting of: "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy", "The Honourable Schoolboy" and "Smiley's People" by John Le Carre. The teams choices are "Beyond the Wall: East Germany, 1949-1990" by Katja Hoyer and "Falklands Gunner: A Day-by-Day Personal Account of the Royal Artillery in the Falklands War" by Tom Martin.WHERE TO GET OUR DESERT ISLAND DITS BOOK CHOICESMost of our book recommendations can be bought via the Unconventional Soldier Bookshop. 10% of each purchase supports the pod and helps independent book stores on line sales.  "BUY ME A COFFEE"If you want to support the podcast you can buy me a coffee here.SOCIAL MEDIAInstagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod.Facebook @lateo82. Twitter @TheUCS473.Download these and other platforms via Link Tree.Email us: unconventionalsoldier@gmail.com. This episode brought to you in association with ISARR a veteran owned company.

CONTENTThe guest today is Andy McNab CBE DCM MM former special forces soldier, author and business man. On this episode we discuss his chaotic childhood, army service, functioning psychopaths, book writing, shooting Hollywood films and his latest project with WeServed a service for Veterans by Veterans - for more information visit www.we-served.com.Andy's book choice on Desert Islands Dits is "Our Mutual Friend" by Charles Dickens.WHERE TO GET OUR DESERT ISLAND DITS BOOK CHOICESMost of our book recommendations can be bought via the Unconventional Soldier Bookshop. 10% of each purchase supports the pod and helps independent book stores on line sales.  "BUY ME A COFFEE"If you want to support the podcast you can buy me a coffee here.SOCIAL MEDIAInstagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod.Facebook @lateo82. Twitter @TheUCS473.Download these and other platforms via Link Tree.Email us: unconventionalsoldier@gmail.com. This episode brought to you in association with ISARR a veteran owned company.

CONTENTThe guest today is Dr Helen Fry. Helen has authored and edited over 25 books covering the social history of the Second World War, including British Intelligence and the secret war, espionage and spies, and MI9 escape and evasion. She is the foremost authority on the 'secret listeners' who worked at special eavesdropping sites operated by British Intelligence during WWII. Her groundbreaking research and extensive media coverage have shed light on one of the greatest intelligence deceptions of the war: the bugging of Hitler’s generals at Trent Park in North London, and thousands of prisoners of war at Latimer House and Wilton Park in Buckinghamshire.On this podcast we discuss her book "MI9 - A History of the Secret Service for Escpe and Evasion in World War Two". When Allied fighters were trapped behind enemy lines, one branch of military intelligence helped them escape: MI9. The organisation set up clandestine routes that zig-zagged across Nazi-occupied Europe, enabling soldiers and airmen to make their way home. Secret agents and resistance fighters risked their lives and those of their families to hide the men. Drawing on declassified files and eye-witness testimonies from across Europe and the United States, Helen Fry provides a significant reassessment of MI9's wartime role.​​Thanks to her expertise, Helen has appeared in a number of documentaries, including David Jason’s Secret Service (Channel 5), Spying on Hitler's Army (Channel 4), and Secrets of the Spies (Britbox). She has provided advisory services for TV and drama, something that she particularly enjoys. Helen has covered the major D-Day commemorations in live BBC broadcasts from Normandy, and she regularly appears in media interviews and podcasts.​WHERE TO GET OUR DESERT ISLAND DITS BOOK CHOICESMost of our book recommendations can be bought via the Unconventional Soldier Bookshop. 10% of each purchase supports the pod and helps independent book stores on line sales.  "BUY ME A COFFEE"If you want to support the podcast you can buy me a coffee here.SOCIAL MEDIAInstagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod.Facebook @lateo82. Twitter @TheUCS473.Download these and other platforms via Link Tree.Email us: unconventionalsoldier@gmail.com. This episode brought to you in association with ISARR a veteran owned company.

CONTENTThe guest today is Patrick Crowley author of "Rose Castle and Crown - Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Citizen Soldiers". On this podcast we will cover the history of the British Army's citizen soldiers going back to the raising of militias in the 16th century up to the Army Reserves of the present day. We discuss the challenge and sacrifice that all military volunteers, throughout history, have had to make balancing the needs of service with family demands and their main civilian employment. It also demonstrates that reservists continue to significantly contribute to the United Kingdom’s military capabilities.Patrick is currently the chief executive of the South East Reserve Forces' and Cadets' Association, which involves promoting reserves and cadets, tri-service, in the nine counties of the South East of England, as well as helping to connect Defence with society. He has been in this appointment since retiring from the British Army in 2014. Commissioned into 1st Battalion the Queen's Regiment in 1980, he was a Major when the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (PWRR) was founded in 1992. He served as a rifle platoon commander, mortar officer, adjutant, company commander, second-in- command and commanding officer within the regiment, commanding the regiment's 3rd (Volunteer) Battalion. Service included many tours of Northern Ireland, a period in Baghdad and numerous staff appointments, mainly related to infantry and staff training, as well as the Territorial Army and Army Reserves. Overseas roles included postings to Gibraltar and Zimbabwe. In addition, he has run many battlefield tours, is a committee member of the Military Historical Society and a trustee on a number of military-related charities. A deputy colonel of the PWRR since 2008, Patrick lives in Hampshire.Patrick's book choice on Desert Islands Dits is anything by the historian Richard Holmes. My choice is Patrick's book "Rose Castle and Crown - Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Citizen Soldiers". Profits from the sale of Patricks book will go to the Connaught Trust which has commissioned the book. The trust is a charity that aims to promote the military efficiency of all ranks in Hampshire and the Isle Of Wight seving in the Reserves of the Army, Royal Navy, Royal Marines and their associated cadet units. WHERE TO GET OUR DESERT ISLAND DITS BOOK CHOICESMost of our book recommendations can be bought via the Unconventional Soldier Bookshop. 10% of each purchase supports the pod and helps independent book stores on line sales.  "BUY ME A COFFEE"If you want to support the podcast you can buy me a coffee here.SOCIAL MEDIAInstagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod.Facebook @lateo82. Twitter @TheUCS473.Download these and other platforms via Link Tree.Email us: unconventionalsoldier@gmail.com. This episode brought to you in association with ISARR a veteran owned company.

CONTENTThe subject of this pod is the Derryard action, a sustained IRA deliberate attack in December 1989 against an Army Permanent Check Point (PVCP) close to the border with the Republic Of Ireland a few miles north of Rosslea, County Fermanagh.  The checkpoint was manned by members of the Kings Own Scottish Borderers who fought off an Active Service Unit that considerably overmatched them with weapons. On this pod we discuss the motivation of IRA volunteers, how the IRA was financed and obtained its weapons, the attack on Derryard and its aftermath. My book choice on this podcast is "The IRA" by Tim Pat Coogan.WHERE TO GET OUR DESERT ISLAND DITS BOOK CHOICESMost of our book recommendations can be bought via the Unconventional Soldier Bookshop. 10% of each purchase supports the pod and helps independent book stores on line sales.  "BUY ME A COFFEE"If you want to support the podcast you can buy me a coffee here.SOCIAL MEDIAInstagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod.Facebook @lateo82. Twitter @TheUCS473.Download these and other platforms via Link Tree.Email us: unconventionalsoldier@gmail.com. This episode brought to you in association with ISARR a veteran owned company.

CONTENT The guest today is Neale Smiles a former Gunner now working in the defence industry. Neale often posts his thoughts on military matters on LinkedIn and was a guest on pod 51 where we discussed “Guns, Rockets & Training For War”. So if you have an interest in all things artillery it is worth a listen. Even if you don't check it out as Ukraine is proving, Gunners are still one of the biggest killers on the contemporary battlespace. On this episode we discuss the Past, Present And Future Of Drones In The British Army. We cover:The development of Artillery air OPs in WW2 .The pioneering work using drones post war by the Royal Artillery.Hermes 450 and Watchkeeper drones.The Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance process known as ISTAR which is the activity of "equipping forces' with information and intelligence to assist in combat roles and other operational duties. This often derives from linked information networks which improve upon situational awareness".where drones currently operate in this space and more importantly where they perhaps could operate.Should the Royal Artillery operate Watchkeeper.Drones in Ukraine.The future of drones in the British army. No Desert Island Dits on this episode as Neale has been on before however we do discuss his current read "First To Fight - The Polish War 1939" by Roger Moorhouse. WHERE TO GET OUR DESERT ISLAND DITS BOOK CHOICES Most of our book recommendations can be bought via the Unconventional Soldier Bookshop. 10% of each purchase supports the pod and helps independent book stores on line sales.   "BUY ME A COFFEE" If you want to support the podcast you can buy me a coffee here. SOCIAL MEDIA Instagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod.Facebook @lateo82. Twitter @TheUCS473.Download these and other platforms via Link Tree.Email us: unconventionalsoldier@gmail.com. This episode brought to you in association with ISARR a veteran owned company.

CONTENTOn this podcast we feature the British involvement in the Korean War which took place between 1950 - 1953. A war that is fairly unknown and overshadowed by WW2 and later the Vietnam war. It is considered forgotten but was as gruelling as any of the WW2 theatres of operations. We discuss the prelude to war, the opening engagements, the ferocious battle for Imjin against a determined and fanatical enemy alongside the bravery and fighting spirit not only of the Gloucester Regiment but the rest of 29 Brigade consisting of 1st Battalion Royal Northumberland Fusiliers and 1st Battalion Royal Ulster Rifles supported by the 25 pounder guns of 45 Field Regiment Royal Artillery, 4.2 inch mortars of 170 Independent Mortar Battery RA and the tanks of C Squadron 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars and by 55 Squadron Royal Engineers. We also talk about the retreat from the Chosin reservoir, a gruelling fight undertaken by 41 (Independent) Commando Royal Marines deployed alongside the United States Marines. We finish off with General Douglas Macarthur's nuclear strategy that would've reduced a large swathe of Korea to nuclear waste and was one of the reasons he was relieved of his command.WHERE TO GET OUR DESERT ISLAND DITS BOOK CHOICESMost of our book recommendations can be bought via the Unconventional Soldier Bookshop. 10% of each purchase supports the pod and helps independent book stores on line sales.  "BUY ME A COFFEE"If you want to support the podcast you can buy me a coffee here.SOCIAL MEDIAInstagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod.Facebook @lateo82. Twitter @TheUCS473.Download these and other platforms via Link Tree.Email us: unconventionalsoldier@gmail.com. This episode brought to you in association with ISARR a veteran owned company.