Soldier Hayley back from the Afghanistan front line

Nov 1 2007 by Staff Reporter, Cynon Valley Leader

A FEMALE soldier from the Cynon Valley has returned home after a six-month tour of duty in war-torn Afghanistan.

Lance Corporal Hayley Pearce, aged 21, of Aberdare, is a member of the General Support Medical Regiment and was attached to the 1st Battalion, The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment.

She was based in Helmand Province, in the south-west of the country.

As a combat medical technician, Hayley provided medical care and treatment, which included helping innocent civilians caught up in the hostilities.

“On one occasion we got a call from our Company Operations Cell to tell us the Medical Emergency Response Team would be bringing civilian casualties to our location for onward transfer to the hospital in Bost – about 15 minutes away by road,” said Hayley.

“We were told to expect a family who had been injured in a bombing incident

“As there were women and children involved, a female escort was required to accompany them to hospital. I was detailed to carry out the task.

“There were a lot more casualties than expected, the Medical Officer from the Emergency Response Team gave me a quick handover of bomb victims so treatment could be provided immediately.

“There were so many injured civilians that a lorry provided by the Afghan National Army was used to transfer most of the stretcher cases.

“However, some children were not on stretchers and therefore had to be carried from the lorry to the hospital, by myself and my team.”

Captain Eddy Hardaker, of the Royal Army Medical Corps, said: “This was a mass casualty call and due to bed availability the casualties were diverted to us at the last minute.

“Lance Corporal Pearce and the other medics had little time to prepare,” he said.

“It is a credit to the professionalism and skill of her and the other medics that the transfer went as smoothly as it did.”