Brave Rawtenstall soldier helps clear Taliban HQ (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Brave Rawtenstall soldier helps clear Taliban HQ

8:00pm Wednesday 1st July 2009 in

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A SOLDIER from Rawtenstall has found himself at the centre of one of the biggest military operations in living memory.

Corporal Peter Scholes, 24, of 3rd Regiment of the Royal Military Police was at the very heart of ‘Operation Panther’s Claw’, a huge operation laun-ched to clear one of the last remaining Taliban strongholds in Afghanistan.

The young soldier is on his first tour overseas tour and has already found himself on the frontline on more than one occasion.

He said: “I’ve already been involved in three fire fights with the enemy.

“On one engagement I was only about 150 metres away from them, I could even see the muzzle flash of their weapons.

“None of us like coming under attack but when you’ve been through it, you realise what an experience you’ve just lived through.” Twelve Chinook helicopters, supported by Apache and Black Hawk helicopter gunships, a Spectre gunship, Harrier jets and unmanned drones, dropped more than 350 troops into Babaji, north of Lashkar Gah, on June 19.

Despite the enormity of the operation, Corporal Scholes said he knew he was in good hands.

He said: “I wouldn’t say I was scared but you certainly get apprehensive before a big operation.

“Either way, when you do come under contact with the enemy, you know you’re in good hands with the troops around you.

“It’s been a real eye-opener seeing the different culture here in Afghanistan, it’s a beautiful country.

“But I just want to see my girlfriend and possibly go to Florida where I will definitely let my hair down.”

Corporal Scholes, who has been in the army for just over four years, specialises in combat policing and will complete his current tour in three months.