British Paratrooper Gravely Injured
In 2008, Tom Neathway was a sniper assigned to combat duty in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province.
He was moving a sandbag, later determined to be booby trapped, when it detonated taking with it both of his legs and one arm.
Neathway was in his mid-twenties at the time; he went on to overcome his extraordinary injuries and to return to work at a paratrooper unit involved in training new recruits.
Little did he know the three year battle he was about to face.
Tom Neathway
A Grim Reward
UK forces have experienced more casualties in Afghanistan than they did in the Falklands War.
Hundreds have been killed and thousands more wounded and injured.
As with U.S. forces, improvised explosive devices have taken a devastating toll.
Neathway’s new duty assignment included a Regimental Sergeant Major, Alistair Hutcheson, who relentlessly bullied him to the point that he left the Army.
At the time Neathway wore gym clothes to work as his artificial limbs were continually falling off.
Hutcheson required him to wear his uniform.
Hutcheson also contrived to have him called at all hours of the day and night.
He also whispered in Neathway’s ear, ‘you’re not much of a paratrooper any more, are you?’
For filing a complaint he was transferred from quarters fitted for his disability to a different base where he would crawl to the shower.
Justice?
Just this past week the British Ministry of Defence apologized to Tom Neathway for the way he was treated.
But, the story doesn’t end there.
Within the past day or two it has emerged that Anna Soubry, the government’s Armed Forces Minister and the person in charge of their anti-bullying program, wrote to members of the British Parliament calling Neathway’s account “misleading.”
Now that the Army has apologized, she seems to be indicating that both they and Neathway are lying, a curious circumstance, indeed.
Motivation
What has gone unstated is the motivation for Hutcheson and his superiors to treat Neathway with such cruel and callous disregard.
A cynical assertion that nevertheless rings true is that Neathway was working with new recruits and his physical injuries would be a potent visual reminder of the horrors of war.
If correct, it means that his officers failed to see the power of his courage not only in his recovery but in his pride toward his unit and their mission.
He exemplified the ability to triumph over adversity, a trait deserving of both honor and notice.