Dodging Taliban bullets in Helmand, RAF sniper Luke Huskisson drew on all his training just to stay alive.
Yet it was many months later, safely back at base in Suffolk, that the battlefield almost claimed him.
In Afghanistan, flushed with adrenaline, he was constantly tuned to life-threatening danger. Now, alone in his room, death and oblivion seemed enticing.
Speaking to The Mail on Sunday, Luke recalls: ‘I was getting constant flashbacks and I couldn’t take any more.’
RAF sniper Luke Huskisson on duty in Afghanistan. In 2011 and 2012, he witnessed unimaginable horror in his role rescuing badly wounded frontline soldiers
Luke (centre) with his best friend Ryan Tomlin. It was the anniversary of the death of Ryan, killed during an insurgent attack in Helmand, that triggered Luke’s breakdown. Both men were Senior Aircraftmen in 2 Squadron, RAF Regiment
In a race against time, his partner Charlotte McKenna, drove 200 miles to RAF Honington to save him. ‘I have no doubt in my mind that if I hadn’t gone to get Luke he wouldn’t be here today,’ says Charlotte.
Six months earlier Luke, now 31, was diagnosed with chronic PTSD. Back in 2011 and 2012, he witnessed unimaginable horror in his role rescuing badly wounded frontline soldiers.
He also picked up the dead and brought them back to Camp Bastion by helicopter – among them his best friend.
What happened that night in February 2013, when Luke suffered a breakdown, brings into relief why round-the-clock care to prevent suicides is vital.
Luke says the nurses assigned to him and others were based in another county and went home at 5pm – and he suffered his breakdown at 2am. There was no out-of-hours provision.
For months previously his care, he says, was patchy. Mostly he saw a nurse just once a week. ‘He was left to rot,’ Charlotte claims.
What happened that night in February 2013, when Luke suffered a breakdown, brings into relief why round-the-clock care to prevent suicides is vital. Luke says the nurses assigned to him and others were based in another county and went home at 5pm – and he suffered his breakdown at 2am. There was no out-of-hours provision. Pictured with his partner, Charlotte McKenna
It was the anniversary of the death of his best friend Ryan Tomlin, killed during an insurgent attack in Helmand, that triggered the breakdown. Both men were Senior Aircraftmen in 2 Squadron, RAF Regiment.
When he tries to speak of how he returned to Camp Bastion with Ryan’s body in a helicopter, he offers an apologetic half-smile while slowly shaking his head.
I have no doubt in my mind that if I hadn’t gone to get Luke he wouldn’t be here today
Luke’s partner, Charlotte McKenna
Twelve months later he visited Ryan’s grave in Hertfordshire. ‘That night I was pacing the room, unable to focus on anything but the images replaying in my head,’ he says. ‘I was going to end my life.’
With the vague notion of saying goodbye, he called Charlotte and his parents in Cheshire.
Charlotte, 32, says: ‘He was an absolute wreck, barely coherent. He kept saying that he was giving up, that it was the end. I was in a state of blind panic.’ She drove to Honington with Luke’s father, Phil. On the way she kept trying to ring Luke but he didn’t answer. ‘We didn’t know what we’d face when we got there,’ says Charlotte.
‘Luke was in a terrible state. We took him home and he was placed under the care of an NHS crisis team who were fantastic. The base said he should have taken himself to A&E. Yet he was in no state to take himself anywhere.’
During his Afghan tour, Luke was attached to the Medical Emergency Response Team, a flying A&E unit in a Chinook.
The couple have never stopped campaigning for a 24-hour helpline, with Luke even invading the pitch at Liverpool’s Anfield stadium during a match in 2015 in protest at the MoD’s treatment of its soldiers
‘Mostly we would protect paramedics but often it was too dangerous for them and we’d have to go on our own, administer first aid and get soldiers back to the Chinook,’ he says. ‘There was a klaxon that went off at the camp when a call came in. At first, it was exhilarating but then – particularly after Ryan died – I came to dread that noise.’
On one mission, he was called out to a helicopter crash that killed six American airmen. He risked his life trying to save them from the burning wreckage and was later commended for his ‘courage when faced with an extraordinarily dangerous situation’.
Since his breakdown Luke and Charlotte, who live on the west coast of Scotland with their two children, have fought with the RAF and Ministry of Defence.
A planned investigation into his treatment before his breakdown kept stalling – and the RAF failed, despite requests, to give Luke his full medical records.
Eventually a Medical Board dealt with his case in his absence and a decision was made to discharge him. He left the RAF last year without a pension – a decision he is appealing and which the couple describe as ‘appalling’.
In all this time, the couple have never stopped campaigning for a 24-hour helpline, with Luke even invading the pitch at Liverpool’s Anfield stadium during a match in 2015 in protest at the MoD’s treatment of its soldiers.
Charlotte gave up a well-paid job with British Airways to care for her partner, who still suffers, often vomiting in his sleep because of nightmares.
She has written hundreds of letters and tirelessly lobbied politicians. Some offered words of encouragement but little else. Only Lord Dannatt, she says, took up their case with any gusto.
‘I wouldn’t have fought for as long as I have if I didn’t believe the military are putting people’s lives at risk,’ she says.
‘We are not fighting for ourselves any longer – it’s too late for Luke, his career has gone, they have taken it from him. We are fighting for serving soldiers.’
The MoD said: ‘We are committed to providing the best mental-health care possible and are spending £20 million this year on mental-health provisions.’
First the Generals, now the troops – led by the most injured soldier to survive the Afghan conflict – demand action on 24-hour helpline
By MARK NICOL for the Mail On Sunday
The family of the most seriously wounded British soldier to survive the war in Afghanistan last night backed The Mail on Sunday’s campaign to provide round-the-clock care for traumatised troops.
Lance Bombardier Ben Parkinson, 33, suffered 40 blast injuries, including severe brain damage, after his Land Rover hit a Taliban anti-tank mine in Helmand province in 2006.
Last night his mother Diane Dernie, 59, gave her family’s support to our bid to convince defence chiefs to set up a 24/7 helpline to allow troops to speak directly to their carers.
The family of Lance Bombardier Ben Parkinson, 33 – the most seriously wounded British soldier to survive the war in Afghanistan – last night backed The Mail on Sunday’s campaign to provide round-the-clock care for traumatised troops. Above, Ben meeting Prince Charles in 2010
She was joined by other British heroes of the Helmand province campaign, including Military Cross winner Colour Sergeant Trevor Coult, 43, and military historian Andrew Roberts.
Ms Dernie, from Doncaster, said: ‘A helpline like this is such a small undertaking from the Ministry of Defence’s perspective that it is remarkable it doesn’t have it as part of care provisions to troops.
‘We absolutely support this campaign and I know Ben is very aware of the rising problem of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder which must be tackled urgently. Some of his Afghan comrades have tried to take their own lives.
‘Troops with mental health problems should know they can always speak to people who are familiar with their cases.
Our report last week on Nathan Hunt’s widow
‘Ben is actually the lucky one as he’s been able to rebuild his life. That is a lot harder to do for the troops with full-blown PTSD who completely withdraw into themselves once the condition sets in.’
Despite his injuries, L/Bdr Parkinson, who was awarded an MBE in 2013, remains a serving soldier and is not permitted to comment on MoD policies. Prince Charles described him as ‘an inspiration’.
The Mail on Sunday launched its campaign with former head of the British Army, Lord Dannatt, following the suicide last month of Warrant Officer Nathan Hunt.
More than 400 serving soldiers are believed to have taken their lives since 1995, while the number of troops suffering from PTSD has doubled to around 2,500 in the past ten years. Last night, Colour Sergeant Coult, of the Royal Irish Regiment, said: ‘The provision of care for troops with PTSD isn’t good enough and a helpline for serving personnel would be a big step in the right direction – 24/7 care is a basic requirement.
‘Even though I was suffering from mental illness, the MoD forced me to leave my military accommodation, adding financial stress to my medical condition.’
Andrew Roberts said: ‘Britain has a long history of not taking care of her soldiers after conflicts, despite their being the best of the best of our society. What happened to Warrant Officer Nathan Hunt must never happen again.’
The MoD said: ‘We take the mental health of our Armed Forces very seriously.’
BT: We’ll install FREE helpline for our boys… so over to you, MoD
By MARK NICOL
BT has offered to help set up a free-to-call 24/7 crisis line for traumatised troops.
The telecom giant’s engineers were last night standing by to assist with the implementation of a helpline for soldiers suffering from PTSD and mental illnesses.
A spokesman said: ‘BT is pleased to support the Helpline For Heroes campaign. Traumatised troops should be able to access expert care and support around the clock. We welcome the call by The Mail on Sunday, Lord Dannatt and others for a dedicated, 24/7 helpline for serving personnel and BT stands ready to help make it a reality.’
The offer was welcomed by Lord Dannatt, who said: ‘This is most welcome from BT. There must be a single telephone number that servicemen and women can call any time of day or night, knowing that they will be looked after by serving military health professionals.’
At the moment, serving personnel who experience mental health problems outside office hours are forced to call military charities such as Combat Stress, or rely on the NHS for help.
The Ministry of Defence said: ‘Personnel already have 24-hour access to effective services they need in an emergency.’