Unseen Support

After decades in the Royal Marines, Andrew Canning spent four years working for coalition forces in Afghanistan as a civilian. During his time there, he met extraordinarily committed and brave civilians, not only on the program he was delivering but involved in supporting military forces in many other areas of the conflict. Coming to Afghanistan from across the globe, these civilians were making varied, crucial contributions to the conflict, much of it unseen to external observers. Canning brings his unique perspective to examine the part of civilians in supporting modern military operations, especially in campaigns of long duration. He was particularly impressed by the fortitude and resilience of those ensconced in some of the most remote forward operating bases in Taliban bandit-country and under repeated attack - isolated and utterly reliant on ISAF protection. He also explains some of the trials and tribulations of daily life for those living in a war zone, especially for civilians that do benefit from the "umbrella" of national government protection and provision, and pays tribute to the unheralded civilians who worked to the common good in Afghanistan. AUTHOR: Andrew Canning spent over 33 years as an officer in the Royal Marines, serving worldwide and in various well-documented conflicts. During that time, he also worked with other Government departments including DfID and the FCO. He led the British military operation in Mozambique to provide rescue, recovery and relief operations following catastrophic floods in the country in 2000, all under DfID direction. He spent 3.5 years as the defence attache to Norway, working directly for two ambassadors in-country, advising on military capabilities and perceived military threats to Norway from abroad. Andrew was awarded an OBE in 2000 for his services to the development of countries in sub-Saharan Africa, based on his operational and diplomatic deployments to West and Southern Africa to effect and promote FCO policies through the military. Andrew played his part in the war zones of Sierra Leone (four times), and was instrumental in the evacuation of British citizens from Sierra Leone to Senegal in 2001. On leaving the Royal Marines, Andrew organised and managed a specialist training and mentoring programme delivered to the Afghan Police and Army, on a civilian contract let by the United States government.