Holidays4Heroes News: British Forces Broadcasting

Mr Jan Telensky speaking on BFBS, about his life, AquaCity Poprad Slovakia, and his offer to the British Forces - Holidays4Heroes

N.B. The e-mail address in this report has changed to terryb@holidays4heroes.com

SAC Kenny Gibson

After serving for 5 years I was due to leave the Military on the 10th August 2007, but due to the decreasing manpower of the RAF Regt i agreed to extend my time by 3 months to assist 51 Sqn on their tour of Afghanistan. On the 29th of Aug with only 10 days left of an intense 6-month tour and of course my career we were tasked with a 13 hr patrol of the north east of Kandahar Airfield. Whilst returning to camp we were further tasked with a tesseral on the west side. As we were clearing the ground our front vehicle got bogged in, and as the driver of the second vehicle it was my job to pull it out. After the surrounding area had been cleared on foot I was given the all clear to move in. I crossed the ditch the WMIK was stuck in, pulled him out, he then crossed back over my tracks and when I re-crossed the SAME tracks my rear wheels triggered a pressure pad IED!! After about 15 mins I regained consciousness and realised what had happened. I could hear the rounds and grenades going off that were in the burning vehicle. I tried to get up but couldn’t move and could hardly breathe, the flt medics were doing their thing and after about 40 mins a Blackhawk joined the circling Apache and landed to pick us up. As a P1 casualty I was first on, but as they moved the stretcher I blacked out again with the pain. When I came to this time I was in a cat scan machine on base. I was given some morphine and woke up 2 hrs later. As I woke I was given the news that the young SAC in the back had been killed along with the interpreter. My other passenger survived with a broken neck and fractured skull. My injuries were; 2 wedge fractures in my spine, smashed pelvis, 6 broken ribs, both kneecaps damaged, a cracked left ankle and my lungs only function to about half the capacity. I was medivac'd out the following day and taken straight to Sellyoak hospital in Birmingham where my family were taken. After spending 2-3 weeks there I was transferred to Glasgow before having to spend a month at Headly Court. Since then I am going through an intense physiotherapy programme and have just recently been married.