Okuhara, Matt Basra and Back

The Memoir of an unlikely Infantryman in the Iraq War

The Salamanca Company, recruited from units in south-west England, wasted no time in taking on their duties, protecting the coalition's provisional government and finding their feet in the tense, dusty streets of Basra. Insurgents had infiltrated the city and were causing unrest among the population, which was already struggling with a shortage of vital resources such as food, water, fuel and electricity. The soldiers were aware of the gravity of the situation and prepared for riots and worse, knowing that their mission would take them into even more dangerous territory. For six months in 2004, the officers and soldiers of the Rifle Volunteers served as reservists on the front lines. Now that the war had been won, it was time to win the peace. From the perspective of Matthew Okuhara, a young soldier called up for regular service, Basra and Back provides a truthful and previously overlooked insight into the British military reserve during the war. Told with abstract humour, Matthew initially feels out of place but eventually discovers his role as a medic in the 3 Platoon unit. The book also covers the military history of reservists during the War on Terror, with the deployment of so many volunteers representing a historic moment for the British Army, as it was the first time in almost half a century that a trained unit of reservists had been deployed in a ground defence role since the Suez Crisis: an experiment that gave rise to a strategy that was continued in military operations in the following years.