Profile on Sam Adams (University Features Assignment)

Sam Adams is only 21 and he has already killed. After returning home from a 9 month trip to Musa Qala, Afghanistan, Sam talks about his life in the Army, the first time he took a life, and the closest he has ever come to death.
Bullets hit their rucksacks and shreds of maize fly around them as Sam and his friend Brian are ambushed by the Taliban. When the firing ceases, covered in the tatters of the field they took shelter in, the two men look at each other, take a deep breath, and laugh.
“If I’m honest with you, you have to laugh” Sam says. “You don’t have time to be scared when you’re that close to death. It’s only afterwards when you think about it that it hits you.”]
Back from a 9 month trip to Afghanistan, Sam shrugs off one of many near misses. But he is one of the lucky ones. After the death toll of British troops in Afghanistan and Iraq reaching 300, it is no wonder his family were worried when he told them he would be going to Afghanistan.
“Sam told me he had volunteered to go to Afghanistan when I was in the library at University, so I couldn’t shout at him!” remarks his girlfriend of 3 years, April Warren. 21 year old April said she panicked constantly when Sam first went to Afghanistan, but in the end she got used to him being away.
Sam joined the army when he was 17, straight from school. He had wanted to be a solder since he was just a little boy, and volunteering to go for Afghanistan was a natural choice for him. “A lot of people told me I was stupid to go, but I wanted to do it” says Sam.
Sam’s platoon, the 5th Battalion of The Royal Regiment of Scotland (aka 5 Scots) was based in a village called Musa Qala in Afghanistan. It was on a standing patrol one day when Sam had his closest experience with a live member of the Taliban.
Jumping up and acting out the scenario, Sam explains how his platoon was hiding in the bushes, when a sole member of the Taliban walked right in front of them. The others were looking the other way, but Sam and Brian watched as the man turned to head back in the opposite direction, revealing an AK gun in his hand.
“As soon as he caught site of us, Brain popped him in the chest!” Sam mimes this action as he talks. His matter of fact reaction to killing is unnerving, but as he simply puts it, “If you don’t get them, they will get you.”
Normally, a dead man is an unlikely sight on the battlefield. “You only see the blood trails,” Sam explains, “as Muslim law states that bodies must be buried within 24 hours of their death.” But once Sam was able to touch a dead member of the Taliban that he had killed himself.
“It’s a bit of a high five moment!” He jokes. In fact, Sam sits up and smiles proudly when he said he could have killed 3 people, but because of only seeing the blood trails he’ll never be sure of the exact number. There is no trace of feeling in his voice as he talks of these kills.
Sam often makes jokes or detaches himself from his time in Afghanistan, even when he talks about the near death experiences he’s had. On one patrol to the North, the platoon stopped to rest, and the medic told them that they should take their helmets off to get some air.
“I’d only bloody got my helmet up to here,” he mimes pulling the helmet up to his ears, “When this round whizzed past my head. We put our helmets back on pretty quick after that!”
After having so many dangerous experiences, does Sam really believe that all he has been through is worth it? “Everywhere British troops are based has become so much worse compared to 2006” he says. “But in some places, the Taliban are starting to give up, and we should stand strong.”
Having been back only weeks from Afghanistan, Sam is bored. He stares absently at the daytime television that is on for background noise. “I’ve got nothing to do ‘til January!” he moans. But he has decided to go back to Afghanistan for a further 4 months. He is hoping to take his Door Gunners course so he can get more into the action.
“I don’t do much with helicopters at the moment, and it’s a bit boring always being on the ground.” he says. The 6 week course will enable him to get up in the air and more in the action.
Although he has these plans, Sam doesn’t want to stay in the Army forever. “If I’m honest with you, I really want a 9-5 job!” he admits. “I was planning to come out this year but with the credit crunch an’ all that it’s a bit hard to find a job!”
April is proud of Sam for what he has done in Afghanistan. Although she is worried about him returning in January, she says “the first time is always the worst.”
Sam will return to Afghanistan in January 2009, for a further 4 months service.