Ep 051: Bdr Gary Prout CGC - British Army Veteran

Military Veterans Podcast

Gary joined the Royal Regiment of Artillery (RA) in the British Army twice, once in 1999 and again in 2004. He served for 12 years in total, reaching the rank of Bombardier (Bdr).
In this episode Gary talks about his journey in joining the British Army, and why he left and then rejoined a few years later. He shares his time completing many courses, which prepared him for operational tours of Iraq and 2 deployments to Afghanistan. These tours saw him be part of a Close Protection Team, a Tactical Air Control Party (TACP), and be a Forward Observer.
During Gary’s 2nd operational tour to Afghanistan, he was part of a mission, which sadly lost a life of a team member. During this event, Gary consciously risked his life, on three separate occasions, and it was a miracle he himself was not killed. For his actions on this day, he was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross (CGC), second only to the Victoria Cross (VC).
After this tour, he suffered a shoulder and leg injury, which meant his career was cut short. However, he set new goals with recurve archery (a sport he’s excelled in from a young age), and took on the challenge of being part of the inaugural Invictus Games in London 2014, where he won Team Gold and Individual Silver.
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Part 1: youtu.be/sGeuhXiGb4s
Part 2: youtu.be/G-MCt9vQaBw
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1. Intro (00:00:00)

2. Growing Up (00:04:13)

3. Joining the British Army (00:07:28)

4. Basic Training (00:10:47)

5. Phase 2 (00:16:46)

6. Leaving & Rejoining the British Army (00:18:33)

7. 19th Regiment Royal Artillery (00:27:14)

8. British Army Training Unit Suffield (BATUS) (00:28:44)

9. All Arms Search Course (00:35:06)

10. Iraq Deployment - Close Protection Team (00:38:41)

11. Pre-Deployment Training & Courses (00:46:42)

12. Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) (00:49:32)

13. Afghanistan Deployment (00:59:40)

14. Ruptured Spleen (01:07:22)

15. Deployment Buildup & Archery (01:12:09)

16. 2nd Afghanistan Deployment (01:19:44)

17. Village Mission (01:24:41)

18. Conspicuous Gallantry Cross (CGC) Actions (01:28:25)

19. Afghanistan Tour Continues (01:48:56)

20. Shoulder Injury (01:56:32)

21. CGC Investiture - Meeting The Queen (02:02:44)

22. New Recruits Instructor (02:22:35)

23. Leg Injury (02:26:14)

24. Invictus Games London 2014 (02:31:37)

25. Transition Back to Civilian Life (02:51:53)

26. Final Thoughts & Advice (02:57:39)