'Tomorrow is not a guarantee' Leeds veteran shot in the face by sniper speaks 15 years since end of Iraq War
Leeds veteran shot in the face by sniper says he lives for the moment 15 years after the end of the Iraq War
Leeds veteran Simon Brown knows only too well the devastating scars left from combat.
The 47-year-old was shot in the face by a sniper when he was called to rescue a stranded vehicle with a crew of six on board, following an insurgent attack in Iraq.
Mr Brown, from Morley, joined the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in 1997. During his career, he worked as a mechanic servicing and maintaining armed vehicles, serving in Germany, Kosovo, Poland, Canada, and Iraq.
The bullet entered his left cheek and exited the other side but Mr Brown was able to perform his own first aid for 25 minutes before his colleagues managed to get him to Basra Palace.
When he woke from an induced coma 17 days later in a Birmingham hospital, he had lost his left eye and was left with around 20 per cent vision in his right eye.
Reflecting on 15 years since the end of the Iraq War, he said: “Veterans are still here.
“We may not be at war but many of us need support, sometimes for 30 or 40 years for injuries that happened in only 30 to 40 seconds of chaos.
“My whole life now is about living the moment because, you know, I can speak with more authority than most on that. Tomorrow is not a guarantee.”
The former Mayor of Morley was speaking as charity Help for Heroes warns that veterans are still living with the mental and physical battle scars 15 years after the end of the conflict in Iraq.
Today marks the anniversary of when the last UK troops withdrew from Iraq following the Middle East conflict fought from 2003 to 2011, codenamed Operation TELIC.
A total of 179 British Armed Forces personnel were killed, thousands more were wounded, and many veterans live with the mental and emotional impact of their service.
The military charity was launched almost 20 years ago, in direct response to the lack of proper government support for those returning with severe injuries from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mark Elliott, founding member of Help for Heroes and former Grenadier Guards, said: “The Iraq War shaped a generation of veterans and, in large part, led to the creation of Help for Heroes.
“We remember those who served and recognise the lasting impact of that conflict on their and their families’ lives.
“Sadly, then as now, too many veterans tell us that essential support simply isn’t there, and in a dangerous and uncertain world, the gaps in the system are only becoming wider.”
Since 2023, 884 ex-servicemen and ex-servicewomen who served in the Iraq war (2003 – 2011) have been supported by Help for Heroes.