Ep 046: Sgt Stu Hale - British Parachute Regt Veteran

Stu initially joined the Royal Marines Commandos in 1998, then moved over to the Parachute Regiment in the British Army and served for a total of 17 years, reaching the rank of Sergeant (Sgt). He specialised as a Sniper.

In this episode Stu talks about going through and completing training at Commando Training Centre Royal Marines (CTCRM), before choosing to move over to the British Parachute Regiment. He shares operational tours in Northern Ireland and Iraq, and was also part of exchange programs with American and Italian Paras. Plus the steps he took in becoming a Sniper.

Stu also shares operational tours in Afghanistan, with the first including a life changing incident where a mine strike took place in Kajaki. He would loose his right leg from the blast, but he was eager to rejoin his team on tour, and after rehabilitation became the first amputee to redeploy out to Afghanistan. Stu went back to the crater in Kajaki where the incident happened, which helped him with his mental recovery. Later a movie would be released based on this event called ‘Kajaki’, or ‘Kilo Two Bravo’ for the U.S. market.

Watch Episode on YouTube
Part 1: youtu.be/G1ItjhpKrPE

Part 2: youtu.be/vw1zuXJh0Zw

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Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 3:14 Growing Up
• 7:27 Joining the Royal Marines
• 10:06 Commando Training Centre (CTCRM)
• 15:19 Joining the Parachute Regiment
• 21:37 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment
• 28:48 Northern Ireland
• 31:26 McKay VC Tournament
• 33:39 101st Airborne Exchange
• 36:41 Op Fresco - Firefighter Strikes
• 38:49 Invasion of Iraq
• 43:54 Patrols Cadre
• 47:32 Sniper Course
• 53:01 Iraq Op Tour as Sniper
• 56:32 Italian Paras Exchange
• 1:02:26 Afghanistan
• 1:14:51 Kajaki
• 1:19:54 Kajaki - Mine Strike
• 1:31:52 Selly Oak Hospital
• 1:35:49 DMRC Headley Court
• 1:37:55 Back to Battalion
• 1:41:17 Returning to Afghanistan
• 1:48:33 1st Battalion The Parachute Regiment
• 1:50:47 OpTAG Team
• 1:56:48 Kajaki Movie (Kilo Two Bravo)
• 2:01:53 Leaving the British Army
• 2:03:45 Transition Back to Civilian Life
• 2:10:44 Final Thoughts & Advice