Thread by @brendauji

My first time in travelling in the Northeast combat area, gunfire started. Scared to pieces, I screamed. One of the soldiers in the truck looked at me and asked, Aunty, don't you like this ringtone? Should we change it for you? 😂 Tuesday is Armed Forces Remembrance Day; this..

...thread is dedicated to Nigerian troops, who are fighting/have fought/will fight insecurity not only in the Northeast, but all over the country. It chronicles memorable experiences, stories of bravery, fear, passion, love, anger, sorrow, in the combat zone...

Follow Who Know Road:
Destination- Gamboru Ngala.
It was a very slow journey. A portion of the route was bad, and in those places, IEDs could be buried by BH. So we wait for the EOD to manually clear before others drive thru. Each car drives following the tyre marks of the one-

- in front of it, to avoid "BOOM". A journey that would otherwise take three hours, stretched to about eight. But we arrived in one piece. Thankfully, two years later, I travelled that same route and the IEDs were no longer a threat.
One of the best parts of this journey was-

- meeting the late Lt Col Abu-Ali, and witnessing his now popular decoration at night. May his soul and all the others who have gone, RIP. That night, what we witnessed was pure passion, love and brotherhood among the soldiers. ICYMI

DADDY'S VOICE:
This one is about an Air force fighter pilot then based in Yola, who had been there for long, and couldn't travel home often enough to see his wife and baby.
"I'm always worried my baby will be growing without recognising me. So anytime I call my wife, I try to...

speak to the baby. She can't speak/ understand me now, but I'm hoping that at least she'll get familiar with my voice, so that when I go home, I won't be so much of a stranger to her".

LOST BESTMAN-
"My wedding was due in a few weeks. We had one operation before I would take a pass and go home. My close friend was to be my best man. He was excited because his pregnant wife would also come for the wedding and he could see her. He died in the operation". 😭

EXPLODING CARS:
The driver is ready to die, taking down as many people with him. His car is laden with explosives. He can strike anywhere- checkpoint, patrol convoy, camp. In this picture, a sniper took out the driver in time. But some sneak in at night, driving without lights-

LET ME HEAR YOU BREATH:
My wife warned me not to send anyone to call her on my behalf if I'm out of network area.The shock from "are you X's wife" may traumatise her before she hears the rest of the msg. Often, after we speak on phone, she'll refuse to cut the call, she tells me-

...let me just hear you breathing, even if you're sleeping.

FEARLESS, CHEERFUL-
An account of soldier by his C.O:
One of my best soldiers is Lance Cprl E. He is fearless, brave, cheerful. E is not afraid of an operation, and he pulls the others along. In a firefight, you'll hear him "gingering" them to fire on.This is what E sounds like:

SOFT SKINS, SOFT TARGETS:
We've lost several soldiers 'cos there aren't enough rugged vehicles. The Hilux/buffalo trucks often used are easily destroyed by bullets and landmines. The N/East Ops require a lot of MRAPS, this is why we need to review the funding/procurement policy

FEASTING, JUNGLE STYLE:
The job is stressful, but we look forward to days we can feast. We can prepare barbecue and have a good time even in the frontline. Sometimes, I believe the BH agents do see us/ smell our food and get angry that we are enjoying under their nose!...

BROTHERHOOD:
Out there, fighting a common enemy, many have built bonds that will last a lifetime.
In this pic, two officers from different regions, different services (Army, Navy) share a cup of local tea somewhere in Malamfatori.
The Lt Cdr says of the Maj, "he is my man".

FAMILIES LEFT BEHIND
The emotions families with soldiers in the N/east go thru can only be imagined. Every report of casualty is met with fear.The only news they want to hear is, their son/husband/brother is safe, and deployed out.But it's a war, and it won't always end your way.

PSYCHO-
The long weeks fighting the jungle, depression, fearing death, feeling like quiting, missing family, feeling unappreciated, feeling your labour is in vain...War messes up with your head. And it could be dangerous. Soldiers need serious psychological support for PTSD.

😎CHEESY, INSPIRING BADGES
Pilots have the most awesome badges on their flight suits. They carry colourful, witty inscriptions. Why? I don't know yet. Maybe to make combat flying seem a more fun 🤔. Anyway, here are some I've seen-

THANKFUL:
(One last one for the night.) In all things, give thanks. Even in the battlefield. Nothing else to add. Enjoy this video, Christmas day in Gwoza (2017).

Good morning, and happy Armed Forces Remembrance Day. Thanks to all the service men and women for the work they do.
By popular demand, the thread will continue today....

PT 1:OGA SHINE YOUR EYES:
A convoy of BH were heading towards our location. My platoon was tasked to go and ambush them. After several hours lieing in wait, they came, and we rained hell on them. It was so intense you couldn't hear your own rifle noise, only feel it jerk in your-

...hand. It was the perfect ambush. Unknowingly, one of the insurgents was still alive, and opened fire, his bullet brushed my helmet and fell off. One of my men fired him and shouted, "Oga Shine Your Eye! That's what we call him now, and the helmet became my pillow, always...

PART 2: THE HELMET
...My wife believes God used the helmet to save me so I could come back to her. It's now kept as a monument in our house. We also used it in taking this picture of our baby. It was an unforgettable experience.
(Maj. A)

NORMAL HUMANS AT LAST
Location was somewhere in Kangarwa, Northern Borno. It was hot, dusty, dry. The soldiers had been on a long, weary advance, and it was obvious from their appearance. I could see they weren't in a good mood, and seeing senior officers was an opportunity for-

- them to lay out their challenges. It didn't take long for them to cheer up and start "hailing" Oga once issues were addressd.Then they turned to me. They wanted to snap with me, to stand behind me while I took the stand up for my report."Maybe someone from my house will watch-

- your report and see that I'm still alive". "Aunty, do you know how long since we saw a normal person? Na only Boko haram dey come this side o".
"Sister, I will give you a number, help me call my wife when you return to Maiduguri, it's been long and she'll be worried."

LETTERS FROM KANGARWA
I got many letters from Kangarwa to call and deliver to soldiers families.They were scribled on little pieces of paper, some contained only one sentence- "Tell my wife I miss her, coming home soon", followed by a number. It didn't look like a big deal to me-

-Until I returned to Maiduguri and started making the calls.The first one was a letter and money. I was to put the money in his wife account, so she'll celebrate his daughters eighth' birthday, and fix a broken chair the house. Me: "Hello, are you X's wife? She:JESUS (screaming)

...I had to calm her down, assure her the husband was alive, only out of network area. As I read his message, she sobbed quietly. I didn't know when I started crying with her. Had to take a break before calling the others. And it was no longer a simple task for me.

The next day, I would receive calls from several other people, my number had been shared to more family members, someone had finally seen their sons, and they were alive. One mother told me,"My daughter, God bless you. This message you've given me, I can finally sleep well.

BESTMAN/PG STUDENT/GROOM-TO-BE
My best man, Capt Aliyu wa to deliver some Arty equipment to a unit and return. But when he got there, he had to stay back and join the operations. He died there.
His Supervisor waited in vain to mark his PG project paper...

...His fiancee lost him before she got him... Oh Aliyu, We will fight until all our enemies are defeated. I can't pass thru Ontisha (Artillery Unit) without reflecting on the wonderful moments we shared together. Adieu Brother.

INCOMPLETE NARROW ESCAPE
We were advancing for a certain operation, and I was in a hurry to see what was happening ahead. One of the soldiers told me he just wasn't feeling comfortable, we should cross to the other side of the road. A few minutes later, we heard an explosion...

The team behind me had stepped on an IED on the side we just left. It was the Engr crew, who had just disabled another IED earlier. I was lucky to have escaped, but how can you truly be happy when your colleagues have fallen by your side?

THANK YOU
I got more than I bargained for with this thread! I only wanted to share a few personal experiences and stories from the frontlines in honour of our troops on #ArmedForcesRemembranceDay. I must say I'm overwhelmed by the response. Didn't know how to keep up with all...

...the notifications. (Side note, how do popular account holders do it??) Thank you all for reading, your kind words, prayers and input. Sorry if I missed replying any question, I'll try to get to it. I'll stop posting now. Travelling round the Northeast and other crisis areas..

...sure helped me see things from different angles. The war in the Northeast will still go on for a while, we'll still hear of attacks, and Nigeria's troops will continue to fight back. The best we can do is support them to be victorious, at any level/in any way we can...

So, here's wishing our amazing troops all the best on this #ArmedForcesRemembranceDay. Thank you for your incredible service. This thread is for you. Hope the prayers and blessings get to you. Hope you get a better deal from the govt. Hope you find peace even in hopeless places.