L Cpl David Farrell, 23, will fly to Afghanistan next month

by Hayley Robinson

A dad who is about to embark on a seven-month tour of Afghanistan with two other members of his family has told his young daughter: “daddy is going on a trip”.
L Cpl David Farrell, 23, will fly to the war-torn country next month at the same time as his sister and her husband.
He, L Cpl Sarah Laird, 26, and L Cpl Paul Laird, 25, are all in the First Battalion Grenadier Guards.
This will be L Cpl Farrell’s first tour and he will be away from his five-year-old daughter Phealeigh for Christmas.
He said: “I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. Nerves are good though, they make you more aware.
“We’ve had our training and when we get out there we’re going to have to learnt to adapt as the temperature goes from one extreme to the other.
“I have a five-year-old daughter and I’m away for Christmas. Her mum and I are separated but we’ve told her daddy is going on a trip.
“ I think it would be too much for her to get her head around where I was going and why. Fingers crossed I will be back.”
L Cpl Farrell and L Cpl Sarah Laird’s father Sean Farrell, from Borstal, is a former Royal Marine. He served in the Falklands war and encouraged his children to serve in the forces.
He said: “I am getting nervous and so are they especially with all that’s going on out there are the moment. But this is their job and you have to take the good with the bad.
“Just because I’ve been in the army doesn’t make it any easier for me to except they are going out there. They’re my children at the end of the day and I’m always going to worry.”
The death toll for British soldiers in Afghanistan continues to rise.
Official figures show the number of UK troops killed on operations in Afghanistan since 2001 stands at 126.
According to the Ministry of Defence of all those killed, 27 died from accidents, illness, or non-combat injuries.
High tension in Afghanistan is compounded in the run up to the country’s first general elections since 2001.
This is L Cpl Sarah Laird’s second tour of the country. Her husband has been on previous tours of Kosovo, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan.
She said: “I am nervous but I’ve been before and so has my husband so we kind of know what to expect.
“My brother is nervous because it’s his first tour. I’ve had a chat with him though about what to expect out there.
“We know what’s going to happen out there we know what we’re going to see but no matter how much training you undergo it will never prepare you for what you’re going to feel.”