Police Officer Reflects on Army Service in Afghanistan

Lee Holmes, a 39-year-old sergeant with North Yorkshire Police, served in the Yorkshire Regiment and was deployed to Afghanistan between 2009 and 2010. He was injured by an improvised explosive device in 2010 and repatriated to the UK for treatment.

Holmes has been reflecting on his involvement in the conflict and believes it should not be viewed entirely in a "negative light". More than 450 British service personnel were killed in the war, but Holmes says he does not see their deaths as a "waste" and that military objectives were achieved.

He was injured while on patrol in Marjah, southern Afghanistan, when an IED detonated in a wall. Holmes was flown to Camp Bastion for initial treatment and then sent back to the UK, spending a week at Selly Oak hospital before recovering at home.

Holmes also worked as a trainer and mentor with the Afghan National Army, and said he got close to some of the soldiers. He left the Army in 2013 and found the return to civilian life challenging, but said his skills were transferable to his current role in the police.

Holmes recently campaigned for a memorial plaque to be added at Eden Camp Modern History Museum near Malton to honour police officers from North Yorkshire who enlisted and died while serving with the armed forces during wartime.