Escape from Kabul book launch

On Tuesday 14 March 2023, members of the Support Our Paras team attended the ‘Escape from Kabul’ book launch and panel discussion. The event, held by Maj (Retd) Levison Wood PARA, was an opportunity for those involved in Operation PITTING to speak about their experiences ahead of the book’s publication.

The book tells the inside story of what happened during those two weeks in August 2021, with some accounts coming from those who were on the ground in Kabul at the time. The discussion panel included Johnny Mercer MP who is currently Minister of State for Veteran’s Affairs, and Sir Laurie Bristow who was Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Afghanistan from June-November 2021. Also present was Capt Aaron Nunkoosing, who was Adjutant of 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment during Op PITTING.

Rather than returning to their families on their return to the UK in late August 2021, Paratroopers had to undergo a period of self isolation due to COVID still being rife. This isolation period also allowed for a time of decompression where looking after their mental health was the primary focus. During this time, Support Our Paras was busy ensuring our guys and girls had everything they needed to get through isolation, including toiletries and home comforts. It was a busy period for the charity but we are proud to say we reacted quickly, thanks to our team and the generosity of our donors, spending almost £10,000 looking after our soldiers.

Support Our Paras was chosen to benefit from 50% of the evening’s proceeds and extend our thanks to Levison for thinking of his Airborne family in this way.