This is just a place where if you wanted to leave any kind words, messages or just to wish the lads that you know who might be involved with Project Afghan some words of encouragement. (any messages left can and will possibly be used in any future books or image and quotes, so if you wish to remain unknown, then please don’t leave your name)
Then please feel free, regards Project Afghan.
Project Afghan 
Hi rob you may be working alongside my wonderful son dan Fordham.please take a pic of him for me and can I take this opportunity to say that your blog is a fantastic idea and I am waiting in anticipation for each entry.stay safe to you and all the boys and much love to my dan x
I will do for sure and he will feature on the blog one day!! I will pass you r regards on for you once i see him x
Who clears your images? Im sure you are doing a great job but a little worried about what you are posting with regards to Opsec.
you have nothing to worry about opsec Eddie, I wouldn’t post anything I wouldn’t want people to see.
Hi Rob, my daughter has set your page up for my husband and myself so we can follow our grandson Dans journey while in Afghan. He is with 3 Rifles so maybe there will be a photo soon.This is a great site and it helps for us to know what is going on. Thank-you and keep up the good work. Stay safe and best wishes to all .
Hi Cathy, is he serving in B Coy? I’m only working with during the tour x
Yes he is in B coy. Sorry about that. Thanks for getting back in touch.
Will see what i can do for you
A great idea and so helpful to follow progress over six months.
God bless you all.
John Posgate (Ian’s Dad)
Thank you John, I will pass your regards onto him for you.
Rob
A good idea but may I suggest you cover up your latest photo showing (I presume) your parents’ address in Solihull? I am sure you don’t want to compromise them. I will be following your blog avidly and wish you and the rest of B Company a successful and rewarding tour. Swift and Bold
if someone did write, they have my mother to deal with!
hahaah – Rob if your mother is anything like mine the war (sorry – TRANSITION!) would be over in a shot!! I stopped telling my mum when I went away, not so much of her worrying but of me worrying what she would do the bad guys if I was killed!
“Hell hath no fury like a mother bereaved…”
Stay cool and keep down
Andrew
http://www.newport-wedding-photography.co.uk
Yeah tell me about it mate!! ha
Hi Rob,
Just a ‘hello’ to you and all the guys out there at this time. Avidly following your blog (as you know!). As someone who has no immediate connection with anyone currently serving in the forces, I’m finding it quite an eye-opener to keep track of what is happening in your world. Thanks for keeping it ‘real’ and in perspective for people like me…Thinking of you guys and wishing you all the best. Stay safe.
Andie x
Hey you, thank you so much for your kind words and for following what we are doing out here, hopefully the images will start to get more dramatic soon. I will also pass your wishes onto all of the lads.
Take care and see you soon x
Hi Colour, I’ve chosen to stay lying in my bedspace and say this rather than make the (minimal) effort to visit yours and suggest that opportunity was given to us lads to write pieces for this blog, in a similar vein to Mr Brown’s contribution. Of course being in Bastion nothing interesting could be said other than Volleyball scores and ‘it’s sh*t because it’s w*nk’ but maybe once we’re all settled into our primary roles we’ll have some more serious input to offer… I plan if room allows to take my DSLR on patrol -alongside my machine gun and armour of course!- so could attempt to take some half decent photos for you. Anyway I like to ramble online as it’s easy, so I think I’ll pop smoke…. thanks for reading! Rfn Samuelson.
im happy for you to come visit me, discuss terms of my contract before any such post is allowed to be added. Proof reading is needed. But I’m happy for you to give a view through a Rfn’s eyes as to being out here.
So – if I’m reading this right…
Rfn (Rich) Samuelson is in Bastion not to far away from Colour (Rob) Grimes and said Rfn has left a post on said Colours blog?! You gotta love technology!
My turn to swing the lamp now guys, and a little story of how technology can have serious impact on your wallet and career…
I’m on a tour in Northern Ireland (when they were still shooting – I’m that old.) with a laptop. Laptop totally against regulations by the way, but hell – who was gonna find out? Me and another bloke in a secure comms det. No visitors, no one allowed in. And I mean No ONE. If your name isn’t down you ain’t coming in kind of secure det. Once told the RSM of the Black Watch to make his pipe band disappear up his backside as I couldn’t but that is a different story
Surprise visit from Lt Col of the unit (15 Sig Regt). I’m in bed after a night shift, oppo on the laptop and the, erm, pillock has connected it to the telephone line and was surfing the net. Porn to be precise. After a rude awakening from the accompanying SSM I was packed off to Lisbon. Off course being the senior rank I owned up to the laptop etc.
Days later after a dressing down from every one from the rank of Lt upward to Brig I was charged, fined over £1000 and RTU’d and promptly had my security vetting removed for 12 months.
Moral of the story number 1 – if you’re in charge you take the blame. Period.
Moral of the story number 2 – Technology can have a seriously damaging effect on your wallet and career.
That was back before blogs were even invented or thought about and the Internet speeds were measure in Kb not Mb and was used by geeks. Back before even the fellows in GCHQ (nice guys, shame about the elbow patches on the cardigans mind) had understood how much the Internet would impact security and hence the safety of soldiers on ops.
Stay safe guys, and Rich, as an ex Spec Op’s guy I’d much prefer you taking extra ammo / water than a DSLR mate!
Rob – feel free to change / ammend etc as you see fit.
Andrew
Will do mate!
Rob,
The blog is a great read, I look forward to reading it over the tour from you and the lads,
Keep up the good work.
stay low and move fast
Shift and Bold
1st box went in the post last weekend to you mate.
Zippy (Ex 2 Rifles)
Your a star mate and thank you fro everyone here!
Regards Rob
Fantastic insight into the work being done out there! My boy is with C Company just turned 18 in Jan so proud of all of them and the work they are doing!! Thanks Rob and keep up the good work.
S & B
Tom Bowmer
Hope it helps mate and thank you for following!
Regards Rob
Hi Rob, i would love for you to post a picture of my son, Dec Anderson he is in B coy, He`s quite shy about having his pic taken but im sure you can catch him off guard. I love your blog and have passed it on to family and friends so they can read it and get a real feel of the war as you see it . Good luck and stay safe to all you riflemen out there we are all so proud of you all x
i will do for sure x and thank you x
Thank you so much will see what i can do for you x
Rob I think a soldier calendar would be an excellent idea and could help raise money for care for casualties. Not sure if it’s already been done but worth thinking about. Keep safe guys and loads of love to dan Fordham xxxxx
Might be a good idea x
Rob,
It has got better and better. I have circulated family and friends with the site details and they are enthralled. Very many thanks for such a fantastic idea. I liked the latest photos of Ian and we want to order some at the end of the tour and no doubt we can be told how to do this. I wanted to send you one of me in a cowboy outfit at the age of 4 so you can see where Ian gets his poser stance from but am not sufficiently technical enough to do it . It is saved on my scanned documents. I do not want to embarass him (much).
The families must love this ability to communicate with the men out there.
Regards,
John Posgate
I will give you the images on disk once i return!!
John – if you want a hand in getting the image to Rob (I am sure your son would actually appreciate the humour!) let me know; I’d be happy to help in the tech department. My contact details can be found on my website.
Rob – keep up the great photo’s mate!
Andrew
http://www.andrew-miller.co.uk
With regards to the Opsec, im sure you still need to get images cleared. Every photograph that appears on the internet from Afghanistan needs to go through the proper chain of command (picture desk) or have you been given special clearance or are you a trained professional Army Photographer. The Army Photographers i have seen in Afghan (CCT) need to go through the proper chain of command. As trained professionals even they have images that are not allowed to be published no matter how innocent they looked, these photos can be held by the MOD for 50 years until they can be released. I would suggest you ask the CCT guys out there if what you are doing is ok.
Stay safe
Eddie
This blog has been cleared to the highest level, so you have nothing to worry about.
I may be a complete numpty here, but Eddie if what you say is correct that EVERY image from Afghanistan has to be cleared before it is used then I truly am living in a police state.
If the images are official then yes they need to be not only cleared but stored for archival purpose, sometimes longer than the 50 years you state. My own photographs from various tours around the world will not be released for at least 75 year due to the sensitive nature and national security implications.
Rob’s blog is not official, though it obviously does have official sanction as he has been given permission to shoot and use those images by senior officers within his regiment.
There is not way that the British military could prevent soldiers taking photographs, posting the memory cards back home and family and friends uploading them, nor is there any way to prevent soldiers uploading their own images to the myriad of sharing sites. I regularly used to send film and prints back from various tours that I took whilst not on official duty – I still have stacks of such images at home.
We sometimes have to trust that the soldiers are doing the right thing and give them credit for making sure they do the right thing. After all there lives and the lives of their mates depend on it.
cheers Andrew mate
Hi,
Not in to the rights and wrongs but this site is fabulous and so good for the families. It must last the distance.
John Posgate
PS.
Please remind the Major his dog is 8 years old tomorrow 20th May. Perhaps he could send him a birthday message!!!
JP
I will let him know for sure
Andrew, What i say is correct. I have spoken to an official Army Photographer and every image they take for release to the general public MUST be cleared through the pic desk. Apparently they spend years learning there trade on what can and can not be photographed not because we live in a police state but because of security reasons.
You are right in saying we cant stop soldiers from sending memory cards and posting photographs online but these are for personal use. Rob i like your blog are read it regularly as it is very good. However this dose not say that it is right to post photographs when they have not been cleared by professionals and you have no official training. If an official army photographer has to fight to get his images to the public why is it someone such as yourself can blatantly post articles and photographs with no security clearance other than some rupert saying “yeah ok mate’
Am i also right in saying you have been told to shut this blog down because of what you have posted? (Sources from Afghan) and yet here you are still posting. If you get your images and articles cleared then this will become official and you will not be breaking the law.
Regards
Eddie
Eddie, please know that this blog has been cleared to the highest level, i even sat with the highest ranking British officer in Afghanistan, going through the blog a few days ago, which he thought was great and loved the idea. So please you have nothing to worry about when it comes to opsec or anything related to what we do or goes on in Afghanistan. So while i appreciate your worries and comments, i hope that you can now see that this blog is cleared to the highest levels possible, because if it wasn’t then I’m sure in this day and age, the blog wouldn’t be allowed and i hope that you will form now on support me and the project and any future posts.
Regards Rob
Eddi – I know they spend years learning the trade; I was one. For 10 years of my 12 years of service. Every image that is taken by an official military photographer must be cleared – you are correct in that.
I’m not going to get into the rumours that abound when military ops are on; the only person that does know what is going on is Rob. If what you say is correct then I would also assume that Rob’s Coy OC and Regt CO will be reprimanded also.
On the other hand Rob could just send a memory card back home with his words in a letter and “AN Other” could post them on his behalf. That would lead us into the question of whether we live in a police state or not.
Cheers Andrew
Happy Birthday Rob!!! Coming to the end of my project now….i will get some images and email them to you at some point when our show is on :). Take Care and enjoy your day as much as possible,
Kate
Thanks Kate, look forward to the images x
Hi,
I was looking for a photographer in Solihull when I came upon your website, I then realised I remembered you from ATR Winchester back in the late 90s. I took some time today to read your blog and just wanted to say how inspirational it is and how it provides a fantastic insight into the work your doing out there.
Keep safe x
Hi Tracey.
Blimey, Winchester was a few years ago, ive aged a bit since then. I’m glad you stumbled across the blog and hope you enjoyed the posts. Hope your well and all my regards. Rob
Ps. Im your man if you ever need a photographer, great deals for those who served and especially those who know me from our days at Winchester and I wish you all the very best. Rob x
Incredible photos, really thought provoking.
Thank you so much for your kind words!