http://www.bicesteradvertiser.net/news/bicester/6348348.print/

Army salutes a hero
10:54am Thursday 1st April 2010

By Sam McGregor

A BICESTER-based soldier, who volunteered to continue looking for
roadside bombs in Afghanistan just minutes after his vehicle was
wrecked by a blast, has been awarded a joint commanders commendation.

Twenty-three-year-old Private Saloly Joof, of 23 Pioneer Squadron, was
in a Coventry-built Mastiff armoured vehicle leading a five-day supply
patrol in Musaqualeh, Afghanistan, last July, when it ran over a
Taliban mine.

Immediately after the explosion, the team had just moments to gather
themselves before leaping out of the vehicle to make the surrounding
area safe from a potential second improvised explosive device.

Then the team of four, part of the Royal Logistic Corps, all
volunteered to go back to the front of the patrol and clear a safe
path for the rest of the convoy.

Father-of-one Pte Joof, who was on his second tour of Afghanistan, the
first was in 2007, described how the blast lifted the massive vehicle
up into the air. One of its wheels was torn off in the explosion.

He said: “There was a bit of panic. The commander was asking everyone
if they were OK. Everyone was fine.

“We decided we had to jump out and clear the area around the vehicle.
We were looking for a secondary device “As a team, we volunteered to
carry on with the mission.”

During the rest of the day they walked in front of the convoy, using
metal detecting equipment, to look for more Taliban IEDs.

Pte Joof found five more IEDs that day and was able to identify each
type, so making the job easier for his bomb disposal colleagues.

In total he uncovered a total of nine IEDs during his six-month tour.

Pte Joof, who is originally from The Gambia, joined the British Army
six years ago. He said: “It was scary, but as a soldier I think
reacting and getting on with the job just comes naturally.

“When you see people out there — the Taliban — you just want to fight
back, because that’s why we went.

“We all train for this before going and have months preparing.
Everyone is geared up for it.

“I have survived after being in vehicles hit by IEDs. If not for the
Mastiff, I would not be sitting here now.”

Officer commanding Major Nathan Smith said: “Pte Joof had the presence
of mind to organise these guys getting out of the vehicle, making sure
the immediate area was clear.

“He then volunteered again to go into another Mastiff.

“For a young soldier it’s quite impressive professional dedication to
do this. He really worked tirelessly to ensure the safety of the
patrol.

“This is something I would expect a corporal to do — two ranks up.

“These IEDs are killers. We were exceptionally lucky during our time.
We’ve had casualties but no-one died.

“The Mastiff, which is built in Coventry, is really the success story
of Afghanistan. Without that vehicle we would definitely have had a
greater number of casualties. The guys have a huge amount of faith in
it.”

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