SOLDIERS from the 2nd Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment took a trip to London this week to speak with Members of Parliament about their recent six-month tour of Iraq.

SOLDIERS from the 2nd Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment took a trip to London this week to speak with Members of Parliament about their recent six-month tour of Iraq.

The aim of the event was to raise awareness of the Regiment amongst MPs who represent constituencies in their recruiting area, and Waveney MP Bob Blizzard was in attendance.

The presentation was hosted at Westminster by the Colonel of the Royal Anglian Regiment, General Sir John McColl. It featured a talk by Lieutenant Colonel Simon Browne, the Commanding Officer of the 2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, nicknamed The Poachers, who described the difference between their recent tour and their previous one in 2006.

Colonel Browne said that the reasons for the marked difference they experienced was the combination of Iraqi local knowledge and human intelligence coupled with Poacher expertise; the large amount of Iraqi soldiers that were available for operations; and the consent of the Iraqi civilian population that had led to a benign environment.

He stressed that the Poachers working together with their Iraqi counterparts was a team effort and that the rapid development of the Iraqi Army would have not been possible in 2006 as the conditions did not exist for the Iraqis to take responsibility for their own security.