NEWS: If only the other 139 journos killed in Iraq had their own Major Perkins

Mark McLaughlin
Edinburgh Evening News
March 10, 2009

A ROYAL Regiment of Scotland Army Major involved in the rescue of a kidnapped British journalist in Iraq has been awarded an MBE.

Major Tom Perkins, 38, of the 1st Battalion based at Dreghorn Barracks, led a 36-strong British Military Transition Team (MiTT) in Basra, providing support and guidance to the Iraqi army, helping them to take over security operations on their own.

It was a mission fraught with dangers and often carried out under a constant hail of enemy fire.

He also made a personal contribution to planning and carrying out the mission to rescue kidnapped British journalist Richard Butler in April last year.

Major Perkins, who has two sons aged five and three and whose wife Annabelle is expecting their third child, said: "Mr Butler's whereabouts were completely unknown to us, but the Iraqi brigades were extremely good at exploiting local intelligence.

"We had trained them to carry out thorough house-to-house searches looking for weapons and insurgents, and during the search of one house we found the journalist blindfolded and concealed in what can only be described as a dungeon behind a cooker.

"We later learned that he was only allowed out blindfolded once a day for food and drink."

The Kenyan-born Major, whose mother Rosemary once owned the Forsyth's department store in Princes Street, joined the regiment upon graduating from Sandhurst officer training academy.

He said: "After graduating from Sandhurst, I researched a lot of the regiments and was really impressed with the Royal Scots, and with my family connections to Edinburgh I really felt like they were 'of my own kind'.

"We've made a fantastic contribution to rebuilding Iraq, particularly in Basra, to the extent that there is now a real optimism for the future in the south.

"When I came back again in November 2007, the insurgents had really taken hold, and it was our mission to train the Iraqi army to root out the insurgency.

"It was particularly bad for the first two weeks of March 2008 when we came under small arms fire almost constantly, and under these conditions it's very hard for a soldier to maintain his composure but I was fortunate to have some really well-trained individuals under my command."

Major Perkins' MBE praises him for his willingness to "lead from the front daily, expose himself to constant danger to support the Iraqi army, and inspire his own and Iraqi officers".

He said: "I'm humbled by this award, and accept it very much on behalf of the 1 Scots soldiers."