TAVISTOCK soldier Lance Corporal Phil Smith, 23, is due to return home next week after seven months serving in Iraq with the Royal Military Police (RMP). Son of town resident Steve Smith who still lives in the area, Phil attended Tavistock College before joining the Military Police. He passed out of the RMP training school in Chichester to become a ?Redcap? in 2006. Currently serving with 158 Provost Company 3rd Regiment RMP based at Bulford Camp, on the edge of Salisbury Plain, on his Iraq operation he served with 60 other Royal Military Policemen. They were stationed at Basra Palace, an ornate marble building built by Saddam Hussein, before moving to Basra Airport following the handing back of the Palace to Iraqi authorities in September. Their job was to provide military police support to coalition and Iraqi Security Forces and Phil has gained a lot of experience. Under the constant threat of indirect fire from rockets, the achievements of all the troops in Southern Iraq have been noteworthy. Phil said: ?I?ve had some amazing experiences and it is good to look back and feel that what I have been involved in has had a positive effect on people?s lives. ?The variety of work has been good ? one day it?s routine patrols around the base, the next could be out on the ground undertaking search and arrest operations against terrorists within Basra city.? For the RMP their work came at a cost, when one of their number, Corporal Christopher Read, died of wounds received in action in July during a search and arrest operation. Despite the loss, Phil and his colleagues remained focussed on the job in hand and have been all the more determined to see it through to a successful conclusion. Phil is now looking forward to returning home. ?The hardest thing has been the separation from my family and friends,? he said. ?I am really looking forward to seeing everyone and going for a drink at the Cornish!?
