Part-Timer: A Compelling Account of Serving in N.Ireland During ‘Op Banner’

This book by Mark Cardy is a very personal, compassionate and at times funny account of a life spent as a Part-Time member of the Ulster Defence Regiment. It outlines the dangers, both on duty and off duty; the training and the camaraderie you only find when you share such hardships and experiences with those you serve along-side.
Doug Beattie M.C. MLA
A Gripping First-Hand Account of Peace and War during ‘The Troubles’. Lance Corporal Cardy personal experiences of Operations and Training in Ulster.
Operation Banner – Northern Ireland: More British Army Troops were killed here, than the Iraq/Afghanistan Conflict put together.
I open my thoughts of operations, threats and training throughout the twenty years in which I served in the Ulster Defence Reg-iment and the Royal Irish Regiment.
Growing up in Northern Ireland, the troubles were normal life. Little did I know how deep and dangerous it was until I joined the British Army, then lived and operated in hostile conditions.
I do not write about all incidents and areas of Northern Ireland. Mainly incidents and patrols in the Mid-Ulster, South Armagh Areas, those in which I patrolled and operated.
A majority of UDR/Royal Irish Regiment soldiers will not openly talk about the active service they have experienced, for fear of threats that are still on the streets, or will not talk about it, as the incidents/memories have been placed into a box in their minds – not to be opened again. I was hesitant to write and open up about my experiences, as it is not easy to open up about the many experiences which have shaped me, but the government is trying to whitewash over it, put it into small print, and the paramili-taries are continuing to rewrite what happened, portraying the British Army to be the ‘Bad Guys’.
I want the lives and experiences of the security forces living in Northern Ireland not to be forgotten, hence I have written in-depth about my personal experiences, and hope you, the reader can enter my world, and see what it was like. Threats, camaraderie, humour, training, and my everyday lifestyle.