Sutton officer returns from Afghanistan tour (From Sutton Guardian)

Army officer from Sutton returns after Afghanistan tour

7:00am Thursday 19th April 2012 in News By Sophia Sleigh, Reporter

An army officer has returned after a six month tour in Afghanistan.

Captain Dominic Riley, 34, from Sutton, provided engineering support to the NATO led mission preparing the Afghans to fully take over their country’s security.

Captain Riley was deployed with 35 Engineer Regiment which provided engineering support to 20th Armoured Brigade, The Iron Fist, during the tour between September 2011 and March 2012.

He said: “As second in command of our squadron I was based at Camp Bastion but I stepped in for the Officer Commanding and needed to travel forward.

“The guys did a fantastic job. It continually amazes me how hard and with what courage sappers work.

“Our guys will go out on patrol with the infantry then come back and work through the night. I am very proud of them.

“Our main role was to support the building and repair of various military bases in theatre. We did three bridging operations – one to replace a vital bridge with the Danish Army.

"We also stripped out another and converted American bases for the British.”

Captain Riley took part in a special welcome home ceremony at the Schutzen Platz in Paderborn in Northern Germany where his unit is based on March 29.

The former Homefield Prep School and Epsom College student joined the Army in 2008.

His regiment operated across Helmand constructing and upgrading tactical infrastructure for the British soldiers.

This included detecting and destroying hidden Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs.

They were also responsible for dismantling and destroying insurgent fortifications including narcotics and weapon hideouts.