The soldier - and his wife
- and the campaign of his wife Sam to know exactly how he died - has been a very unusual one for us.
Steve Roberts was the first British serviceman to die in action in the second Gulf War. Usually, when covering news, we only come across people like the Roberts in the aftermath of a tragedy. But in their case, we knew all about them beforehand.
How? Well, Sam Roberts had been a guest in Leeds when Five Live Breakfast had hosted a discussion about the merits of going to war in Iraq. She had passionately argued her case, supporting the decision to go to war and speaking with pride about what her husband had gone to do.
After the programme, the production team had commented that she had been a very powerful and impressive contributor. We ought to keep tabs on her story, we decided. But there was shock in the office when, within days, we got news that a Sgt Roberts had been killed in action in Iraq. It couldn't be the same officer, surely? It wasn't long before it became clear it was.
A couple of months later, we arranged with Sam to present the programme from her home. Nicky Campbell, complete with producer and engineer, set up camp in her front room in North Yorkshire. Her story was told in what was to become her trademark manner; calm, considered - and compelling.
During that programme we got the first indication that there was even more to this story. We learned that Steve had kept a diary of his experiences - a diary that was to launch about whether troops were adequately protected.
And - apart from following Sam's fight to get the truth about her husband's death - she also appeared on the programme as a guest reporter. As the military claimed victory in Iraq, she interviewed various people as she assessed the cost of that success.
And when George W Bush made a controversial visit to Britain, she reported on people's reaction to his trip - and gave us exclusive access to other wives who has been bereaved by the war.
We await with interest to know whether Sam is satisfied with the official report into her husband's death. We hope to hear from her on Thursday.
Richard Jackson is editor of Five Live Breakfast
Comments
"It couldn't be the same officer, surely?"
A Sergeant is not an officer – he's an NCO, not referred to as an "officer." I know this is just a blog, but the media fouling up on such simple points of clarity as the rank structure of the military (when covering military stories) annoys me, particularly when it's a simple matter of checking the style book (or even just Wikipedia…)
Re: comment one.
NCO stands for Non Commissioned Officer.
Therefore he IS an "officer" albeit without a commission...
I know it’s just a comment to a post but try to research the facts before embarrassing yourself.
;-)
If they were recounting their conversation on hearing the news, but got it right when reporting, then it's simply just a case of them screwing up internally, like hordes of civvies are wont to do on such things.
As for the story, the UK has never issued decent kit to the troops. The SA-80/L85 sucked, the webbing was WWII era and sucked, and the only decent socks you could get was from the NAAFI and get thick black woolies - forget issued kit.
Most of us spent a lot of our own money buying decent kit to take with us when we deployed. That 12 years after Storm the MOD still hasn't gotten -any- of it's sh*t into -any- socks isn't all that surprising.
Good on Sam Roberts for not letting it drop. I'm truly sorry that she had to lose her husband before anything started to be fixed, and I hope that she continues fighting for what should be common sense basic kit to be bought while servicemen and women are in harms way and -need- working kit.
Tim,
An NCO is not an officer. Indeed, call a non-com an officer and he or she may just smack you in the mouth and say "I work for a living" ;-) A non-com is referred to as such in full, or as a soldier. Again, a bit of understanding is required if you're to properly report on the matter.
I'm glad to see that the important matters are being debated here. Not whether the man should have had proper equipment, not whether he should even have been in Iraq, but whether a seargent is an officer or not. Who really gives a flying fig whether he was an officer or not?
Mrs Roberts has conducted herself with a sense of dignity and honesty none in the Government who sent her husband to his death could lay claim to.
It's important to try and encourage people like Mrs Roberts to tell their story so that those of us who don't have immediate connections with the military know the full story.
She's to be commended for the important part she's played in bringing the full tragedy of the war to a wider audience.
I simply wish she'd been spared her unique insight and that her husband were now home with her.