Nigel Roden joined an RMC pack march on his maiden march with his new
pack designed to keep soldiers refreshed out in the fi eld
Right - RSM TG Afghanistan WO1 Jason Watene presents Sallyman MAJ Nigel
Roden with a TG Afghanistan T-shirt
One of the highlights was meeting some
of the senior Afghan offi cers and staff .
“The translator explained my
philanthropic role, and, perhaps,
because they understood my life
was lived in service to others, we
made what I felt was a really
strong connection,” Nigel said.
“Even though I was obviously
not Moslem, we seemed to
connect on a religious level.”
Back at Lavarack Barracks, Nigel
is, more than ever, committed
to the task he, Penni, and the
other “Sallies” tackle every day.
He said the Sallymen and women in
the Army’s philanthropic service were
a diff erent “fl avour” to the traditional
Salvation Army Offi cer, but they
performed the same task of delivering
“Christianity with the sleeves rolled up”.
Nigel said the tour taught him a lot, and
provided him with a host of memories,
not least being the experience of being a
passenger in a vehicle in Dubai traffi c.
“If you want a Jesus experience, just
drive up the main road of Dubai into the
mall, you would have had a religious
experience all the way, I reckon,” he
said, doubling over with laughter.
56 | AUGUST 2017
Salvation Army offi cer MAJ Nigel Roden keeps morale high as he hands out
ice blocks in Kabul