David Etale is a Kenyan who got an opportunity to serve in the British Army.
He joined the British Army in 2006 and left years after being fatally injured during a mission in Afghanistan.
He lost his limb in 2016 after doctors suggested amputation.
While Etale continues to share his story with people across the world, he appeared in a previous interview where he explained what it takes to join the British Army.
Here is the story as told by WoK.
By the time Etale joined the army, he was a professional football player playing for Kenya Premier League side, Tusker Football Club.
He was approached to join the British Army by a Kenyan police officer whose relative had just joined the army.
Etale noted that he took the opportunity because of the circumstances that he was in at that particular time.
“The reason why he told me that was because I was a part time matatu driver and I kept guns for thieves on the side
“The officer was my friend and he knew I was doing that because I was desperate to make money and this was a chance to prove myself,” he said.
The former army man said by the time he was keeping the guns, he would charge Ksh 35,000 every time robbers needed to have one.
He also noted that he was not aware of the risks that he was exposing himself to.
“I didn’t know the risks because I was young. All I cared about was the money,” Etale said.
Joining the British Army
Etale joined the British Army in 2006 when Iraq and Afghanistan were in war and the British needed more soldiers.
As a result, British allowed individuals from Kenya among other Commonwealth countries to apply and join the army.
“For me it was quite quickly because in the documents that I sent, they saw that I was a footballer and that meant I was physically fit,” Etale said.
After a successful application process, Etale submitted among other documents his medicals and the certificate of Good Conduct
He went for his training months before he was deployed to Afghanistan to face the Taliban.
Losing his limb
While in Afghanistan, Etale was a frontline soldier and he was driving the lead vehicle on the fateful day that their convoy was ambushed.
“…there was a lot of fighting with the Taliban. On that fateful day, I woke up at 3 am and couldn’t sleep. I took my Bible and started reading then laid my head to rest until 6 AM,” he recalled.
On the same morning at around 6:30 AM, Etale and his colleagues were attacked by the Taliban, resulting in a heavy gunfire that lasted nearly two hours.
While he was driving the commander, their vehicle ran over and Improvised Explosive Device (IED), an incident that saw Etale fatally injured.
“I ran over an IED about 50 meters from where we were holed up, the next thing I remember is waking up in a hospital in the UK,” he said.
Following the traumatic incident, he disclosed that he suffered from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and he attempted to take his own life.
“I was put on the suicide watch list because I tried to take my own life twice. This is where you sit down and think and dream about the things you’ve seen in war,” Etale mentioned.
In January 2016 after having many problems with his leg, doctors recommended an amputation.
“I do miss my leg but the most beautiful thing about life is whenever you accept the situation, you can turn it into a positive one
“Having realized this I decided to be a motivational speaker as I believed it was my destiny,” he said.
