Podcast contains Swearing -
Ben Close was born in Luton. His parents split up at the when he was just 5. His mother went on to marry a man who was physically abusive to her, and Bens stepsister and brother. He never harmed Ben as he was scared of Bens father. When Ben returned home from school he would arm himself and undertake a procedure of room clearance to ensure his safety.
At 16 Ben was initially unsuccessful in his application to the Army due to an early diagnosis of asthma. He appealed the decision, he went through a medical which he passed and was selected to join the Coldstream Guards.
Having completed his training, he was deployed immediately to Iraq. During the tour he shot at a car that was believed to contain a vehicle borne IED. The occupant of the vehicle was killed and it transpired that the person was a news reporter who had failed to comply with the directives.
On one occasion Ben was with a team when they found themselves stranded when their vehicle broke down. They had to march through the desert and ended up taking over an Iraqi police station where they were finally recovered by colleagues.
When Ben returned to the UK there was no decompression, and he didn’t react well to the return to “Normality” He was arrested for assault and saved a 17yr olds life when they were stabbed in the throat.
The trouble that Ben had with the civilian authorities meant that he was unable to leave the army on a medical pension. He appealed this decision which he eventually one.
He initially had a fear of fireworks and could never watch a war film. Ben has appeared on BBC Radio 4 and GMTV and has worked as contractor.
Ben is now looking to delver his experiences to support fellow PTSD and domestic violence sufferers.
He is now a published author of "When War Follows You Home" which is available from Amazon He can be found at Close Publishing
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