Irish-English officer opens up on brutal time fighting Al Qaeda butchers in Iraq & Afghanistan after 9/11 terror attack
AN Irish-English officer who took up his family's tradition of military service has told of his time deployed in the Middle East - including a moment that warmed his heart and another that 'changed him forever'.
Mark Stoneman, 56, was inspired by his grandfather, who fought in the
Advertisement
5
Mark was deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan
Credit: markstoneman
5
The Middle East was ravaged by war after the 9/11 terrorist attack
Credit: markstoneman
Born to an Irish mum and
At 18, he moved to
Mark told us: 'When I applied I ran into the British class system where if I wasn't from the right family and didn't go to the right
'I have an interview and everything is going swimmingly with a retired officer, he liked me, it became so apparent that I was qualified for the job until he said, 'When was your dad an officer?', and I said, 'He wasn't, he was a private', and he went 'Oh', and that was the end of the interview.
Advertisement
READ MORE IN NEWS
'And I was very disillusioned so I up and left, I went to America and got a scholarship to
Mark studied history at High Point University in
He quickly climbed the ranks to become an officer before the horrific 9/11 terrorist attack on Manhattan's Twin Towers, which led to the US invasion of Saddam Hussain-controlled
Mark said: '9/11 happened and I was like, I can't get out now.
Advertisement
Most read in Irish News
GOING AFTER ENEMY
'I knew that we were going to war, I knew I had a duty to lead my soldiers, and there'd be combat. I had just been promoted to captain.
'Everything was focused on Iraq, going there, keeping people alive.
Mastermind behind 9/11 attacks Khalid Sheikh Mohammed agrees plea deal to avoid death penalty after years in jail
"I wasn't part of the invasion in 2003 but I was in command of a unit in 2004 of about 106 soldiers.
'I had about six months to train them. We went to Iraq for a year where we were responsible for the stability, security, and development of three villages, about 50,000 people.
Advertisement
'For a year we were in combat with insurgents, Iraqis who didn't want us there, but they were also attacking civilians trying to go about their daily lives, and my obligation was to protect them as much as to go after the enemy.'
Mark said that while some in the Diyala Province in Iraq were grateful for their presence, there was constant combat with
'If someone was working with us, say we hired an electrician to fix streetlight, which happened, they killed that guy to send a message to everyone else, don't work with the Americans, even though we were trying to do something good.
RITUAL KILLING
'We fought against
Advertisement
'It was long periods of boredom interspersed with moments of sheer terror, we were driving around, most days nothing would happen, then some days they would shoot a rocket at us, you could never predict when it was going to happen, it was a constant challenge as a leader.'
And Mark revealed one of the worst things he came across while deployed.
He told us: 'Towards the end there was a guy that I became very friendly with. He was the mayor of the village.
'I thought he was coming around to democracy and moving his country forward.
Advertisement
'Then one night I was eating dinner with him and he informed me there's going to be a ritual killing the next day of two teenagers caught having extramarital sex, that violated the norms so the respective families were going to execute them.
'I was completely shocked and disappointed, all this work we had put in for
GLIMPSE OF HUMANITY
While on his second deployment in Iraq in 2010, Mark suffered a devastating attack on the soldiers he was training.
He said: 'Al Qaeda attacked the base we were on, they blew up a 500 pound bomb at the gate, a couple hundred feet from where I was and killed all the Iraqis guarding it, that was probably the worst point, I knew those guys.'
Advertisement
But he explained there were moments of humanity among the constant fighting, including in 2005 sport brought the soldiers and locals together.
He said: 'I supported Ipswich town
'And someone I'd never met collected 500 shirts and we managed to get them out and we gave them to men and boys and outfitted a whole league with these shirts.
'Regardless of us being there, we could unite around football, we could agree that playing football was a good thing.
Advertisement
'I look back on that as one of the happiest moments of my life, we were able to do something for these people who were dirt poor.'
Mark, now a history teacher in
He told us: 'My brain works differently now that it did in 2004, because you're constantly under stress, every day. I'm functional and I have a good life but it changes you.'
MARK'S book 'Driving Around, Waiting To Get Blown Up' is available now.
Advertisement
5
The US army deployed troops to Iraq in 2003
Credit: markstoneman
5
Mark has written a book on his experiences
Credit: markstoneman
5
Mark was the head of a peacekeeping force
Credit: markstoneman
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Dublin Live
33 minutes ago
- Dublin Live
Woman's naked body discovered on notorious party island in popular holiday hotspot
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info The naked body of a British holidaymaker was discovered by a local resident on the infamous 'Full Moon Party' island this morning. Police hurried to the scene and found the 54-year-old washed up on a beach in Koh Phangan, southern Thailand. She was found lying face-down wearing only an orange bra, with her underwear having floated ashore nearby, reports the Mirror. Officers reported no signs of assault on her body. The Full Moon Party, which originated on the island of Ko Phangan in 1985, occurs every month on Haad Rin Beach - on the night of, before, or after every full moon. This year's event is scheduled for next week on June 10. The woman was transported to the Koh Phangan Hospital for a post-mortem examination. Police Lieutenant Pongnaphat Somboon of the Koh Phangan Police Station stated: "An X-ray of the victim's body found a large amount of sand and water in her lungs. We believe the cause of death was drowning. We will call the British Embassy to notify her relatives." The woman was discovered by local resident Theerapong while he was out for a stroll in the area at 6.30am. Authorities said the woman had been on the island for about a month and was residing in a nearby bungalow. She intended to check out of the accommodation on June 11 - one day after the island's Full Moon Party. Staff noted the woman frequently consumed alcohol and it's been reported she injured her head after a tumble outside a supermarket on June 2. Locals came to her aid, escorting her back to her accommodation, where she declined any medical help. Upon discovering her remains, officers conducted a room check and found her possessions undisturbed. The woman is thought to have last been observed enjoying a swim at the beach on Monday evening. Police Lieutenant Pongnaphat commented: "We do not believe there is anything suspicious but CCTV images will be checked to ensure that the death was accidental." Fatalities sadly continue to loom over sought-after spots such as Phuket, Pattaya, and Krabi due to potent rip currents, inadequate swimming skills, and ignoring safety signage. Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.
Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Sarah Harte: The Government has bottled it on gambling — our young people will pay
Technology has supercharged the gambling problem. You no longer have to enter a seedy bookie's. You can gamble 24/7 and discreetly do so on your dopamine-delivering phone, with no visible signs. Maybe you're of the mindset that thinks human vices should be legal, but there is an issue around targeting minors who are not fully capable of making decisions. As the Tabor Addiction Group said: 'Young people are particularly vulnerable, with gambling addiction affecting them at two to three times the rate of adults.' They are also subjected to the rapid expansion of increasingly sophisticated gambling opportunities. Last Friday, legendary hurler Davy Fitzgerald's son Colm Fitzgerald received a 12-month suspended sentence for stealing money from his former employer, the Bank of Ireland, to feed his serious gambling habit. Colm Fitzgerald 'expressed relief' when his theft was discovered. He did all he could to cooperate with An Garda Síochána, repaid the money with the help of his family, and has sought treatment, speaking of suffering shame and remorse. At 28, he's just starting out. Addiction is a disease and not a choice. The very best of luck to him in building a new life. Colm Fitzgerald, 27, outside Ennis Circuit Criminal Court, where he received a suspended 12-month sentence after he pleaded guilty to theft of 35,000 from Bank of Ireland. Picture: Brendan Gleeson I mention his painful experience only because how he started to gamble is not uncommon. For many young people, recreational sports betting will have been a gateway to problem gambling. Squads of young men I know in their 20 now engage in sports gambling. Most of them start gambling in their teens and played sports themselves. Sports gambling has become such a big part of sports culture because the gambling industry has worked hard to establish a connection between sporting events and sports betting, while also encouraging cultural acceptance of gambling. It's not spoken about much, but it's there, humming along in the background of young lives, with, I suspect, many parents relatively clueless as to the extent of it. To this cohort of middle-class young men, gambling has become entirely normalised. For many young people, recreational sports betting will have been a gateway to problem gambling. Stuck in a cycle of online betting as they age, it will become apparent whether their gambling is mild, moderate or severe, with potentially negative repercussions on their finances, wellbeing and relationships. For some, they will chase their losses and dig themselves into a deeper hole until the problem becomes too big to hide. The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) estimates one in 30 Irish adults has a gambling problem. This figure is likely to be conservative. A report released this year indicates we have one of the highest rates of gamblers per capita in the world. Evidence shows children are twice as likely to become problem gamblers later in life if they start betting before the age of 18, which, as chief executive of the new Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland Anne Marie Caulfield, says, justifies 'clamping down very hard'. So, how hard has the Government clamped down on gambling? Housing minister James Browne, then minister of state with responsibility for the legislation, said he experienced 'endless' lobbying from the gambling industry, hardly a surprise given it is worth somewhere between €6bn and €8bn. Intensive lobbying came from the Irish Bookmakers' Association, which represents betting shops and online operators like Paddy Power, Ladbrokes, and Boylesports. While it's a positive to have a dedicated authority to streamline the regulation and licensing of gambling, which has been piecemeal until now, this legislation has been in the pipeline for 11 years, since a Fine Gael-Labour government first proposed new gambling laws. It certainly hasn't been rushed through. As of March, the new Gambling Regulation Act 2024 came into effect, establishing this new gambling watchdog. However, most of the provisions of the act, although signed into law, have not yet commenced. Consequently, it's business as usual for most gambling companies in Ireland, which are not currently required to follow the new laws. It is hoped that these new rules, which prohibit online gambling advertisements on certain social media services unless the person has an account with the platform concerned, will have an effect. This is designed in part to protect underage people who have been targeted with advertisements on social media. Two glaring holes remain in the act, which suggest the gambling industry successfully forced the government to capitulate. File picture: iStock However, two glaring holes remain in the act, which suggest the gambling industry successfully forced the government to capitulate. First, the proposed watershed restriction on gambling advertisements between 5.30am and 9pm does not go far enough. How many teenagers and young people do you know who go to bed by 9pm? Part of the normalisation of gambling is advertisements are widespread. A blanket ban on ads should be considered, as was introduced with tobacco products. Secondly, there is no outright ban on free bets, as was initially envisaged in an early version of the bill. Free bets are a popular promotional tool, offering bettors a 'free bet' to encourage them to sign up to a site or service, or to reward existing gamblers for their repeated use of an online sportsbook, thereby encouraging continued use. Mr Browne said he could not accept a complete ban on free betting inducements and bonuses. This watering down of the legislation was a missed opportunity. As I was researching this article, an ad immediately popped up offering me exclusive offers for 50 free spins from a casino. Other ads followed this, all offering me "bonuses". As Senator Lynn Ruane pointed out in the Seanad when her amendment to the then bill failed: 'These types of inducements are an entry point into gambling for young people." The gambling industry's pushback was that any business needs to seek out and attract new customers proactively. But why shouldn't we approach betting companies in the way we dealt with the tobacco industry? This is what Taoiseach Micheál Martin, who introduced the highly successful workplace smoking ban as minister for health, proposed back in 2022 when he spoke about taking the same approach to gambling, including 'across the full gamut of advertising regulation'. We don't allow tobacco companies to advertise, and we don't let them offer coupons or deals on cigarettes, so what is the logic behind allowing gambling ads, inducements and promotions that encourage gambling? A national self-exclusion register will prohibit gambling operators from accepting bets from gamblers who have self-excluded from online services, yet this places the onus on the individual gambler to stop rather than on the operator. Such is the scale of the problem that banks, such as AIB, Bank of Ireland, EBS, and Revolut, are offering voluntary self-exclusion tools that block access to online casinos, slot machines, and lottery websites. Once again, the responsibility lies with the individual to act. When Bank of Ireland introduced its voluntary block last month, figures revealed men placed 71% of bets in the first quarter of 2025. Ninety per cent of gambling transactions took place online, and there was a 19% increase in gambling among 18- to 25-year-olds in the same quarter. When you have an industry as lucrative as the gambling industry, which generates significant revenue and employment, compromises will inevitably be made. But while the new legislation is being heralded as introducing a new era for the regulation of Irish gambling, it does not reflect the principles the government originally set out. Ultimately, the government bottled it, allowing gambling companies to influence our public health policy and thousands of people, many of them too young to understand what they are getting into, will pay a high price.
Irish Examiner
3 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Navigating Irish family law system is 'worse than the abuse', Women's Aid warns
Some adult victim-survivors of domestic abuse have described navigating Ireland's family law system as 'even worse than the abuse', prompting fresh calls for urgent reforms. The description is contained in groundbreaking new research which has found a system that causes 'secondary victimisation', with adult and child victim-survivors of domestic abuse being retraumatised during guardianship, custody, and access proceedings. The research, commissioned by Women's Aid and carried out by Trinity College Dublin and University College Cork, is the first national account of its kind. It found that while the prevalence of domestic violence and abuse (DVA) in all family law cases is disproportionately high, the Irish system, and the professionals working in it, including barristers and judges, is not sufficiently DVA informed or responsive, with many lacking a fundamental understanding of the dynamics and impacts of domestic abuse. This systemic blind spot leaves victims feeling disbelieved, silenced, and at risk from further abuse, Women's Aid said. 'This research is very difficult but required reading for anyone who plays any part in the family justice system,' Women's Aid CEO Sarah Benson said. It tells us that sadly even where there are some examples of informed and understanding practices among some key individuals, this is completely inadequate when the system itself is not attuned and responsive to the tactics and impacts of domestic abuse post-separation. Women's Aid has now urged the government to fundamentally reform the family law system as part of the Family Justice Strategy, with compulsory domestic abuse training for all professionals, including judges, comprehensive screening and risk assessment protocols, radical reform of the 'expert reports' system, improved access to legal representation and the development of clear mechanisms to improve coordination, communication, and cooperation across all civil family law proceedings and with the criminal courts. The research also found that: Two-thirds of adult victim-survivors reported that judges fail to take their experiences of DVA into account when making decisions about guardianship, custody, and access involving the perpetrator; Children and young people feel the system fails to listen to or respect their independent views; There is a continued lack of recognition that exposure to DVA constitutes child abuse and grounds for risk assessment; Adult survivors were put into the impossible position of having to adhere to court ordered custody and access arrangements that placed their children in harm's way or face penalties. Furthermore, it founds a lack of access to legal representation, time to consult and prepare for cases, huge financial burdens, and a system generally overwhelmed by volume and pressure of cases compounds an already high-stakes situation. Read More Gardaí initiate 12 prosecutions for stalking in 19 months since it became an offence
