Cloudpunchers

This is an extract from a local blog by a Falkland's veteran, I've added him to my local links along with the other local blog where I found him Cynical Chatter From the Underworld.
Go on on check them both out, here's the full Cloudpunchers story.

"I joined the British Army at the age of 16 and enlisted into the Royal Artillery, I did 12 months training at the JLRRA (Junior leaders Regt Royal Artillery) and learnt my trade as a Gunner on the 25 Pounder Field gun used in WW2. I passed out in August 1979 and was posted to 12 Air Defence Regt RA in Dortmund, West Germany and learnt my new trade as an air defence gunner (Cloudpuncher) on Rapier missiles, little did I realise that I would be using these missiles in action during Operation Corporate, the liberation of the Falkland Islands from Argentina in 1982.
The initial warning was given at 10.45 hrs, Friday 2nd April 1982, two hours before we were officially on leave. Some other units had actually gone home and as soon as they got there they had to do an about turn and set of back. Everybody was totally hacked with life at first, with leave being cancelled, then once we had found out what the crack was, some Argentineans had invaded an island off the coast of Scotland. Well, the Falklands sounds like the Shetlands doesn’t it? We all got excited about the thought of going up there and giving them a good kicking.
Unbelievably, by 1800 hrs. on Saturday 3rd April 1982, we were ready to go and kick some Argie arses. It took us sixteen hours on a shagged out old army bus to get from Kirton to the docks in Plymouth. But we didn’t mind. We felt like heroes already as news had leaked out to the media by now. So, Joe Public had a good idea where we were going. All the motorists were beeping their horns and Union Jacks appeared from everywhere. It was a carnival atmosphere. We were all getting carried away by it. We will probably get to Plymouth and the Argies will shit themselves and sod off home for a corned beef buttie?"