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(x) A very fine 'Op Jacana 2002' M.C. group of four awarded to Marine L. P. 'Lionheart' Armstrong, 'Z' Company, 45 Commando, Royal Marines Armstrong had been denied his dream to become a footballer due to a 'lack of spirit' on trials with Queen of the South - he answered his critics in the heat of battle in Afghanistan Military Cross, E.II.R., officially dated '2003' and inscribed 'PO56725F Mne L P Armstrong RM', in its Royal Mint case of issue; Operational Service Medal 2000, for Sierra Leone (Mne L P Armstrong PO56725F RM); Operational Service Medal 2000, for Afghanistan, 1 clasp, Afghanistan (Mne L P Armstrong PO56725F RM); General Service 1962-2007, 1 clasp, Northern Ireland (Mne L P Armstrong PO56725F RM), campaign Medals mounted as worn with a copy M.C., good very fine (4) M.C. London Gazette 29 April 2003. An official statement from the Ministry of Defence gives further details on the action: 'Whilst on a particular operation in an al-Qaida heartland to investigate a compound thought to contain extremist militia and weapons, a patrol from Zulu Company came across a pocket of resistance. Marine Armstrong decided to seize the moment - he forced entry to the compound and was followed by his colleague Marine McCann, where they found themselves confronting nine armed men. He levelled his weapon and succeeded in getting the men to surrender, relieved them of their weapons and kept them as prisoners until the rest of the team could assist – all without a shot being fired. After this initial assault, Armstrong then had the task of controlling an aggressive crowd. Again he excelled, maintaining order, quelling ‘flashpoints’, and detaining an escaped prisoner in the midst of a crowd without causing injury to himself, his team or the crowd.' Liam P. Armstrong, a native of Carlisle, dreamed of being a footballer. Turning down the opportunity to trial at Celtic and Middlesborough, he went up to Queen of the South. His hopes were quickly dashed and Armstrong was sent home, told he '...lacked the right spirit.' Having joined the Royal Marines in 1999, he joined 42 Commando and first deployed to Sierra Leone. Transferred to 45 Commando, he was serving with 'Z' (Zulu) Company in Afghanistan during Operation Jacana. The Operation lasted from April-July 2002 and took place in Khost and Paktia Provinces, with 45 Commando operating with U.S. forces, Australian SAS and Norwegian FSK. The main aim was to kill or capture the remaining Al-Qaida and Taliban rebels who had taken to the hostile and high-altitude hide outs in the region. Four main actions took place in the period, this award for Operation Buzzard (Navy News, June 2003, refers), but due to the nature exact details are still trickling into the public domain. It has however been summarised as follows: 'On 28 or 29 May 2002, the Royal Marines began Operation Buzzard: the aim of the operation was to "prevent freedom of movement of al-Qa'eda and Taliban and to deny them sanctuary from which to operate" according to Royal Marine Lieutenant-Colonel Ben Curry. 45 to 300 British Marines from Taskforce Jacana and local Afghan soldiers were deployed into Khost close to Afghan-Pakistan border, accompanied by several US civil affairs officials on a "hearts and minds" operation; amid fears that al-Qaeda and Taliban forces were plotting terrorist attacks from across the frontier. The Marines conducted patrols in populated and rural areas using a mixture of helicopter, foot and vehicle patrols and setting up checkpoints; this new method was to be "unpredictable, operating in smaller sub-unit attachments operating in an area sometimes covertly and introducing that unpredictability and doubt into the minds of the al-Qaeda and Taliban." Caves and bunkers containing arms, ammunition and supplies were found and destroyed. Over 100 mortars, a hundred anti-tank weapons along with hundreds of RPGs, anti-personnel mines, rockets and artillery shells and thousands of rounds of small-arms and anti-aircraft am