Captain Jack Anrude (98-03) has been awarded the Military Cross for the act of heroism when he saved the life of an Afghan special forces soldier who had been badly wounded in the legs. Jack, an officer of 40 Commando, was patrolling down an alleyway near his base in Sangin when a lone Taliban gunman jumped out and sprayed them with 30 bullets from his AK47. The Afghan soldier in front of Jack took five rounds in his legs while Jack was shot in the arm and received fragmentation wounds in his leg. Over four and a half hours, the Marine tended the wounds of the Afghan fighter while co-ordinating a medical evacuation. Then he carried the wounded man to a safe landing spot for the helicopter.
Lt Col Paul James, the commanding officer of 40 Cdo, had high praise for the officer. "Jack Anrude was hit in the arm, in the head and legs yet he still carried on commanding his troops. He personally evacuated the Afghan soldier by carrying him up a hill. It was an extraordinary act of courage and he did all that while he was wounded."