Part of 11 EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) Regiment, Baz had been in the forces for seven years and was on his second tour of Afghanistan when the vehicle he was travelling in was involved in an explosion while on a route-clearing mission in January 2009.
He was flown back to Birmingham within 18 hours of the explosion, having already had two operations in Afghanistan.
He was in a wheelchair for ten months because of the injuries to his legs. After he completed the rehabilitation he had to have his left leg amputated below the knee because of a severe infection. Baz then had to go through a second long period of rehabilitation at Headley Court, a recovery centre for injured servicemen, women and veterans forming part of the Defence Recovery Capability with the Ministry of Defence and supported in its work by Help for Heroes.
It was while he was there he met Captain Tony Harris, another below-knee amputee, who came up with the idea of getting a team of injured and disabled British and US servicemen to tackle the Dakar Rally.
‘Tony is an inspiration,’ Baz said. ‘I was involved on the logistics and tactical support side, driving the mechanics around and opening the repair camp in advance of the competing cars. It was full on, as the vehicles needed a lot of maintenance. We were also called upon on almost an hourly basis to carry out some kind of repair.
‘Doing the Dakar will be the closest we ever get to a deployment. Many of us wanted to stay in the army, but it just isn’t possible and the Dakar is the closest to getting to Afghan again.’
Race2Recovery entered four Wildcat vehicles, based on the Land Rover Defender. Of the four vehicles that started, three had to retire. The fourth made it to the end, earning Race2Recovery the accolade of being the first disability team to complete the Dakar.
Baz explained what it meant to be part of the team: ‘It was about someone needing you to do something that you wouldn’t normally be able to do. Being disabled doesn’t have to limit you.
‘Everyone on the Dakar team had suffered a disability and there is always somebody worse off than you. Tom Neathway, one of the co-drivers is a triple – he lost both legs and an arm and really struggled in the heat, humidity and sand. It was just an amazing achievement.’
Race2Recovery raises money for Help for Heroes and Tedworth House. ‘Everyone who took part in the Dakar had benefited from Help for Heroes and it was a way of giving something back and helping those who are coming through Tedworth House now, not just in terms of helping to fund their rehabilitation, but also to give them the knowledge and inspiration that people have come through what they are going through now and gone on to achieve extraordinary things.’
Baz didn’t have any expectation of an army career when he went to speak to a career’s officer at the age of 21, and he is now at another career crossroads as he completes the process of being medically discharged. ‘I need a couple more operations, then I will be in civvy street,’ he said. ‘I will see if there is a job doing charity work with Race2Recovery or I may train to be a schoolteacher. I think my work with IEDs and explosives would be well suited to chemistry.’
