A WIMBISH army engineer who worked as an advisor to the Afghan National Army (ANA) has been awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service following a tour of duty in Afghanistan.

Captain Gail Fisher, of 33 Engineer Regiment (EOD), took on the role of advising an ANA Engineer Company that had previously been largely reliant on ISAF support.

By the end of her deployment the ANA Engineers had independently built a patrol base, several checkpoints, and were building a road in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah.

Her citation credits this progress entirely to Gail’s outstanding devotion to her task and inspirational leadership in her advisory duties: “Fisher’s personal contribution to developing the engineering capability of the ANA cannot be overstated and had a dramatic effect on their field engineering and mobility capability, and was singled out by the ANA Brigade Commander for praise.

“It is rare for one individual to effect transformational change on the ANA, but Captain Fisher did just that through her sheer force of character, selfless example and determination to succeed.”

During her deployment Capt Fisher, 28, supplied planning support to the ANA operations to secure and control crossings over the Nahr-e-Bughra canal.

Under her guidance the ANA Engineer Company also established a new patrol base east of Lashkar Gah which included outlying checkpoints and a helicopter landing site. They also undertook the first independent ANA road-building project connecting the patrol base to an outlying checkpoint on the Nahr-e Saraj canal.