McAleese, John

Military career

Born in Scottish Sterling on April 25, 1949. He grew up in Loriston (Falkirk County ^[4] . He served in the Royal Engineers Corps since 1969. In 1973 he passed Commando training courses fully armed ( Eng. All Arms Commando Course, AACC ), received a green beret and became a fighter of the 59th separate detachment of the commandos of the Royal Engineers .

Since 1975, McAleese has been in the ranks of the regiment of the Special Air Service. In 1980 he had the rank of Lance Corporal , served in the platoon "Pagoda" of squadron B of the 22nd Regiment of the Special Air Service. During the hostage-freeing operation at the Iranian embassy on May 5, 1980, he led the Blue Team . Member of the 1982 Falkland War and armed clashes against the IRA in Northern Ireland. May 8, 1987 distinguished himself in the battle of Loughgall against the IRA, was awarded the Military Medal ^[5] . He was the bodyguard of three prime ministers of Great Britain ^[6] . On February 8, 1992, he retired from the British Army with the rank of Staff Sergeant ^{[2] [4]} .

After Service

After his dismissal, McAleese was the owner of a pub in Hereford for some time, was involved in contract security in Iraq and Afghanistan, and repeatedly appeared on television in programs about British special forces as an expert. In particular, he starred in the BBC television series “ SAS Survival Secrets ” ( Eng. SAS Survival Secrets ), telling about the structure of the Special Air Service regiment and the roles that the soldiers of this regiment perform ^[7] . He was fond of airsoft , he repeatedly acted as an orator, talking about the state art of guinquay ^[8] .

Personal life

McAleese was twice married. On August 20, 2009, his eldest son Paul McAleese, a sergeant of the 2nd battalion of the Strelkov regiment ^[9] , died in a mine bomb in Gelman province ^[4] . Paul was buried at Hereford Cathedral on September 14. According to eyewitnesses, John was shocked by what had happened.

4 days after the funeral, McEleese was arrested by the police of West Mercia on charges of distributing child pornography. Back in 2007, the British police contacted him when he was living in Greece, and McAleese replied that he would arrive in the UK and give police testimony as soon as possible. After the funeral of his son, he voluntarily arrived for interrogation, where he was arrested, and then released on bail in anticipation of further requests. He returned to Greece and did not appear at the very first request in the UK, refusing to go back. In March 2010, Western Mercia police presented a European arrest warrant for MacAlize to the trial of Hereford Magistrate, and in November of the same year, the British government demanded that Greece extradite the suspect, which was never executed ^[10]

Death

John McAleese died on August 26, 2011 in Thessaloniki at the 63rd year of his life from a heart attack. Buried in Hereford Cathedral ^[11] . He was survived by his second wife, a daughter from his first marriage and two children from his second marriage.