This honour is for troops I led, says hero colonel

A senior Army officer who carried one of his men on a stretcher while under fire from the Taliban spoke of his pride today after being awarded a top military honour.

Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Harrison, from Harrow, led a battle group in Afghanistan during a campaign which saw a number of villages wrested from Taliban control.

The 44-year-old, who served in the Parachute Regiment, today received the Distinguished Service Order for his leadership.

During the winter he commanded the Nahr-e Saraj (South) Battlegroup, which cleared villages of insurgents and set up checkpoints in enemy territory.

His campaign saw Taliban fighters pushed out into the desert to the north while the villages were reoccupied by civilians. At one point he was hit in the chest by gunfire while chasing insurgents and also acted as stretcher bearer for one of his men while under fire.

The citation describing his work said: "Harrison has been a conspicuously gallant and successful leader, and an inspiration to both his men and the Afghans alike. He has overmatched and outwitted the insurgents and engendered real hope."

Lt-Col Harrison is now assistant head of the Afghanistan Operational Directorate at the Ministry of Defence in London. He said: "I am genuinely humbled and honoured to receive this award, on behalf of every soldier in the 2 Para Battlegroup. It was their tenacity, courage, compassion and sacrifice that delivered the progress that this medal represents."

He was one of 140 military personnel honoured today. Others include Sergeant Kaye Wilson, 35, an Army sniffer dog handler who saved "countless" lives by uncovering Taliban roadside bombs. She has been awarded the MBE for her "unwavering bravery".

Sgt Wilson and her dog Obama were deployed to Helmand as part of a high-risk IED search team. She paid tribute to Lance Corporal Liam Tasker, 26, awarded a posthumous Mention in Despatches. L-Cpl Tasker and his sniffer dog Theo found a record 14 bombs and weapons caches in five months.

A George Medal was awarded posthumously to Private Martin Bell, 24, who died in January after disobeying a direct order and going to provide urgent first aid to a wounded friend. Captain Michael Lowry, 31, of the Royal Logistic Corps, receives a Mention in Despatches for his leadership when a member of his IED search team suffered a triple amputation after triggering a bomb.