The Big Lift

The Big Lift was founded back in February of this year in the UK by Ben Greer. It is a fundraising effort driven by Ben and his team walking (not tabbing, but good on you if you know what that means) one mile for each of the British MoD personnel killed in the current war in Afghanistan. British personnel have been deployed to Afghanistan alongside US and other Coalition personnel since the first days after 9/11/01 as a part of Operation Herrick. They have lost 440 troops KIA to date.

What is important to note about Ben's effort is that he will be carrying 100kg (that's roughly 220lbs), which is the approximate weight of a British soldier in full loadout. It is symbolic of evacuating a casualty from the battlefield.

Ben and his team will be carrying that 100kg near 100 locations around the United Kingdom, each near a town or base where the fallen lived and worked. They hope to raise a substantial amount of money for the various forces' Benevolent Funds, which are branch-specific charities administered by the Army, Navy, etc. to assist and support the survivors of British military personnel killed in the service of their country.  Anyone who wishes to do so is welcome to walk a mile or more alongside the team.

Note – in these pictures Ben is carrying his load in a Karrimor SF bergen, a Sabre 80-130, donated by the company to help his efforts.

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