Last updated at 07:54, Friday, 04 May 2012

A Workington soldier, who has the army in his blood, is preparing for his first deployment to Afghanistan in October.

TOP SQUADDIE: Kingsman Carl Pettit with mum Susan Herald and dad Stephen Pettit

Kingsman Carl Pettit, 17, has followed his father and his grandparents’ footsteps into the army.

Carl, a former Lakes College student, is now on pre-deployment training with the 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment.

He said: “I am excited about going to Afghanistan but nervous as well.

“It is a dangerous world but it is what I signed up for, and with all my training I feel prepared.

“My family are all supporting me and they are all proud.

“My dad told me about what it was like in the army and it sounded like you are doing something different every day.”

Kingsman Pettit was awarded the Soldier’s Soldier prize at his passing out ceremony after completing a Combat Infantryman’s Course at Catterick, Yorkshire.

His father Stephen, 38, of Gray Street, served in the army from 1996 to 2003 in Cyprus, Germany, the Falklands and Bosnia. He was medically discharged with a neck injury.

He said: “I think it is in his blood and he has always wanted to do it.

“All the family are very supportive of him and very proud and we were chuffed to bits when he got the award.

“Obviously there are dangers with him going to Afghanistan but I have told him what to expect and it is what he wants to do.”

Carl risked his life for others when he was 10-years-old. He saved his two-year-old brother Nathan from a fire in the kitchen of his family’s Scottish holiday home.

After being woken by a smoke alarm in the early hours, Carl ran under the flames to rescue his brother and was commended by fire officers for his bravery.

First published at 06:09, Friday, 04 May 2012
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk