A soldier helping in the battle against al-Qaeda has been handed an on-the-spot "field promotion" by the head of the British Army – the first of its kind in more than 60 years.
General Sir Peter Wall ordered Rifleman Gigar Das, 31, to be bumped up by one rank after witnessing him training foreign troops fighting terrorists in West Africa.
The move from Rifleman – the lowest level in his regiment – to Lance Corporal is the first sudden rise in rank on the frontline since the Korean War in 1953.
The soldier, who has served for eight years and fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, said: "I wasn't expecting anything like this to happen today when I got out of bed. It is extremely unexpected, I couldn't be more proud."
L/Cpl Das was teaching Mali forces how to fight. He was being inspected by General Sir Peter along with French Army General Bertrand Ract-Madoux.
They were impressed by his lecture on marksmanship principles and were stunned to find he was a Rifleman – the equivalent to a Private.
Promotions usually take months of courses, but after the men spoke to his 1 Rifles commander Major Sam Cates, he got the nod.
The French general pinned his stripe on and Major Cates said: "I am extremely proud of L/Cpl Das, this is no more than he deserves. He has been one of the most outstanding riflemen I have had the privilege to command."
He said the Londoner had earlier sacrificed the chance to attend a course that could have led to promotion by agreeing to deploy to Mali. He said: "To be recognised in this unique way is reward for his dedication."
L/Cpl Das is part of a 21-man British team at Koulikoro Training Centre, 40 miles North East of capital Bamako. They form part of the European Union Training Mission.
His promotion means he will finally get the chance to command a small group of soldiers. A defence source said: "As far as anyone can tell, the last field promotion was in Korea in 1953 – but there is no record of the name of the soldier and what rank the soldier was."
