A VETERAN of Afghanistan has exchanged his uniform for a clergyman’s dog collar.

Neil Galloway was, until midnight last Friday, an RAF flight sergeant, but 12 hours later he took holy orders and was ordained as a deacon in the Roman Catholic Church.

The 42-year-old, who has had two tours of Afghanistan and one of Iraq, said there was no “blinding light’’ conversion.

“I have always been very close to the church,” he said.

“I considered entering a seminary when I was young, but I joined the Forces instead.

I got myself occupied with lots of other things, but I had to give in at the end.

“There are a lot of people out there who need help. With my 25 years of service experience, including Iraq and Afghanistan, I can give something back.”

The father-of-two’s wish is to be accepted back in uniform as an RAF chaplain, following a two-year stint working as a deacon in Stokesley and Osmotherly and a chaplain to Kirklevington Grange Prison, near Yarm, Stockton.

Mr Galloway was a combat engineer with the RAF’s elite Tactical Communications Wing, opening up airstrips and setting up radar, radio and communications systems.

“We had a few interesting days,” he said, referring to his tours of Iraq and Afghanistan.

His last tour of Kandahar province included a defining moment after joining a patrol through the suspiciously and eerily quiet village of Mullah Abdullah Kadiz.

He said: “We came to a Tjunction at the end of the village.

We should have turned right, to keep on the road, but turned left instead to drive along a wadi.

“Afghan police travelling behind us turned right and their vehicle was blown up by a roadside bomb meant for us.”

RAF Leeming-based Group Captain John Warriner, Mr Galloway’s former commanding officer, said: “He has a real understanding of what it is to be an airman, having come up through the ranks. I think potentially he will be one of the best padres in the RAF.”

Mr Galloway’s wife, Carol, said of her husband’s job change: “He has just changed his ministry. Instead of being devoted to the air force, he is devoting himself to God.”

They live at Bedale, North Yorkshire, with daughters Rachael, 17, and Shannon, 19.

The Right Reverend Richard Moth, Bishop of the Forces, ordained Mr Galloway a deacon at St Mary’s Cathedral, Coulby Newham, near Middlesbrough, at the weekend.