Daniel joined up a year ago

May 15 2009 by Lisa Boyle

DANIEL Harkin decided to join the army so that he can support his three-year-old daughter Hayley.

Kenya is the first time the 20-year-old has been abroad since signing up a year ago.

He said: “It’s a bit of a shock to the system – I don’t think they could have picked a warmer place. But my section commander is always on top of us making sure we take on a lot of water and food so I’ve been coping with it not too bad. I’m actually enjoying it.”

The former Catrine lad who now lives in Kilmarnock, says he is fulfilling a life long ambition.

Daniel said: “I’ve always wanted to join up since I was 16 but I never had the bottle to do it. Plus, I wanted to enjoy my teens.

“Then when I hit 19 I thought: ‘Right, I’ve got to do something with my life.’

“I wanted to be able to provide for my daughter, when I became a father that’s when I really started thinking about things.”