Afghanistan veteran Lieutenant Colonel Ewan Cameron says his internet access was better in Helmand 17 years ago than in Somerset, today.
Digital connectivity was better in Helmand Province 17 years ago than in his home village today, he astonishingly told the Daily Express.
The single father of three now works as an NHS director and relies on broadband to work from home after serving in the Middle Eastern nation in 2007.
His current role involves improving patient care in diagnostics and reducing waiting lists for people across the South East of England.
Ewan, who is also a keen Morris dancer, oversees all imaging, pathology, physiological sciences, endoscopy and genomics for the region with his self-recruited team of six who are all home-workers too.
He said: “My diary is back-to-back with calls.
“Having digital infrastructure is essential to the way I do business and therefore how the NHS does business.
“I oversaw all Covid testing for the South of England from my little office at home.
“So connectivity is absolutely essential.”
Like all young people his children, two of whom are now adults, 21 and 20, and his youngest 12, spend vast amounts of time online.
He said: "When they are all in the house simultaneously, like so many other people, the television is on. One is playing a game. And the other wants to watch a film while I am trying to work.
“And the lag is considerable. The digital connectivity in this area can be horrendous."
It is a 45-minute drive to the nearest big cities of Bristol or Bath meaning extreme weather can leave the community cut off, Ewan explained.
He said: "The flooding has been such on the Somerset Levels that our village has turned into an island. So you can't get in or out.
“And therefore it means that you are reliant on the digital infrastructure even more.
"If were are to have a rural economy that is flexible and meets the demands of the 21st century, we need the digital infrastructure in place.”