TA riflemen set their sights on Afghanistan
KAREN BURKE - 28 June 2007
ON MANOEUVRES: Soldiers from the Seven Rifles battalion in the Macedonian foothills
TERRITORIAL Army soldiers are spending two weeks training in Macedonia before going out to serve in Afghanistan.
Riflemen from East London G Company, based in West Ham Park, left their day jobs last week to work alongside the Macedonian army in conditions similar to those in the war-torn country where they will be spending six months.
Anti-tank weapons, general-purpose machine guns, A2 rifles, light machine guns, pistols and mortars were out in force on the hills behind the village of Krivolak near the town of Negotino as soldiers simulated conflict scenarios.
"It will be completely different out there - a reality check," said TA rifleman Dave Warren, a 33-year-old printer from Woodford. "I think it will bring the guys closer together. If we can bond now and get everything right, it will make things easier.
"We've got a great set of guys who want to get out there, do the job and do it well and come back in one piece."
Colour Sgt Steve Kibble, 47, a full-time territorial army soldier from Dagenham, said British humour would see his men through.
"We have a good laugh," he said. "British soldiers are the best in the world at seeing a funny side to everything, even in a hostile environment."
Determination was another factor.
"It is like the Olympics," said Sgt Kibble. "You want there to be an end result. The hardest thing for the guys will be being away from their families, but that is part and parcel of what we do."
Captain Stephen Haywood-Smith, a 47-year-old civil servant from Chadwell Heath, will be the unit press officer for the London Head Quarter Company in Afghanistan.
"This will be my first time in a conflict zone," he said. "It is something I have wanted to do for a long time. It's about making a difference and empowering the local people.
"My wife is in the TA so she understands, but my two sons in their 20s aren't very happy about me going."
Lance Corporal Terry Duffield, a 41-year-old driver for East London buses with family in Hainault and Dagenham, was fearless.
"Hopefully I will be quite safe because I won't be leaving the camp that often," he said. "We have been told it is quite a secure location, so it doesn't seem so bad."
There will be no distinction between regular British soldiers and Territorial Army soldiers from the Seven Rifles - made up of seven battalions of around 130 regular soldiers in each - serving together on the front line in Afghanistan.
The troops, who will be based at Camp Bastion in the country's Helmand Province, leave Macedonia and return to England on Saturday.
