1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire) prepare for Afghanistan with training in Kenya

Sep 17 2009 by Will Harris, Chester Chronicle

Chronicle reporter Will Harris joined Cheshire soldiers at the start of their five-week training exercise in Kenya – preparing them for a tour of Afghanistan

IMAGINE spending hours and hours in the baking African sun in temperatures of up to 50ºC.

Now imagine doing the same with up to 35kg of equipment, artillery and armour strapped to you as you run, dive and fire weapons in extreme military operations.

This is the reality currently facing young soldiers from 1 Mercian – or, to give its proper title, 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire) – as they undergo a five-week training exercise in Kenya.

The unforgiving temperatures and terrain are providing the troops with a perfect platform for combat, reconnaissance and explosive device clearings for a likely deployment to Afghanistan in early spring next year.

I spent a week with 1 Mercian observing their training operations and experiencing the harsh living conditions they are faced with, both now and in six months time.

Initially spending a night at barracks on the outskirts of Nairobi, I arrived at FOB (Forward Operating Base) Sovereign in the Ol Doinyo Lemboro region – a vast landscape home to many of the wild animals synonymous with Kenya such as elephants, giraffes, hippos and zebras.

Around 130 troops were staying at the makeshift base – a portion of the 700-plus personnel currently serving on Exercise Grand Prix 2.

Commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Andy Hadfield said the troops were learning to tackle potential insurgent attacks under extreme temperatures.

He said: “There are many skills and techniques you need to stay alive in Afghanistan.

“The things we’re focusing on in this exercise are things like Counter-IED – finding improvised explosive devices and mines and dealing with them, working with soldiers from another nation and also working amongst the civilian population.

“It’s hot, particularly during the middle of the day, it’s dusty and it’s dry. There are a lot of thorn bushes out there, hostile animals and insects and, for the soldiers coming here, operating within that environment really makes them better, more robust and develops their natural fortitude.”

The next three days were spent observing ‘A’ Company carrying out a series of operations, ranging from peaceful negotiations with a small tribal village to a full-scale dawn clear-out of ‘insurgents’.

Kenyan soldiers have been invited to train with 1 Mercian as part of the arrangement the British Army has to stay in the country, while locals are also employed to act out the various scenarios.

After a gruelling three days in Ol Doinyo Lemboro, the temperature cranked right up as I took a 30-minute flight in an RAF Puma helicopter to the second-hottest place on Earth, Archer’s Post.

Nicknamed Archer’s Roast by soldiers, ‘C’ Company had to deal with extreme temperatures, a three-year drought, scorpions and huge camel spiders while carrying out live firing exercises including mortar charges, grenade launchers and machine guns.

With all the hard work and lack of shade, troops are encouraged to drink a minimum of six litres of water a day, and take up the diet of an athlete by consuming up to 5,000 calories.

Lt Col Hadfield said: “I’m 100% confident the skills we learn here will help us with our mission-specific training for Afghanistan.”

I experienced only a week of living in such a harsh climate. If deployed as expected, troops with 1 Mercian will spend six months in a war zone, with lads as young as 18 battling not only the climate and huge pressure levels, but also the unpredictable and highly dangerous Taliban fighters.