County soldiers set for Afghanistan
Soldiers based at a Shropshire Army barracks have battled heat, arid conditions and intense training on a special exercise to prepare them for war.
Members of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment, have returned from a training exercise in Malaysia, to prepare them for their next tour of duty in Afghanistan.
About 60 officers and soldiers from the regiment, which is currently based at Clive Barracks, Tern Hill, were in Kalantan, carrying out physical training and brushing up on warfare skills ready for the deployment.
They were in the country as part of a multi-national training exercise, involving troops from Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand. The project, called Suman Warrior is aimed at defending Malaysia and Singapore and strengthening relations between the five participating nations.
Troops returned home on Saturday after the two-week excursion, which was aimed at helping officers and senior troop members practise their planning skills and strategies.
Lieutenant Colonel Ed Freely, commanding officer of the battalion, said: "This has been an outstanding opportunity to test our deployability and interoperability with partner nations in an unfamiliar environment.
"I see this as an excellent step toward next year's deployment to Afghanistan when again we will be working closely with the forces of several foreign countries in our efforts to stabilise the country."
Major Ian Nellins, the battalion's Quarter Master, said: "The Malaysians have been very good although they did not quite appreciate how much water our soldiers need when working in the extreme heat here, or how big the Irish appetite is compared to that of the average Malaysian."
By Abigail Bates
