A weekend off!

I'm writing this post from the comfort of my living room after a very, very long lie in. Our Officer Commanding sent us home last night for a well-earned rest after a week on the shooting ranges on Salisbury Plain.
It's been hard work and long days, but every member of Corunna Company has now been well practised in using most of the weapons we will have at our disposal in Afghanistan, from our personal weapon, the SA80 rifle, to the beast that is the .50-calibre heavy machine gun, which fires a slug of lead the size of a man's thumb further than two kilometres. It's quite an impressive weapon, but it's jolly heavy - almost 70kg when you include all the bits and pieces attached to it.

But for the time being, we're all at home relaxing, catching up with all the domestic things which we've been removed from since we mobilised - bills and laundry, mostly!
We form up again on Sunday for a long drive east for more range work, with the tempo and intensity of our training increasing all the time.

On a more serious note, we're now into territory where the emotion of becoming a full-time soldier comes into play. Most of the lads who haven't been on operations before have never spent more than two weeks continuously in uniform, and for some of them it's tough. Luckily, the comradeship and general matey larking about that squaddies love is coming into play. One or two of my troops have already privately admitted to me that they are missing home and their wives, partners and children, but the support they all give each other is phenomenal. The Army is one of those odd places: filled with very macho types, but the freedom with which they share their emotions with each other when the going gets tough is quite touching.

The feeling in Corunna Company is one of excitement and anticipation: everyone is buzzing about the training we've done. There are plenty more challenges to come, and some experienced members of the battalion have been giving lectures on what we can expect to come across in theatre. It's a bit like looking at someone's holiday snaps, but with the knowledge that we're going on the package tour soon and we're being told about all the problems with the hotel in advance!

So with all this new knowledge sloshing around in my tired brain, I'm going to have another cup of coffee and finish washing my socks. Back to the coalface on Sunday!

The end of the beginning

THE mobilisation period is over. On Thursday morning we crossed our final hurdle before beginning our pre-deployment training, the Combat Fitness Test. Two hours, eight miles and 25 kilos of kit, including our body armour, helmets and weapons. It sounds gruelling, but it’s the basic standard every infantryman must pass to prove that they can go on to more arduous training and are fit to go on operations.
I always thought that the Midlands were a series of gently rolling slopes and pleasant valleys, but the Physical Training Instructors have sought out the steepest slopes they can find, and guess what? Up we went! It was good fun though, even if that sounds slightly masochistic!
With all our training tests out of the way and “all the boxes ticked”, we have now moved to Salisbury Plain for the start of training proper. Over the next week, we’ve got a pretty exciting live firing package lined up on the ranges around the Plain, which is the largest military training area in the country. We’re going to fire all sorts of weapons, from machine guns to grenade launchers, and first thing tomorrow a very large truck with lots and lots of ammunition on board will arrive for us to use. Admittedly, we’re going to have to unload it all, but everyone in Corunna Company is looking forward to the week’s activities.
Our Officer Commanding and Company Serjeant Major have just returned from a “recce” of Camp Bastion in Helmand Province, which will give us an even better picture of the task facing us.
The company has also had to deal with the sad news of the deaths of several Army personnel in the last week. It’s never easy hearing about the deaths of some of our colleagues, and naturally our thoughts go out to the families of every serviceman and woman who is injured or killed in the line of duty. It’s one of the tough realities of what we do, but it has made every man and woman in Corunna Company even more determined to do a thoroughly professional job and contribute in some small way to bringing peace and stability to a part of the world which desperately needs it.
Looking on the bright side, next weekend we get to home for a couple of days – and it’s the 6th Battalion Officers’ Mess summer ball, so it will be a great chance to catch up with some friends and let my hair down!
I think I’ve earned a pint (or two) after a couple of pretty intensive weeks, so I’m off to the bar for a couple of “scoops” – and I’ll write again soon!

A hectic introduction to full-time army life

ONLY seven days, but already it feels like I've been in uniform for a long time - it's been amazing how quickly everyone in Corunna Company has made the transition from civilian to soldier.
Of course, we're only at the beginning and there are a hundred and one things to organise - everything from getting desert boots that fit to the complexities of organising our training, getting the company running smoothly and all of us learning how each other works.
This week, we have been going through the system of making the transition to being soldiers, so in the past few days I've filled in more forms than I care to think about, been given three bags full of kit and equipment which I will need in Afghanistan, had my teeth examined, had a very thorough medical examination which involved uncomfortably careful scrutiny of body parts which I won't mention on a family website, sat for some time with a pay clerk making sure I'm getting what I'm owed when I'm owed it and - a stark reminder of some of the realities of conflict - had my respirator (or gas mask) tested.
There is no threat of being gassed by the Taliban, but the respirator test is pretty vital - and quite comical. One dons the respirator, is plugged into a computer and stands in a tent while the Staff Sergeant outside give you commands to move your head in odd directions while you stand above a candle. Slightly surreal, but it gives you confidence that a very important bit of kit works!
Once the day's work is done, there is finally a bit of time to sort out my personal "admin" - get some laundry done and phone home before (in about five minutes' time) collapsing into bed ready for the next day, which includes the moment everyone grumbles about but secretly quite enjoys: the personal fitness test. We will do press-ups, sit-ups and a 1.5-mile run, all to a set standard.
After that, it's more lessons and weapon handling tests before we go on the rifle ranges this weekend to shoot our weapons test, proving that we're worthy of the name of Riflemen, and beginning our training proper for taking on the challenge of Helmand Province.

The last day at my desk

Today is Friday, June 6, and it's the last day that I'll be spending at my desk at the North Devon Journal for quite some time, because on Monday I become a full-time soldier training to go to Afghanistan.

It's going to be a culture shock: although I've been in the Territorial Army since the end of 2004, you can keep yourself going through wet, horrible training weekends on Salisbury Plain or in the Brecon Beacons by consoling yourself with the thought that in less than 48 hours, a warm shower, a hot meal and a comfortable bed await you.

But now, I'm facing the prospect of several months of early mornings, late nights, hard physical work, sleep deprivation and all the pressure and stress of doing the job for real.

Why put myself through it? Imagine training in your civilian job for three years and never putting it into practice. It would make you feel like a fraud. Being given the opportunity to go out and serve my country is something I've wanted to do ever since I first decided to join, and now the adventure begins.

So on Monday, after a weekend of packing my kit, spending some time with my nearest and dearest and probably popping to the pub for a couple of beers with friends, I'll stop being Simon Vannerley, sub-editor on the North Devon Journal, and become Lieutenant Vannerley, Corunna Company, 6th Battalion The Rifles.

We've got three months' full time training in the UK: for the first couple of weeks we will take and pass our annual military tests in shooting, fitness, first aid and many other subjects and from there we will begin a round of field exercises, honing our teamwork and skills so that when it comes to landing in Helmand Province, the team will be ready for any mission our superiors throw at us.

Our man in Afghanistan

North Devon Journal sub-editor Simon Vannerley has served in the Territorial Army since 2004, rising through the ranks to become a Lieutenant in the 6th Battalion, The Rifles.In May, he was called up for an operational tour in Afghanistan and will serve alongside fellow members of his battalion as a platoon commander.Throughout Simon's build-up training and deployment to Afghanistan, he will be recording his experiences and sharing what it's like for soldiers on the ground in one of the world's most war-torn regions.