Goodbye to Blighty

The next time I write will be from Afghanistan. It seems like a lot longer than three months that I left civvy street behind to become a full-time soldier, but it's also flown by. Anyway, at last me and the other soldiers of Corunna Company and 1st Battalion, The Rifles are ready to go. Training's complete, kit is packed and all we now have to do is throw ourselves upon the mercy of the RAF to get us out to Helmand.
It's about a six-hour flight (although it could take a lot longer, because just like Heathrow Airport, there's a lot of waiting around involved), which is a long time for those of us who are on our first tour to sit in an aeroplane seat wondering what's going to greet us when we get to Camp Bastion. We'll spend a few days acclimatising before we get on with the job - a friend of mine currently out in Helmand Province tells me it is scorchingly hot there at the moment - so we'll be fully settled in by the time we go out on the ground.
It's pretty exciting, and even though I'm a little nervous I can't wait to get on with things.
Even better, I've just found out that I'm being made acting Captain for the tour, which has got me puffing my chest out and standing a couple of inches taller. And of course, Captain sounds much more dangerous and dashing than Lieutenant!
So here's looking forward to posting from Afghanistan, hopefully with plenty of interesting stuff to tell you about. And a better suntan. See you on the other side.