SOLDIERS from the region who are serving in Afghanistan played host to two important military visitors.

The 1st Battalion of The Green Howards has been deployed since last spring and is due to return to this country in the autumn.

Members held a regimental dinner in Kabul in honour of their visitors - the Commander of the Second Infantry Brigade, Brigadier David Santa-Olalla, and their Colonel of the Regiment, Brigadier John Powell.

It was attended by senior Army figures in Afghanistan, and all Green Howards officers in the country, some of whom flew in from the north to attend.

Brig Santa-Olalla had already visited members of the battalion throughout the country, including visits to Support Company, which is helping to train the Afghan National Army, as well as travelling north to Mazar-e-Sharif to see A and C Companies at work.

He returned to the UK after the dinner but Brig Powell then travelled to Mazar-e-Sharif and had the chance to go on patrol with an A Company team, as well as to visit the famous Blue Mosque there.

The 1st Battalion of The Green Howards are part of the UN-mandated International Security Assistance Force.

In the Mazar-e-Sharif area, the Green Howards are working as part of the UK Provincial Reconstruction Team, undertaking civil activities designed to help the Afghan Transitional Authority to expand its influence in the provinces.

In the Kabul area, they are working with the Afghan Transitional Authority, helping to maintain security in the region, while Support Company is assisting with the training of the Afghan National Army.