'Too much sacrifice'

I CAN'T help thinking they are all mad. Here we are, stuck in the desert, 7,000 miles from home, with the temperature hitting nearly 50C (125F). The men before me are fighting in a war that many people back home do not even understand. Some of them earn less than the national minimum wage, when you consider the hours they work.

Day after day, they put their lives on the line in a conflict in which 73 British soldiers so far have been killed. And yet, the 100 members of the Light Dragoons still manage to laugh and joke as they sweat in the afternoon sun, repairing their Scimitar tanks, ready for their next battle.

As I chat with these men - some just teenagers - I cannot help but admire them - mad or otherwise.

They all know the reasons why British troops are fighting in Afghanistan. They all know the history of this far-flung land. Some believe they should be here. Some do not. But they are all agreed on one point - they have a job to do.

They also have dramatic stories from the 40 "contacts" the unit has been involved in with the Taliban in just five months.

When he ordered additional British troops to Afghanistan last year, former Defence Secretary John Reid said he hoped they would leave "without firing a shot". Some of the gunners on these vehicles have fired more than 80,000 rounds.

Trooper Paul Harbord, 20, from Peterlee, says: "There was one day I fired ten boxes of ammunition, 2,000 rounds in just four to five hours."

Although the dragoons are approaching the end of their tour without suffering any fatalities or serious injuries, many have had close calls.

Corporal Keith Bell, 30, from Hendon, Sunderland, describes how he had his head out of the turret of a Scimitar tank when one of the Taliban fired a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG). It went just 5ft over his head and between the radio antennae.

"I was out of the vehicle. I just heard a crack and a thump and a black blur. It was like something out of a cartoon," he says.

Keith tells how the men who fired the rocket were hiding in a series of inter-linked trenches called a rat-run. One of his colleagues in another vehicle fired a javelin missile which hit the target.

"I'd like to think we killed them," he says ruefully. "I'm not saying we enjoy killing but everything we do is in self-defence. We're not just shooting people at random."

British soldiers are under strict guidelines which prevent them opening fire unless they can "positively identify" the enemy.

"The Taliban know we're not allowed to shoot until we are shot at," says Keith. "Sometimes they'll hide behind civilians and use them as human shields. There have even been times when the Taliban have worn burkhas. We have to win the battle for hearts and minds as well. We hand out food, water and things like toothpaste.

"But, if the Taliban are in town and children wave at us, the Taliban will threaten the parents of the children."

The Taliban, he says, come over the border from Pakistan and have gone through numerous training camps.

"At first they were reckless and it was easy to win," says Keith. "Now, because of all the foreign fighters, they are more switched on. Rather than stand and fight, they will ambush us. We call it a 360 degree war now because they are coming at us from all sides.

"They say that for every Taliban you kill, there are hundreds waiting to come over the border from Pakistan."

Lance Corporal Ashley Archer, 27, from Blackhall, County Durham, describes how he survived an attack on his vehicle.

"There was a loud bang and the vehicle filled with smoke," he says. "I was coughing and spluttering. It burned the hair off my arms, as well as my beard, eyebrows and eyelashes. I was stunned. I thought we were gone. Afterwards, we looked at the vehicle and we all realised just how lucky we'd been - although it hasn't put me off."

Ashley, who has been in the Army for eight years, is due to marry his fiancee in December. The couple have two daughters, aged one and two.

"My fiancee hates me being here but she understands that it's my job and she knows what she's getting into when she marries me," he says.

Many of the older "veterans" admit the younger soldiers are as battle-hardened as they are. Trooper Lee Hunter, 19, from Brandon, County Durham, was inspired by his dad Simon, who retired four years ago after reaching the rank of sergeant major.

"He was in the Army for 23 years but I have seen more action than him - and he would agree with me," he says.

The teenager has been involved in numerous fire-fights and ambushes.

"You can hear the rounds hitting the vehicle. You get mixed emotions - adrenalin, excitement and fear. We do a job and a couple of days later, the Taliban have doubled their numbers. Kill one and you get two back."

Although most of the soldiers are not in the Army to make money, they often complain about pay when they frequently work 24 hours non-stop. Ordinary soldiers earn as little as £40-a-day, while a corporal makes around £85.

Each soldier is allowed two weeks leave during their six-month tour although, with flight delays, their time home is often reduced to ten days.

Like many soldiers with families, Corporal Keith Burn says the hardest part of being in Afghanistan is being away from his wife Amy and their one-year-old daughter Kaitlin.

It is nearly five months since Keith, from Ushaw Moor, Durham, left home.

"My daughter was seven months old when I left," he says. "My wife told me later that, as I walked away, my daughter waved at me for the very first time. I'm just glad I didn't see it. If I had, I don't think I would have been able to leave home. It would have crucified me."

Keith, who has been involved in numerous battles, says another problem is fighting in the heat and the dust. They also often stumble across spiders, snakes and scorpions.

"The camel spiders can be six inches big but they're nothing that a size nine boot can't sort out," says Keith.

Another difficulty of fighting in Afghanistan is the heat.

Trooper Chris Hatton, 22, from Guisborough, says: "We can spend three weeks out in the desert. It's like being in a sauna. It's easily 60C (140F) in the vehicles. Morale is always very high in our troop but the view among the young lads is that we shouldn't be here.

"A lot of us don't understand why we're here. I think we should pull out. I think people are dying unnecessarily for a cause that nobody understands. I think there's been too much sacrifice."

Chris is engaged to be married next summer and has already bought a house in Middlesbrough with his fiancee. He plans to leave the Army next year and hopes to become a fire fighter.

Regardless of the argument over whether British troops should be in Afghanistan, there are few who can doubt their job is difficult and dangerous.

The bravery of these young soldiers is seen every day by Army photographer Jon Bevan. The 36-year-old corporal, who follows them into battle, says: "In the morning, they can be fighting and killing and, in the afternoon, they can be playing on their PlayStation.

"I was recently with a doctor who is out here. He was with the Paras at Goose Green in the Falklands and he told me that what he went through that day, these young lads are going through every day.

"We take the mickey out of them as the PlayStation generation, but they are doing the business out here."