No room for luxury on the front line in Afghanistan
Aug 14 2007 By Gary Marks, Birmingham Mail
FOOTBALL on the telly, a shopping trip to the Bullring or just a few pints and a curry. Things we take for granted - but for the West Midland boys fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan they are a distant dream. The Birmingham Mail took a look beyond the desert to see how our ingenious squaddies try to make life a little more bearable.
"WELCOME to the Ritz" - the tongue in cheek greeting for all newcomers visiting our boys close to the front line in Afghanistan.
There might not be free soap and towels for troops from the 1st Battalion, the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment, but their base is better than most.
In the mud-walled compound of Patrol Base Sandford on the edge of the desert overlooking Helmand Province's 'Green Zone' it has its own well - a luxury.
Other advantages include a 'thunderbox' toilet - a large hole in the ground covered in a plywood case with three holes cut through it, a mud walled box with a wooden pole which serves as an open air shower and dirt floored bunkers for sleeping.
Ants, scorpions, mosquitoes and crab-like Camel Spiders lurk in crevices, but some of the local animal life is more friendly, not least a stray Labrador cross who turned up during a sandstorm six weeks ago, his legs bowed and ribs showing through his matted fur.
After being promoted to company pet and developing a taste for leftover army rations he is now looking decidedly podgy.
The troops have named him 'Woofer' after the regiment's nickname - based on its initials WFR.
For the soldiers, regular deliveries of home-baked naan breads and fresh fruit from locals provide a welcome diversion from ration packs. Two days ago, to mark one soldier's birthday, a delivery of potatoes were turned into something approximating chips.
Beards are the norm, partly because of the danger of infection from shaving cuts.
At night some gather in the near darkness of one of the main compound buildings - a turreted house which resembles part of the set of Lawrence of Arabia - to have a 'brew' in cups made from mortar casings.
Three 'sofas' have been rigged up from the wire mesh normally used for building bunkers and walls.
Teenage infantry troops spend their down-time between sentry shifts rigging up battery-powered iPods with speakers to listen to a mix of dance music and cheesy hits.
But despite the home made comforts, this is one of the most dangerous places in Afghanistan where the Taliban take refuge in cover.
It is more than two weeks since the camp was last mortared - no one is in any doubt that the Taliban are nearby.
As the temperature - above 40C most days - drops, many take the opportunity to build themselves up in their makeshift gym.
Ammunition boxes connected by a piece of wood have been turned into weights, iron fence pickets have been tied together for bench presses and a wooden pole in a doorway is used for pull-ups.
From here even the relative comfort of Britain's main base in Helmand, Camp Bastion, seems a world away.
