Afghanistan: Landing in the camp

Mervyn Jess with some of the soldiers who talk about life on the front line

BBC Newsline reporter Mervyn Jess has been spending time with Northern Ireland soldiers in Afghanistan. You can see a special series of his reports on the programme this week. During his time, he kept a diary of his travels.

Day three

We land in Camp Bastion in the back of a Hercules in pitch darkness.

The rear of the C-130 opens as we taxi to our stand where a truck is already moving towards us to lift the pallet of luggage and other cargo out of the aircrafts hold.

We follow it out of the aircraft and across the apron to reception tent where another sand and grit encrusted bus is waiting to transport the passengers to the centre of this massive military camp.

A flat bed lorry which should have been condemned to the scrap yard decades ago draws up with our luggage on the back.

Somewhere below this mountain of heavy army rucksacks are my bags including my television camera. This could be a short trip if the camera is in bits.

Day four

The media operation's centre is a two tent affair. One accommodates visiting journalists, the other is the army media personnel office.

That sort of heat is hard to imagine. At the moment the sweat seeps from every pore just by standing still. Mervyn Jess

An international troop of writers and broadcasters have passed through this centre since the British operation in Afghanistan got under way.

I wonder how many more will sleep fitfully in the air-conditioned tent in the coming years of this ongoing military operation.

The heat is intense but according to those who've been here a while, not as severe as it was just a few weeks ago.

That sort of heat is hard to imagine. At the moment the sweat seeps from every pore just by standing still.

What must it be like being a soldier on patrol carrying a heavy backpack, ammunition, weapon, helmet and body armour?

Boundary

During a familiarisation tour of Bastion the size of the camp is clear.

Engineers created this place out of a scrap of desert and not much else.

It has got its own water supply directly from a natural spring and this feeds the onsite bottling plant that keeps pace with the demand from camp inhabitants.

I have my first meeting with some of the Northern Ireland soldiers who are currently serving in Afghanistan.

They are among the 3,000 Northern Ireland based military personnel who make up 19 Light Brigade whose job is to help secure Helmand province.

The view from the helicopter is 'spectacular'

Their commanding officer who was reared in Northern Ireland is Brigadier Tim Radford. He is the overall commanding officer of British forces in Afghanistan.

Most of the people I need to speak to are based in the Helmand command headquarters in Lashkar Gah which is a 20 minute helicopter hop away.

I climb on board one of two Royal Navy Sea King helicopters which are transporting personnel to the HQ.

The flight is one of the most thrilling rides of my life. It begins with a fairly rapid ascent to gain as much altitude as possible immediately after take off.

As we head out over the desert the view is a spectacular shimmering sea of sand as far as the eye can see. The word "biblical" comes to mind.

The occasional outlines of derelict buildings are the only signs of habitation. I wonder who could have possibly managed to live in this unforgiving environment.

Ten minutes later the view from the helicopter door changes dramatically.

As I peer through the heavy calibre bullet belt of the door gunner, suddenly lush, green fields appear and then out of this wilderness, sparkling in the sun rises the Helmand river bringing life to this barren land.

Tributaries built by American engineers in the 1950's run off the river feeding the surrounding fields.

This used to be the breadbasket of Afghanistan. In more recent years it's become the centre of the poppy growing industry which drives the opium industry in this part of the world.

As we approach Lashkar Gah camp, the Sea King pilots go into "Vietnam" mode dropping their aircraft low and throwing them from side to side while the two door gunners are on the look out for possible insurgents on the ground.

We skim so low over the roof tops of the city, I feel like I can see in through the windows of the mud brick houses.

Children run around like excited mice waving and looking up at this fleeting ariel display.

Then, we are on the ground within the high boundary walls of the military base and right in the heart of Helmand province.

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