Fear and pride from Black Watch

by Ben Brown
BBC correspondent, travelling with the Black Watch

A soldier fixes a Union jack flag to a vehicle

In a swirl of dust, the first convoy moved out of the Black Watch base near Basra and headed north.

Warrior armoured fighting vehicles were transported on low loaders while some troops moved in Land Rovers, the Union flags draped across the bonnets and roofs.

Several Black Watch soldiers waved at us as they sped past, but others seemed more anxious as they contemplated the dangers of the mission ahead.

The area they are going to south of Baghdad is a haven for some of the most ruthless Sunni extremists and fighters now in Iraq.

Hazardous journey

At one stage the convoy we were following came to a temporary halt because one of its vehicles had broken down.

Nervously troops jumped out to form a defensive ring around it, pointing their guns out into the desert.

Even on the journey itself, there are plenty of hazards from roadside bombs and ambushes to drive-by shootings.

As well as troops from the Black Watch, there are Royal Marine commandoes going with them, Royal Engineers and a reconnaissance unit from the Queen's Dragoon Guards.

A total of 850 soldiers are being redeployed.

Home by Christmas?

Their mission is to relieve US marines who will be able to move on to nearby Fallujah for an expected assault on the city that has proved so troublesome to the coalition.

The question on the minds of many soldiers is how long will they be there once they arrive?

The government has said the deployment will last a matter of weeks, not months.

Tony Blair has promised the Black Watch they will be home in time for Christmas.

But some of the troops are sceptical and acutely aware of the dangers of their mission in a country as unstable as Iraq.