Festive respite for Welsh troops

Troops from 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards talking while sitting on tyres for the Mastiff armoured vehicle in Camp Bastion, Afghanistan

There will be no white Christmas for Welsh troops in the deserts of Afghanistan.

In the main British base of Camp Bastion, in Helmand, there is little sign of festivity.

But for the men of 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards, otherwise known as the Welsh Cavalry, Bastion is a welcome relief from life out on the front line.

The reconnaissance regiment is tasked with tracking the Taliban. But for now, some of the soldiers are back at the main base for a few days.

It's a chance to do maintenance work on their vehicles and to relax.

C Squadron is a unit based in Musa Qala, equipped with the Army's new Mastiff armoured vehicles.

Unlike most of the other men, Lance Corporal Rob Shortman, 24, from Cwmbran, Gwent, will be flying home for two weeks over Christmas.

He will be able to spend time with his wife Rebecca and newborn daughter Chloe.

Three weeks after her birth in September, he had to fly out to Helmand to join his unit.

Holding a fistful of bullets and with a sharpshooter's rifle slung over his shoulder, he said: "It will be my first Christmas with the newborn and there will probably be a lot of sleepless nights.

Troops from 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards with a Scimitar tank in Camp Bastion, Afghanistan In pictures: Army in Afghanistan

"I'm sure I will get less sleep back home than I do over here.

"I've had a lot of pictures, letters and phone calls. She's cracking. She's grown a lot already.

"It's my job to look out from the vehicle for anything dodgy and if we need to I will fire back to get us out of the situation.

"We've been pretty lucky so far but I won't say any more, I don't want to jinx us."

The 30-tonne £1m Mastiffs were bought to combat the threat of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Its underside is shaped like the bow of a boat to deflect any blasts.

So far the squadron has been hit a total of 10 times, but they have escaped without any fatalities.

Cpl Jason Davies, 28, from Carmarthen, west Wales, described how he had been "blown up" twice - a C Squadron record.

The first time his vehicle hit an IED the unit was travelling from Musa Qala to Bastion, a 14-hour journey across 100km of desert.

Cpl Davies was zig zagging across a wadi.

The tanks are a deterrent to the Taliban because they look nasty Cpl Dean John

"It just went boom," he said. "It wasn't even in a vulnerable area."

Despite the shock, the vehicle only lost a front wheel and was towed backed to base.

The second time he took precautions, using a pair of socks as a good luck charm.

"I had my boy's socks on the dash for luck but it didn't bring me any," he joked.

Despite following in the tracks of four other vehicles, his own was the one to set off the device.

Cpl Davies will also be heading home for Christmas to spend time with his wife, Nicola, 25, and boys Liam, two, and Adam, four months.

Men from A Squadron, based in Garmsir, are also back at Bastion.

The unit uses Scimitar tanks to hunt out Taliban routes through the desert.

As well as expanding their area of control, they also aim to provide reassurance to the locals and mentoring to the Afghan National Police (ANP).

Cpl Dean John, 25, a vehicle mechanic from Port Talbot, said: "My job is to keep the tanks on the road.

"The tanks are a deterrent to the Taliban because they look nasty. They don't like them.

"We've been quite lucky. The threat is still there but so far, touch wood, everything has been fine."

Cpl John is on his second tour to Afghanistan and the fourth tour of his career.

The father of three boys, Dylan, seven, Harvey, six, and Ethan, two, said: "I don't think Christmas is going to make much difference over here. I can't see it changing. It will be normal day-to-day work.

Over here, we're trying to forget it's Christmas in a way L/Cpl Gareth Roberts

"But hopefully we'll get something a bit different for Christmas dinner.

"Otherwise I will just have to pick my best ration pack meal."

That will mean boil-in-the-bag chicken tikka masala.

As far as Christmas presents go, the troops do not get much chance for shopping.

"I bought an Afghan rug and sent that back but nobody seemed that impressed," he said.

L/Cpl Gareth Roberts, 21, from St Julian's in Newport, got married just two weeks before his deployment.

His wife, Calais, 24, will be spending the festive holiday in Mansfield with her parents and parents-in-law.

"They tell me in their letters that they are putting Christmas on hold but I'm sure they will still have their parties," he said.

The newly-married couple went on a pre-wedding honeymoon in Egypt because of the lack of time.

"She's missing me and counting down the days until I get back," he said.

"Over here, we're trying to forget it's Christmas in a way.

"But we're getting nice welfare parcels, with fake Santa masks and Rudolph antlers. And there's lots of Christmas banter."

The troops have been inundated with parcels from friends, family and community groups.

Normally they are full of useful titbits like sachets of cappuccino, shower gel and nail clippers.

But over Christmas the men have been delighted to receive cards and a supply of mince pies.