By Dodge Billingsley Video producer in Iraq

Private Juan Alvarado, almost 19 years old, from central California, joined the army after his tumultuous teen years, where he found himself in and out of trouble.

However, he does not believe it was because of his situation that he joined the army. Rather, he says he just felt like doing it. He is not overwhelmingly vocal about patriotism. He says he did not join the military for that reason either.

Now, here in Iraq, getting the job done, doing well at his profession and seeing it through, motivate him.

He seems a bit bored with their mission sometimes and refers to it as a "cops" mission rather than military action.

In many ways he is right. Their routine of patrolling the city streets of Mosul rarely leads to any contact with the enemy and when it does, current rules of engagement restrict him from swinging his Squad Automatic Weapon into action in the bustling urban environment.

Emergency

Private Alvarado spends most of his time with the other soldiers in his Fire Team, Private Brown and SGT Harris.

When he arrives they realise a fellow soldier has committed suicide

They talk a lot of trash about each other and the others in the squad, constantly joking about each other's upbringing, girlfriends and wives, race and ethnicity. Nothing is sacred, and Alvarado gets his shots in with the best of them.

On 22 March Alvarado's squad is awakened earlier than expected to assume Quick Response Force (QRF) for the battalion.

Apparently, a soldier in their sister platoon was dead. Nobody knew how or why but it meant that Alvarado and the rest of his platoon would now take over QRF.

When he arrives they realise a fellow soldier has committed suicide.

Some of Alvarado's squad are reflective over the news but Alvarado didn't know the soldier and does not really have any comment on the matter.

For him it is another day at the office, so to speak.

Waiting for patrol, he heads over to the Haji café - the name given to Iraqi-contracted cafes on the base - and orders breakfast, although it is well into the afternoon.

His life in the army, while in Iraq, is 24/7. It never stops. Day becomes night, night becomes day. You sleep and eat when you can.

One Day of War was broadcast in the UK on Thursday, 27 May, 2004 at 2100 BST on BBC Two.