Mid August Some of my soldiers are serving away from Baghdad. A few are under command of another unit in Basrah and others are based in Shaibah, way down in the south. Although they are not directly my responsibility, I have a moral duty to find out how they are doing; providing a link to the Regiment so far from home is very important. I flew out of Baghdad to catch up with them for a whistle-stop 48 hour tour.  | | On the dusty roads in the south of Iraq, children seem to appear out of nowhere to wave. In front of a huge scrap yard with burning gas in the background, I just caught a glimpse of this small boy as I sped past at 50mph |
Leaving Baghdad seemed very strange. It had become my home but seeing the ground eventually rush away brought a deep sense of relief. I felt that for the first time since arriving in theatre, I could genuinely relax. I hadn't seen Basrah since I passed through on my way to Baghdad at the beginning of July. The first thing that struck me was the complete lack of trees and the vast expanse of desert.The landscape could not have been more different to the capital. That evening when I sat down with a cold beer, I felt the tension in my body ebb away. It was an odd sensation, but told me plenty about the pressure we were all living under in the Green Zone. Shaibah was my next stop. It was even more isolated but there was a very strong sense of community.  | | The school bus |
I managed to spend some quality time with the soldiers from York and the evening concluded with a traditional Bhat (curry). It doesn't matter where Gurkhas are based; they will always maintain their strong traditions. All in all, spending two nights away from my working environment gave me the boost I needed. However, it wasn't long before I began to feel the tension return as our aircraft descended sharply into Baghdad Airport. After the drive back across the city, it was as if I had never been away. | 
