The main question that families and friends ask a soldier who lives on the frontline is “What are your living conditions like?”. This article gives an insight into the primitive conditions that our Heroes experience living in a patrol base for many weeks at a time.

Description of location

A patrol base (PB) is the living accommodation of our frontline soldiers. Beforehand it was a local Afghan farming family compound. The 40 x 40 metre compound is surrounded by 10 ft mud walls which are thick and strong enough to withstand an enemy attack from RPG rockets and small arms fire.

It has a number of family rooms and land where they kept their goats, chickens and grew their own opium. The rooms, which are also made of mud (hence all the dust), are different shapes and sizes and are used for a variety of purposes including sleeping areas, operations and signals rooms and storage for food, fuel and ammunition.

Living conditions

The PB is occupied British, sometimes Afghan soldiers and one female medic. The medic who goes out with the patrols on a daily basis gets her own bed space but mucks in with the lads with all the other amenities! As you can imagine she is highly regarded and respected by the rest of the soldiers and just mucks in as one of the “boys.”

The compound has been adapted for military purposes. Sangers (sentry posts) have been built to give the PB all round defence.

Outside is an e-coli infested water well, which is used to supply the water for their basic solar powered shower. The water is heated in “puffing billies” on kerosene cookers before it is fed to the shower. There is a manmade soakaway from the shower to outside the compound walls to prevent the water from stagnating.

The "crappers" (an Army term for loo) are in one of the original rooms which have been adapted for the squaddies to enjoy a degree of comfort. Instead of being the traditional “long drop” they do their business in “Brief relief bags”! The bags are then thrown into a hole on the other side of wall to prevent the contents being spread around the compound by incoming helicopters. Needless to say it is burnt regularly along with the other daily rubbish.

The urinals are waist-height diagonal drain pipes which are dug into the ground so that the pee goes straight into the ground.

The 24-hour-a-day power and electricity is run from small diesel generators. Some of the rooms have electricity and the power is used for mission critical kit including their iPods and cameras! The downside is that the engines are constantly droning throughout the day and night so they have learned how to sleep with the constant noise.

Their bed spaces are cosy to say the least! Each soldier has an area of 1x 3 metres. In this confined area they have a cot bed with an optional mosquito net (the area is prone to malaria, especially in the summer). They also keep a Bergen, grip bag, day sack, helmet, weapon and webbing. They have hanging shelves for their clothing and have laid down hessian as a carpet, mainly to suppress the dust.

Catering

The main source of food is the multi climate 24-hour ration packs. It is subsidised by the soldiers buying (in dollars) fresh chickens, turkeys and potatoes from the locals. Fortunately, families and friends send regular food parcels to their loved ones so they can also enjoy some goodies from home.

Although there was a full time cook in the Forward Operating Base (FOB) they do not have that luxury in the PB. However, the FOB’s cook made an improvised oven to help them cook the fresh food. They also grill alot of it over an open fire. The rations are boiled over a hexamine tablet! Everyone cooks their own rations but there are also a couple of naturally talented squaddies who were chefs before joining the army. The most popular are the Fijians who produce grub with a Pacific flavour! Drinking water comes from the jerry cans and water bowsers which are frequently replenished from the FOB.

Daily routine

There isn’t one! Every day is different. One day blends into the next – week days or weekends – it makes no difference. Reveille (or ROUSE for Riflemen) is either in the morning or the middle of the night. The soldiers are invariably on patrol every day for varying lengths of time.

Their specific tasks vary from carrying out hearts and minds patrols, manning vehicle check points and other classified operational responsibilities which we occasionally hear about on the news.

They always carry huge amount of kit which could way anything up to 80 pounds including weapons ammo, radios ECM equipment, food and water and even ladders which they often use for scaling compound walls (nick named the Grand National).

If they are not on patrol they are back in the PB. Their usual priorities are:

• Personal hygiene - cleanliness is crucial. The only time that the washing and shaving can’t be done is when there is insufficient water and they are on long patrols.

• Stag duty and working parties (filling sand bags)

• Essential admin, washing themselves, clothing and cleaning weapons.

• Enjoying the banter and having a laugh.

• Sleeping.

• Volley ball. The volley ball pitch is in the old opium “vegetable garden”. The courts are marked by mine tape and the nets are made from 6 ft pickets and camouflage nets.

• Table tennis – made from a wooden board and friends and families donate the bats and balls.

• Rugby, football and generally keeping fit with improvised weights including jerry cans, 6 ft pickets and sand bags!

Morale boosters

It is so important for the boys to maintain their morale, especially when they are living in these very basic conditions, experiencing such intense fighting and witnessing horrific scenes which most of us will never see in our lives.

One of the most vital morale boosters is returning from a successful patrol and reliving the events that took place whilst the adrenalin is still pumping. They then collapse in a heap from sheer exhaustion.

The British squaddie has always been inventive but it is also important for them to hear from their loved ones back home.

Another important morale booster for them is communication from the outside world. Hearing the noise of a helicopter or seeing the occasional resupply wagon approaching the PB, bearing food parcels and eblueys from friends and family means so much to them. They are a constant reminder that they are not forgotten in the wilds of a medieval and hostile country.

Unlike the FOB where they have internet and a TV, they don’t have such luxuries in the PB. Their only form of communication back home is a Satelite phone.

Other morale boosters include the use of their own portable DVD players and Nintendos etc.

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