NICK CASWELL

Staff Sgt. Nick Caswell returned on 24^th February to Afghanistan for the final two months of a six month tour of duty with the British Army. A local man, Nick is a former pupil of Wellesbourne School and Kineton High School. As a youngster his great ambition was to join the army. He enlisted in the Royal Signals and has been a regular soldier for the past twenty years. He is currently attached to the Territorial Army in Stratford as a senior recruiter and instructor. Nick has seen active service all over the world, in places as diverse as Cyprus, Sierra Leone, Oman, Bosnia and Kosovo. For three and a half years he served with the Ghurkhas 30 Signals Regiment based at Nuneaton.

In Afghanistan Nick is based in Kandahar Province where he is a Senior Quartermaster Sergeant dealing with all supplies, including weapons and ammunition. He is currently head of a team which runs Camp Roberts. This is a transit camp of between 700 and 800 personnel who are either going on R and R (rest and recuperation) leave or are due to be demobbed. One job football fans might envy was when Nick was assigned to look after the ex-England footballer and England under 21 manager, Stuart Pearce when he visited the troops towards the end of last year.

Life at the camp is never without its dangers – they experience between nine and twelve rocket attacks each day. Conditions in the barren terrain are also, in places, very basic. But soldiers are extremely resourceful. Cubicles for the cold-water showers are constructed from wooden pallets and sheets of polythene, whilst the weights for the outdoor gym have been fashioned from old axles and other discarded vehicle parts.