3:50pm Tuesday 21st July 2009
19:30: It is pitch black over Kabul. We are heading off out on a vehicle patrol to the very edge of our area of operations.
We are to patrol into the tight and twisty streets of the poor part of the city, known to us as the red area.
Travelling up the highway, we take a left turn off onto a single track that leads between a few houses. At the far end of the street, the track carries on up into the darkness beyond across fields, however we know there is a track somewhere to the left.
We finally see it and start heading over a field on a dirt track, if that is what you could call it. I and the other lads that were driving were a little nervous as the track was so thin and uneven; the vehicle kept lurching violently to the sides almost toppling over where huge gaps and holes had formed in the track over the years.
This nervousness was added to by the fact that deep irrigation ditches ran either side. The commanders decided to dismount all the soldiers and walk along behind and in front of the Land Rovers as with the extra weight and the angles we were leaning on it was easy to see what the end result could be.
As the road eventually widened we all breathed a sigh of relief, and the drivers took a few seconds to compose themselves again. Over to the right of the field was a compound made of high mud walls.
One of the lads out on the ground noticed that there were two men watching us at the edge of the field next to the compound.
None of us could be sure what they were doing or whether they even had weapons. We took no chances and shone torches and the vehicles spot lights directly at the two men, they soon disappeared into the shadows.
As we proceeded into the red area the alleyways were tight with high walls either side of the track and plenty of doors and gates within them. Movement was slow as the soldiers either side of the vehicles were watching their arcs whilst the lads on top cover made sure that the front and rear of the convoy was protected.
At one point as we were passing a gate I noticed my commander and one of the Italians suddenly cut left and raise their weapons towards a gate, which was now opening slowly. Luckily for us it was not a threat but a resident that had come out to see what was going on, I’m sure they got more of a fright than us.
As we made our way up onto the hill and the heart of the village, there was no one around, just the odd light here and there shining through the windows. We left the village after another thirty minutes and headed back for a good night’s sleep.
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