Joining the Army can be a big shock for today's teenagers, who have been weaned on a childhood of computer games and TV. In the second of three articles, Oliva Richwald reports on how the youngest Green Howards coped with life in the Central American jungle.

On a mission as rigorous as Exercise Tropical Storm, in the heart of the jungle in Belize, young soldiers often find their superiors turn from dictators to mentors.

The Green Howards are the first battalion to take part in the rigorous jungle training, the idea being that if they can be soldiers out here, they can be soldiers anywhere.

We join A Company, sitting in a jungle clearing having a lesson in the open air.

Major David Colthup and Sergeant Major Glen Snaddon are in charge of about 80 young men and it is their job to support the lads.

Sgt Major Snaddon explains: "You're their boss, but out here you also become their mum, their dad, their counsellor and everything."

Major Colthup adds: "It is amazing what happens when you take lads away like this.

"When we arrived, we explained, 'you won't get a shower but you can swim in the lagoon'. They inched away - but one day in this heat and they were all jumping in."

Sgt Major Snaddon says: "You can eat the oranges off the trees out here. They look a bit minging and, put it this way, you wouldn't buy them in Tesco. But out here they are a treat - they are gorgeous inside."

Among their flock there are mixed feelings. Private Phil Harrison, 18, from Stockton, says: "This is the first time I have been out of the country with the Green Howards.

"There are a lot of things to worry about. I have seen lots of scorpions and snakes and you have to make sure you shake out your sleeping bag and boots, and out here we are sleeping on the ground."

Jamie Gordon, 18, from Billingham, joined the Territorial Army a year-and-a-half ago. He volunteered to go out to Belize and says he "fixes mobiles in civvy street" and has enjoyed the break away.

Colleague Richard Friend, 18, from Hartlepool, does not think he will stay in the Army for long.

"I have been abroad before, but it is nothing like this. I am not sure I like it," he says.

However he is full of praise for his superiors: "They talk to you like mates out here and it is much more laid-back than it is at home."

Private Alex Temple celebrated his 21st birthday in Belize and thinks life in the Army is pretty good.

He is a former cadet and joined the Green Howards after visiting the battalion in Germany. He travelled out to Afghanistan only days after his 20th birthday.

Major Mark Coleman is in charge of C Company and says the key to keeping his soldiers happy is keeping them well informed, fed and watered.

"It is a steep learning curve for the young lads, but you have a captive audience out here. You tell them their things need to be kept dry in waterproof bags, but some of them won't learn until it rains and things go wrong.

"We have some really good guys out here and training gives them self-confidence. It can do wonders."

Privates Darren Clark, 18, and Daniel English, 19, both from Middlesbrough, are part of C Company, and say they are finding the exercise rewarding.

Pte Clark says: "Soldiers find anywhere comfortable, but if you brought some of my mates out here they would crumble."

"The heat would kill them," adds Pte English.

They say their schoolmates at home in Teesside are working in shops, doing apprenticeships and one is a plumber.

Pte English says: "We do have more money than most of our mates, they are mostly skint."

Pte Clark says: "I left school and went straight into the Army and think I have done well. I was offered £30 to play football and go to college, but now I play for the battalion football team."

Being taken to a completely different environment can also give some of the lads a break from the pressure of home.

Major Colthup says he attended the funeral of one of his soldiers just before they came out to the jungle. His body was discovered in a river.

"They are really very young, on very young frames, but one of our guys is supporting his whole family," he says.

"We can help them, some guys can't read and write, so we get them on courses doing that. Some can't drive, so we get them their licences."

Quartermaster Paul Siddle, 46, from Stockton, is nicknamed Santa Claus by the soldiers, it is his job to provide them with vital things, such as foot powder, as well as treats like the occasional can of ice-cold pop.

He understands what it is like being out in the field for 28 days, with none of the comforts of home.

He says: "I have been in the Green Howards 26 years and started as a private. The Army has been my life and I would like to do another ten years.

"The most important commodity is the private soldier on the ground - everything he needs, it is my job to get it to him.

"Santa Claus is a really good nickname for me because it feels like Christmas when that soldier gets that letter or photo from home. The young lads learn a lot, especially on an exercise like this."

Teenagers learn valuable skills in the Army, which they can transfer into other jobs in civvy street.

Regimental quartermaster Sergeant David Paylor, 37, from Whitby, North Yorkshire, said today's new recruits are different to those of 20 years ago.

"I started as a private in 1984, but as a society we have changed, we do fewer outdoor activities, when we were kids we played outside all the time. They tend to be less active these days and have a different approach to training. So we do more build up."

Second commanding officer of the Green Howards, Major Simon Fovargue thinks the battalion will return from Central America "more robust and better drilled".

"This is a significant change to the type of exercise we have done in the recent past," he says.

"It is a very demanding environment and some of the lads have never been in an atmosphere like this before. It is very tiring and you have to take on a lot of water. It is personal admin that is the key, you need to prevent yourself from becoming a casualty."