In the heart of the jungle in Belize, The Green Howards have been carrying out exercises to prepare them for the toughest of conditions. Reporter Olivia Richwald joined the soldiers in Central America and, in the first of three articles, details how they coped in the hothouse atmosphere.

You have to do as you are told out here, or you become a casualty. But if you can be a soldier out here, you can be a soldier anywhere.

So says Sergeant Andy Rose, of the Grenadier Guards, who is helping to support exercise Tropical Storm in Belize, in the heart of Central America.

The Green Howards are the first battalion to take part in this innovative and arduous training exercise -which is staged in one of the toughest environments nature has to offer.

All of the British Army's light infantry battalions will complete the six-week exercise over the next few years.

The idea is to hone their combat skills in a testing environment before practising them in mock battle situations.

It is a steep learning curve out in the field - where The Green Howards are spending a gruelling 28 days.

That is 28 days without a shower, a roof, any of the comforts of home, surviving in conditions of over 40 degrees Celsius, from the contents of a backpack and daily ration packs brought in along dusty tracks.

Simple things become hazardous in these conditions - a tiny razor cut can rapidly develop into a secondary infection in the humid jungle, and forgetting to drink enough water can see you hospitalised.

Major David Colthup, commanding officer of A Company, describes his surroundings as "the land time forgot which goes on for miles".

With none of the distractions of home and no way out, he says it is important for new recruits to learn survival skills.

He said: "They learned how to build a basic shelter, killed and butchered chickens and pigs.

"These skills were stopped in basic training in 1993, so this is a totally new experience for them."

But learning how to look after yourself, or what they describe as "personal admin" is the raison d'tre of Exercise Tropical Storm.

Major Chris Harrison, of The Green Howards, sums it up: "The idea of coming to Belize is that we train hard so we can fight easy.

"That is why we are here to train in an arduous environment."

Surprises are not planned in the searing heat of Central America - they just happen.

Whereas the Army might have to stage ways to test the troops at home on Salisbury Plain, here in Belize there are fresh challenges every day.

Two major fires, scorpion, spider and snake bites, broken helicopters, heat exhaustion, a road crash and an array of little insects trying to make life tough were just some of the ways the boys were tested.

But that is exactly what the gruelling exercise is about.

After the first few lads were bitten, the soldiers learned to shake their sleeping bags, boots and bags out before they got in them and avoid putting their hands on the ground in the dark.

Similarly, when a few inevitably go down with heat exhaustion and dehydration, the rest are reminded to drink their ten litres of water a day.

Mark Richmond, 18, from Middlesbrough, said: "This is the first time I have been abroad and the heat kills you.

"You have to cut down the vegetation to pass through the jungle, you can't shave and I haven't had a shower for three weeks."

The programme consists of an acclimatisation period at Price Barracks in Belize City, followed by five days of jungle survival training, in which the soldiers learn how to live off the land and their senses.

Phase two is 18 days of offensive training, where the troops learn skills such as recce (reconnaissance), ambush, mobility and battle skills, including how to cross a deep river as a team.

Phase three is a test exercise in which soldiers get a chance to see their battle skills in action, using the Belize Defence Force (the Belize Army) as opposition. It is here that the officers assess progress and competence.

Phase four is the reward - adventure training along the coast and a beach and nightclub holiday in Mexico.

The scene was set weeks before the adventure in Belize commenced. It went like this, The Green Howards were to be deployed in a country called Zelieb (an anagram of Belize). A hostile tribe from a neighbouring country was set on undermining the Zelieb Government and trying to take control of the diamond mines.

It was up to The Green Howards to stop the situation from escalating and to win round the hearts and minds of local people -with the soldiers having to work together to survive.

Lieutenant Colonel Jim Willis MBE, commander of The Green Howards, felt that the operation had been a success.

He said: "The exercise has pushed us beyond the comfort zone and that's a good thing.

"Belize hasn't failed to live up to expectations, it has been very rewarding.

"One of the most pleasing sides of the exercise so far has been seeing the young soldiers grow up, some of them in a matter of days. It can be quite a shock coming into the Army, but an exercise like this shows you to really trust your fellow soldiers and work as a team.

"It is an experience the guys will remember for a long time and I am very happy with how it has gone so far."