THE thud of a grenade and the crackle of automatic rifle fire wakes us from a fitful sleep among the ruined buildings of a town in the North country. Noryorlan society has collapsed - or so the brief would have it - and the British Army has been called in to extricate 100 nationals from a republic on the brink of a violent civil war, supposedly 400 miles off the African coast.

In such a volatile environment, everyone has been warned to be ready for instant action - so most are already fully-dressed and stumble out of sleeping bags in a half-darkness now filled with noise and smoke.

There's no time to pick up possessions left out of arm's reach; driven on by shouted commands, we run, heavy packs strapped to our backs, still half asleep.

After initial confusion and a lot of cursing, most follow orders without question or real thought, relying on British troops to hold off an enemy patrol which has attacked our makeshift camp while we fled. And, after 15 minutes the gunfire becomes sporadic and finally ceases. We are safe - at least for now.

Exercise Executive Stretch, at Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire, is staged annually. Organised in 2001 by 102 Battalion, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, it makes the point, albeit forcefully at times, that personal development is not just about personal achievement, often it needs the co-operation of others - a philosophy reflected in the relationship between the TA and employers.

If the reserve forces are to have an effective role to play in the defence of the realm, commerce has to co-operate and Executive Stretch doubles as a reaffirmation of a vital partnership and a useful recruitment tool.

How many of the 100 "evacuees" - all from companies across the North - end up in the TA ranks remains to be seen but, if averages are anything to go by, there will be a handful.

"The TA is a lot more than a Scout group for adults," says spokesman, Major Eric Ingram. "Those who join can expect the benefits of military training in numerous trades. For example, in the REME, we use drivers, mechanics, electricians, cooks, clerks - and we need to train them to the same standard as regular soldiers.

"Companies benefit from that. Not only are their staff developing their own skills, they can become more confident as they learn more about their own abilities and their self-discipline improves.

"People who have been on weekends like this one may be managers one day and their staff may come to them to ask if they can join the reserve forces. If they have been on Executive Stretch, at least the decision will be based on experience - and we hope it is more likely they will be sympathetic."

After the attack, I realise I've lost my camera, film and some warm clothing but the brief training given the night before by the squad of 20 British soldiers sent to our rescue has paid off.

Forced to abandon their homes, the 100 "evacuees" are divided into manageable groups, which are identified by colour. Two British soldiers are assigned to each and their task is to teach us what they can while we make our way towards a rendezvous with a larger Nato force.

In the purple group with me are Chris Rudd, a 21-year-old geologist from Whitby; Jacquie Ellis, 24, a teacher from Sunderland; chemists Robert Binger, 35, from Hull; 38-year-old Seonaidh Innes from York; 33-year-old engineer Andrew Bromley of Leeds; Nicki Robbins, a 27-year-old recruitment consultant from Durham; shopfitter Tony Mitchell, 40, from Wallsend; and 36-year-old electrician Mark Stevens, from Dudley, near Newcastle.

Each has their own strengths and weaknesses - and what lay ahead will test them to the limit.

Over the next 36 hours, Andrew and Chris play leading roles in the recovery of a ditched Land Rover and planning the retrieval of lost equipment from a minefield, using their physical strength to lift and carry when others are flagging.

Nicki is an inspiration during a two-mile pursuit on foot through woodland, dotted with water-filled obstacles, her fitness helping to drive those at the front, while others encourage from the rear.

Jacquie is there when spirits begin to droop, switching between jokes and fierce determination when the going gets tough during the construction of a machine-gun emplacement.

Seonaidh and Robert share remarkable reserves of calm under pressure and are always ready with encouragement when others show signs of frustration.

Mark is the sharpshooter, rarely missing with an SA80 rifle while he and Tony work well to lead our rag-tag group through enemy lines.

If we learn anything during our ordeal, it's that we are stronger as a team, regardless of our individual abilities.

After a demanding 18-hour day, spent almost entirely on the move, we face our toughest test. We should have been meeting a friendly agent who held vital instructions, key to our escape from Noryorla. But we are told he has become trapped in a town overrun by the enemy.

Now, facing the possibility of missing the rendezvous with the extraction force, we have no choice but to go in, hoping we will still find him at the address we have been given.

Led by soldiers 2nd Lieutenant Mark Francis and Warrant Officer Alan Parker, we use the sewers to enter the town and then the cover of darkness to move silently among the buildings, only communicating with hand-signals, taught earlier in the day.

We reach the agent's home safely and are admonished for being late. Instructions given, we are unceremoniously evicted back into the night with another task to perform for the Nato command.

We have to find and enter another building where the enemy has left records unguarded. We have only been inside minutes when we are attacked by another patrol. Luckily, smoke grenades come through the window of an empty room first and we are able to bolt across a back garden and down a narrow lane to a line of trees, where we regroup with whatever information we have been able to gather.

Hearts racing and breathing hard from exertion, we are ordered to wait in the dark shadow cast by a hedge while Lt Francis moves quietly forward, coming back minutes later with a stranger in British military combats. We have reached our rendezvous. The exercise is over and the next day it's back to work with stiff muscles, an impressive array of bruises and war stories to tell.

Even those who don't sign up may just be that much more motivated, that much more positive, than they were before being stretched by the TA.

And that could be just enough to convince their bosses that if they don't support the army reserve now, perhaps they should in the future.

* For more information on the reserve forces, contact the North-East headquarters on 0191-384 0918 or the Yorkshire and Humber headquarters on (01904) 623081.