Soldier tells of buzz on the frontline

A young soldier from Staffordshire has spoken of the "buzz " of fighting on the frontline in Afghanistan and enduring temperatures of more than 120F (50C).

Rifleman Liam Bailey is four months into a six-month tour in Helmand where he has helped push the Taliban militia further back after setting up a new checkpoint.

But the 21-year-old also admitted to a longing for letters from home, with no access to the internet or a phone.

The soldier, from Burntwood, described the feeling of being in a fire fight.

He said: "It's the adrenaline, you go through all those years of training so you want to experience that buzz."

He said the heat and the austere conditions at the combat outpost were hard to get used to.

"It's like sitting in a sauna all day with all of your kit on. You then go on patrol and you have to carry an additional 30-40 kg, or half your body weight, it's tough work".

But the camaraderie of living and fighting alongside his fellow soldiers helps to create an excellent atmosphere off-duty.

The highlight of his tour so far has been setting up the checkpoint in which he is currently living.

"Just being here from the start when it was just the compound walls, building all of the guard towers and the defences, getting the large tents up.

"The feeling that this checkpoint was ours from the start, I feel like I have made a real contribution. This new checkpoint has pushed the Taliban even further back."

But the rifleman said he cannot wait to return home to see his family – mother Maxine, father Andrew and little sister Hannah – as well as his pride and joy, a 1978 Mark II escort.

Classic Ford magazines, along with beef jerky and peanuts, are among the treats that are posted out to him by his family.

But he says nothing is better than getting a letter from one of his friends back home.

"The drinks and jokes are great but what you really wish is that your mates would write you a letter. A letter is a big deal out here because we have no internet, we didn't even have a phone or a power generator."

Officer Commanding A Company 1 Rifles, Major Karl Boswell spoke highly of Liam and his colleagues. "I am as proud of my Riflemen as I am of my own children," he said.