Soldiers prepare to head for Iraq (From Western Telegraph)

Soldiers prepare to head for Iraq

Two Pembrokeshire school friends who joined the army together and serve in the same regiment are heading to Iraq next month on an eight-month tour of duty.

Troopers Gareth Allen and Jason Light will face temperatures of up to 50c and hostility from Saddam Hussein loyalists in this still volatile region.

To prepare them for their mission the soldiers were back in Pembrokeshire this week, firing at Castlemartin Range with the Household Cavalry.

Gareth and Jason, both 21 years old and members of the Blues and Royals Regiment, signed up after leaving school in their native Haverfordwest.

Gareth, a gunner, had been a pupil at Tasker Milward School, while Jason, an administration trooper, attended Sir Thomas Picton School.

Gareth admitted it was nice to be back on Pembrokeshire soil before flying out to Iraq, although he had no opportunity to catch up with his parents, Stephen and Anne-Marie John. He has been a soldier for four years and this is his first overseas mission. "I am pleased to have the opportunity to help Iraq get back on its feet,'' he told the Western Telegraph during an interview at Castlemartin Range.

Joining them on their peace keeping duties will be Corporal of Horse Lee Griffiths, of Aberporth, a former pupil of Cardigan Secondary School.

Lee has been in the army for 14 years and saw service in Bosnia in 1994, during Operation Grapple 4.

He admitted he will miss his wife, Karen, who lives in Aberporth, and his Retriever dog, Harry, but will spend time with them during his leave this month before heading to Iraq on April 5th.

The training at Castlemartin Range had played a crucial role in preparing the Regiment, he said. "Our role will be to give peace support to the Iraqi people and their police,'' he said. Castlemartin Range has been described as the best of Britain's three tank firing bases. Captain David Brooks of the Household Cavalry said it had everything the Regiments needed to prepare for their tour of duty in Iraq. "Castlemartin is head and shoulders above the rest,'' he said.