As part of the British Government's commitment to the former British colony of Sierra Leone, it was agreed that the British Army would provide military training to all levels of the Sierra Leone Armed Forces. Through this it was hoped that the RSLAF would have the edge over their rebel opponents, the Revolutionary United Front. As part of 1 PWO's commitment to the country I found myself with the task of training a company of the RSLAF, aided and abetted by Cpl Tether and L Cpls Ellis and Cowen.

I found myself in the enviable position of managing to avoid the advance flight upon our deployment. This proved advantageous as I managed to get many messages advising what extra bits of kit I should buy to make my life more comfortable although I did have to pack another bag to fit in all the kit the other subalterns had forgotten (including passports!) Arriving at Lunghi Airport was quite a shock to the system with some urgent briefings issued in some fairly ferocious heat with the ominous presence of several vultures circling overhead. With as much bottled water as I could physically carry in hand I found myself a seat on one of the four tonne trucks heading out of the airport. At the first village we came to we encountered a sight that was to become a constant reminder of the fact that we were well off foreigners in a Third World nation. Every child we drove past would sprint to the roadside chanting for 'Sweets' or 'Biscuits'.

Following a short ferry ride we had a dramatic experience of the sights, sounds and by no means least, smells of the capital, Freetown. From here after a short detour to drop certain members of our party at the RFA Sir Percival (aka the Sir Ralph owing to the fact that our QM made himself well at home on board) we made the journey up to Benguema Training Camp (BTC).

Once settled into BTC we had the dual role of entertaining Sierra Leone soldiers from the previous training course, trained by our Royal Irish counterparts, whilst hastily preparing for the arrival of the two battalions we were to train. Whilst supervising the tail end of our predecessors' course we saw many of the difficulties we were to face with our own course. At the first pay parade we supervised it became abundantly clear how little the rank and file soldiers trusted their African seniors. Corruption and administrative incompetence would result in there being no money for many soldiers, some of whom had seen no pay in several months as nobody would come to the front line to pay them were they fought. The overtly vocal remonstrations of such soldiers would create many tense moments, which thankfully we were able to smooth over due to the trust placed on the British soldier by the average Sierra Leonean.

The arrival of the troops we were to train was evidence of the wisdom of the old idiom 'patience is a virtue.' Our new arrivals were obviously overjoyed to be arriving for training by the British Army, however their natural exuberance made administration somewhat infuriating. I once again landed on my feet and found myself with the pleasure of training a Motor Transport Squadron who unlike many of the other companies were a formed unit with an existing rank structure and reasonably trained and disciplined soldiers.

Our first three weeks consisted of training our wards in basic military skills. One of our main efforts was firstly the promotion of the SLR over East European weapons which are prevalent throughout the region, and secondly to improve the standard of weapon handling and shooting. This subject matter contained many unseen problems for our training teams largely due to the fact that we were training people who believe strongly in an animist religion, which relies heavily on magic rituals. To train a man to rely on his rifle when he believes that there the men he will face who have rendered themselves bulletproof through magic proved to be a tricky obstacle to overcome. To further matters use of rifle sights was a completely novel concept to many Sierra Leone troops, as was placing the butt in the shoulder, which was apparently a pointless cause of discomfort. It rapidly became obvious that a realistic training target for our troops to hit a target at fifty metres. Other military subjects taught included drill, field craft, fire and movement, patrol skills and the section attack. In addition to this QMSI Winterbottom introduced several periods of fitness with his newly adopted Sierra Leonean gym queens. Many of the trainees proved to be naturally fit and coped well with the circuit training, assault courses and endurance courses that we threw at them.

Interestingly one of the lessons that sparked great interest was the lesson on moral understanding and the Geneva Convention. Questions would regularly arise from our trainees who found it hard to reconcile what our padre, Danny Connolly, was striving to instruct with the atrocities many of them had sadly witnessed in recent years.

In addition to the ideological training barriers mentioned earlier there were several other unique difficulties for our training team to overcome ranging from finding suitable kit and equipment for our trainees through to language barriers. Although English is officially the first language of Sierra Leone most of its inhabitants use a mixture of English with Creole, making it difficult for us at times to understand each other, especially when using technical vocabulary. Often we would have to use the more fluent English speakers among the trainees to translate to the rest of their troops.

Acquisition of suitable uniform for the trainees proved to be a lengthy process, which saw many almost complete their training in ragged civilian clothing, which to their credit they would ensure was as presentable as possible for each morning's parade. In addition is was admirable how, without complaint, many of the trainees completed long endurance runs and section assaults wearing only flip flops on their feet. One of the more unpleasant reminders of Sierra Leone's third world status was the terrible state of the medical facilities that the trainees had. Simple medication was not forthcoming and tragically even straightforward ailments such as dehydration could prove fatal.

Life for the British troops within BTC itself proved to be simple but reasonably comfortable. Our days would invariably start very early in the morning to numerous uniquely African noises. Additionally we would be awoken each morning by the sound of the 'swingfog' machine, a fumigation device that sounded like an amplified chainsaw. Just as the 'swingfog' would finish we would be kept awake by the chanting of the local imam who would be calling his flock to prayer. Accommodation was provided by an assortment of military tents, which were all linked up and floored by duck boarding. Inside the tents, space was naturally at a premium and most bed spaces were limited to a camp bed, mosquito net and a hastily improvised shelf unit. Lighting was provided by a single bulb suspended from the tent roof, the power for which was somewhat prone to failure, making a decent head-torch an absolute must until the drone of the backup generator could be heard returning power to the camp. We were fortunate enough to have the occasional Sunday off which we used to make the hour-long bumpy and dusty journey to the local beach, which was a quiet idyllic spot and could easily have been used for a 'bounty' commercial. This gave the British troops the much-needed opportunity for some rest and relaxation that took the form of beach volleyball, sunbathing or swimming.

Our time in Sierra Leone was undoubtedly well spent. The Sierra Leone Armed Forces undoubtedly had their drawbacks and could at times be difficult to instruct, however none of the instructors can have failed to admire their willingness to learn. I was particularly impressed by the general feeling of self-sacrifice I perceived during conversations with the Sierra Leoneans who nearly all approached their job with a desire to improve their country in order to leave it in a better condition for their children. Additionally it was touching how genuinely grateful the Sierra Leoneans were for the training we provided and this was reflected in the speech given by the leader of Sierra Leone, President Kabbah, when he took the pass out parade of our trainees.

With the trainees passed out and sent on for further training courses or operational duties we breathed a sigh of relief and handed over Benguema Training Camp to the Ghurkhas who were to train the next batch of recruits. With this done all that was left to complete was the Battalion's return to Chester, where after washing the red dust of Sierra Leone from every nook and cranny we fell out for some well-earned leave. The biggest surprise of all however remains the fact that, contrary to popular expectation and 1 PWO tradition, we were back home for Christmas.