Gunner Dales - 21 (Gibraltar 1779-83) Air Assault Battery, 47th Regiment Royal Artillery

"I joined the Army in June 2009 after having worked as a sous chef in Scunthorpe. The emphasis placed on fitness, discipline and in certain units parachuting, led to my desire to join the Army. I began training in Winchester with 60 other recruits and found the fitness easier than I expected - being away from home was different but got easier when I started to make new friends. My first exercise was a night out in the field after a month of training and it was relaxed enough to be enjoyable, but if you bent the rules you paid the price! A track got worn away running round a tree and back so many times!

I 'passed out' of Winchester after 42 weeks and enjoyed 2 weeks of well-earned leave when I went home to Blackpool. I then started Phase 2 training at Larkhill, Wiltshire, where soldiers in the Royal Regiment of Artillery receive their Special to Arm training. It was a hectic time as everyone lives together but different trades require different training, so there is a lot of movement between classrooms and training areas!

During the first week of Phase 2 you choose where you would like to go and I opted for 21 Air Assault Battery, 47 Regiment Royal Artillery because I liked the combination of air defence and airborne soldiering. The training was hard but very rewarding.

I 'passed out' with 250 other Gunner soldiers in December 2009 and spent Christmas at home before beginning my career at Regimental Duty. I arrived in the battery and learned that the Regiment had re-rolled to fly Unmanned Air Systems (UAS); I would now become an operator which meant launching, recovering and maintaining the Desert Hawk 3. However, because of my ability to run a mile and a half (a basic military fitness test) in 8 minutes and 40 seconds, I was put straight onto P Coy to see if I had what it takes to be an airborne soldier. This was 7 weeks of eating and sleeping physical events which was, for the most, part enjoyable. The log race stood out as one of the most emotional events on the course and, even though I passed the course, I would be reluctant to repeat the experience!

Following this I was put on the military parachute jumps course which was a dream come true for me. My favourite moment was being in the slipstream behind a Hercules airplane watching my parachute open before looking down to the Drop Zone below. I qualified as a military parachutist and had earned my parachute wings to wear on my uniform. However, I had little time to dwell on my parachuting experiences before I started pre-deployment training for Operation HERRICK 13. I deployed on a whirlwind of exercises and training camps which included California, Otterburn, Salisbury Plain, and Longmoor and before I knew it I was on a C-17 on route to Camp Bastion, Helmand Province, ready to start the operational deployment as a Tactical Party Commander's signaller and Desert Hawk 3 Operator.

My first deployment was with the Warthog Group being used on mobile patrols out in the desert which supported the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment. As time (and the Desert Hawk!) flew by I returned to Camp Bastion to support the RAF Regiment, before flying out to Naidullah, in Lashkar Gah, to support the 2nd Battalion, SCOTS. My exposure to this many units allowed me to observe what methods do, and do not work in support of Combat Units. My 2 weeks rest and recuperation (R&R) arrived soon enough and I returned to my home town of Scunthorpe for a well-earned rest. When I returned to Afghanistan after R&R I deployed to Kahmaar, in Nad-E-Ali (North), with 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment, where I completed the rest of my deployment.

I have now returned to the UK and am looking forward to 5 weeks of Post Tour Leave. After this I will be focussing on becoming a part of the batteries Air Assault Troop which will provide a Desert Hawk 3 capability for the Army's Airborne Task Force. This will mean I will soon be on 5 days notice to move, and continuing to live the life for which I joined the Army."