Territorial soldiers from 7 Battalion the Rifles have just returned from Exercise Steppe Eagle, the two-week Partnership for Peace exercise held in Kazakhstan.

For many Kazakhstan would be hard to pin point on an atlas, but when you do you soon realise the scale and enormity of the world's largest land-locked state. At more than 2,750,000 sq km it dwarfs Western Europe.

The 160-strong Rifles were there for two reasons; to hone their live-firing capabilities using the extensive range facilities on the Illiskiy Training Area and to instruct the Kazakh airborne troops of Kazbat 1 & 2 in peace support operations.

The Kazakhstan military are eager to gain United Nations certification and so take their place alongside other countries in UN-led operations around the globe under the UN Security Council Resolution Banner.

Mix and learn

This is the seventh in the Steppe Eagle series of exercises which is run in conjunction with the US Army. In between the training periods there were plenty of opportunities for the participating countries' troops to mix and learn about each others' weapons and fire them.

For some of the Kazakh commanders it was a chance to roll back the years and swap stories with the British about operations in Afghanistan and compare their experiences when they were there with the former Soviet Army some 20 ago.

As the troops were living in tented field conditions hot water for showers and shaving was a little scarce. So, one of the most eagerly awaited daily treats were the 'Bunya' sessions.  This, as it turned out, was a throw back to the Soviet era when, under the cultural influence of Russia, field steam baths were provided for the conscripts.

Naked soldiers

Called a field bunya, this comprised of an aged Russian truck with what appeared to be the workings of a traction engine mounted on the back; attached via a steam pipe was a tent that acted as a sauna. Under the cry of "Bunyaaaaa" a dozen or so naked soldiers would race into the tent from the changing room to be greeted by a wall of piping hot menthol-laced steam. Many agreed it was the perfect end to a hard day's training. 

It was the final field training exercise, however, that was designed to really test the mettle of the troops.

The 7 Rifles Company were put under the control of the Kazakhs for the three-day exercise. The scenario was set as that similar to operations currently being carried out in Afghanistan. Colonel Daulet Ospanov, Deputy Commander of the Kazakh Airmobile Brigade, said: "This is a huge exercise for us, the benefits are improved relationship with Kazakh and British troops, they are now like brothers.

"We look for interoperability, friendship, co-operation and ethos to rub off on the Kazakhs. The Armed forces of the United Kingdom have taken part in Iraq and Afghanistan. They have a lot of experience and we regard the British Army as very professional and the leading nation at the forefront of peace support operations."

New-found skills

Clearly the Kazakh soldiers had learned much from their training with 7 Rifles as they effectively put into practice their new-found skills in crowd control, cordon and search methods when dealing with bombs and improvised explosive devices.

For the Territorials it was a rare chance to get to operate in Russian-built Hip helicopters and eight-wheeled armoured personnel carriers that a few years ago they were being taught to recognise as enemy, but that was in a different era.