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Major Benjamin Ingham writes:

I have been deployed for just over five months now and have been keen to try to explain what a typical day might entail. A single day feels like a week back in the UK, however very soon the hours blur into days and days into weeks. Regardless, I dare not count for fear of ‘wishing my life away’. Instead, I set small goals each week such as 30,000 meters on the rowing machine or 15 laps of camp. To put time into perspective, two weeks of R&R goes by quicker than a single 24 hour block of time in Afghanistan.

Living. 

I share a tiny room with three other guys from my headquarters in a utilitarian ‘hardened accommodation’, so called because they are designed to protect against rocket and mortar attack. Bunk beds are used to save space and we share two wardrobes and a desk between us.

Our beds are shrouded using old sheets; if you are night shift, it keeps the light out when trying to sleep during the day and although small, it is the only truly private place available. With space at a premium, kit is stored in any available nook and cranny: under beds, on beds, behind the door, stuck on the wall, taped to the site of wardrobes… you name it, there is a piece of kit sitting, lying, stuck or draped on under or over it.

I avoid the morning shower rush and in order to save time, shower and shave in the evening. Water is also at a premium so we ‘ship shower’: water on – water off – soap on – water on – soap off – water off. All water is pumped from the natural Kabul sub-surface water supply and is therefore not drinkable and incredibly salty. It strips the skin of any moisture in just one short wash.

Feeding. 

There are two DFACs (Dining Facilities) on camp run by a large civilian contractor. The cheapest contract wins and thus we lose out on food quality. For breakfast: sausage ‘things’, semi-cooked bacon and a choice of cereal is accompanied by 1 x serving of fruit, all served from an industrial sized food counter.
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