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More Kent-based soldiers are to head out to Afghanistan this October.

The Second Battalion of the Royal Gurkha Rifles (2RGR) will act as a quick reaction force in Musa Qaleh in northern Helmand province.

Preparation for the tour of duty is taking place on Salisbury Plain.

At more than 94,000 acres (38,000 hectares), or roughly 25 miles by 10 miles, it is the UK’s largest training area.

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Watch the video above to see the soldiers preparing for Afghanistan

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Officer in Command of A Company Major Chris Boryer, 32, said: “This training has put us in a pretty good state.

“We have been training solidly for around three months now and this exercise has been the icing on the cake.

“Of course with every operation there are concerns as you are dealing with people’s safety but we are well trained and equipped to mitigate any situations thrown at us.

“Also the Gurkhas are particularly resilient and tough soldiers and are streetwise in a way that we as British soldiers are not. They are natural field soldiers.”

Out of 2RGR’s four companies A, B and D will be deployed to Afghanistan, as C company only returned from a tour of Kosovo in August last year.

Helmand

In Helmand the troops will be in charge of dealing with any incident which happens outside their camp, be it peaceful or aggressive.

Chief of Staff Major David Robinson, 39, of Shornecliffe, said: “More than 600 soldiers from 2RGR will deploy to Afghanistan as part of Operation Herrick Nine.

“Over 550 of those will be Gurkhas. Their aim is to allow for greater security and normality for the Afghan people.

“They are there to aid in the reconstruction and development of society in Musa Qaleh.”

Afghan civilians

The soliders will need to interact and engage with Afghan civilians. On the Army Training Estate on Salisbury Plain some soliders from other regiments are employed as training aids and act as the civilians.

They play the part of harmless villagers strolling up to camp, Taliban insurgents staging an ambush or Afghan police who may accidentally fire their weapons, known IDF or indirect fire.

By wearing Area Weapons Effects Simulator (AWES) or Tactical Engagement Simulation (TES) vests they are alerted by a computer on their vest if they have been hit by fire and how badly they are injured.

Captain Ben Potts of the 1st Royal Tank Regiment, who was acting as an Afghan taylor, said: “We try to create realistic scenarios to equip them for when they are in theatre.

“The hardest thing for us from a training perspective is not to be ourselves and to act as a civilian would.

“Ideally we would have a thousand paid actors carrying out the job but of course that is not possible, which is where we come in.”