FOR members of Maidstone's 36 Engineers Regiment the next week or so will be a roller coaster of emotions as they make the final preparations for deployment to Afghanistan.

They have spent weeks on Sailsbury Plain and in Yorkshire in simulated training grounds specially prepared to recreate the environment they will be facing in Helmand Province.

All they can do is count down the hours until the flight which will transport them their home for the next six months.

By September 6, the planned deployment of 320 members of 36 Engineers, around half of which are Gurkhas, will be completed.

Once there they become part of the 5,500 strong 52 Infantry Brigade, tasked with helping the fragile Afghan government increase stability and working in tandem with the local population with rebuilding the country's shattered infrastructure.

Kent Messenger reporter Helen Wagstaff and photographer Matthew Walker have been to Invicta Park Barracks to meet the troops before they head off into one of the world's most challenging war zones.

See the Maidstone edition of the Kent Messenger (Friday, August 31) for a two-page special report.