AT LEAST four members of the Territorial Army in Swindon will be flying out to Iraq, it has been confirmed.

Captain Will Richards, of the Royal Rifle Volunteers, which has an outpost in Swindon and headquarters in Reading, said the men will soon begin an intensive training course before flying out to Basra at the end of May.

But he has refused to name those involved until after March 29.

"We want to make sure these men don't trip up with their families and their employers first," he said.

At the end of March they will undertake training in Norfolk, Folkestone and the Home Counties before being sent out for six months.

The soldiers will be stationed at Basra's international airport where they will be used for local policing and force protection.

Captain Richards said: "The TA has been used in a number of countries. The British Army has sent about 12,000 of them to Iraq, Afghanistan and all over in recent years.

"We have sent more than 200 people to various places in the last four years."

The Swindon men are part of the Royal Rifle Volunteers B Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment.

This is not the first time TA members from Swindon have been sent to Iraq.

In July last year Territorial Army soldiers from Swindon's A Squadron of the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry travelled to London to receive medals for serving in Iraq.

They specialise in nuclear, biological and chemical defence work.

The unit was mobilised en masse to join regular Army colleagues in the Joint NBC Regiment in 2003.

But, as the threat subsided, the soldiers adapted to a new role with eight-man teams mounted in Land Rovers with a range of detectors and sensors.

They worked with the Royal Marines and 7th Armoured Brigade.

TA reservists learn new skills and are paid Army rates for the days they train.

Anyone aged between 18 and 32 who is interested in joining A Squadron should contact Captain Alan McGinn at Swindon TA Centre on 01793 523865.

Gareth Bethell