Soldiers from 14 Equipment Support Company REME from 6 Battalion REME, based at Tidworth, were last week dispatching their heavy equipment to Iraq before they themselves took some well earned Christmas and new year leave.

After spending three months in Canada earlier this year, the 120 soldiers of the company, which includes 16 TA soldiers, will start a five-month tour in Iraq early next month.

The majority will be stationed at the former World War II RAF airfield at Shaibah, south of Basra, the logistics base for the British-led multi-national forces in southern Iraq. Others will be spread as far as Al Amarah in the north to Al Zubayr Port and Kuwait in the south.

The company will be supporting the units of 20 Armoured Brigade, which will be replaced by units from the Tidworth-based 1 Mechanised Brigade in April.

Lt Don Lethbridge, the company operations officer told a press conference at Tidworth last week that accommodation for the company in Iraq was good. "We will have secure, air-conditioned tented facilities at Shaibah and there's a gymnasium and a swimming pool," he said.

"Many improvements have been made in recent months."

During their tour he expected further improvements with the arrival of prefabricated portacabin-style accommodation units being transferred from Kosovo.

The main task of the company will be to recover and repair military vehicles ranging from Land Rovers to Challenger 2 tanks from a wide area of southern Iraq.