IRAQ AFTER THE WAR: RAF Flt Sergeant Nigel Malyon was in Afghanistan last year - now he is serving in Iraq and he says it's a better place to be.

"The living facilities we have and the welfare side of things are much better here," he said.

"I think it's because we have learnt from past experiences."

Nigel is currently serving with the RAF Lyneham based UK Mobile Air Movements Squadron (MAMS) helping to relaunch Basra International Airport in the south of Iraq.

He said: "I do enjoy being out here and doing the job I am paid to do. The hours are long but there is nothing else to do.

"Having said that I do miss things like an English pub and having a couple of pints, and I also miss not having my own car to get around in.

"The weather is hot but I have adapted to it. It is not ideal but you do get used to it."

Nigel, like the rest of the UK MAMS people, agrees that the airport is still in a pretty good condition because the Coalition did not bomb it.

However he said there had been quite a bit of damage inside the airport buildings.

"Anything that was not nailed down was also taken," he said.

"But things are going really well and all the guys have done well. We can handle aircraft already and things are going on improving.

"Conditions are totally different down here to what we usually encounter, but it is top of the range stuff and the airport is a credit to the German company who built it."