IN around a month's time, hours of gruelling preparation and training will be put to the test as Chepstow-based soldiers embark on their latest tour of Afghanistan.

For some, Operation Herrick 14 will be their first deployment since they began serving with the 1 Rifles, based at Beachley Barracks.

But for other riflemen in the battalion, this will be their second or third tour.

Yesterday, the media had the chance to see them practice their skills and view some of the weapons they will be using overseas at Caerwent training area.

The six-month tour, to the Nar e Saraj district, will be the second time 1 Rifles as a whole have gone to Afghanistan since their formation in 2007.

The last time they went, the battalion lost eight men, including Jamie Gunn from Monnouth.

Commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel James de la Billière spoke how they will fly out and engage with the Afghan national Army in Helmand Province.

He said his soldiers have had skills training in topics ranging from languages, communicating with local soldiers to hairdressing, so they even can cut each other's hair while on tour.

Major Paul Gaskin said their role has changed somewhat- ground-holding and working with local soldiers to stabilise the country.

He said: "The way to do that is for Afghans to do it themselves and there is a shift to focusing on local people."

For their audience, the soldiers performed a compound clearance, which would normally take three to four hours against enemy forces.

Led by Serjeant Ian Sweet, they carried equipment which detected IEDs and marked a safe route should they need to take casualties away in practice.

During the day, the men carry around 30 to 40 kilograms of kit, including weapons, armour, helmets and supplies.

Lance Corporal Trevor Harris, 35, works in a sniper pair with rifleman James Dennant and has observation equipment to carry, in addition, to monitor movement of people.

Due to the physical demands, they drink around eight litres of water and eat more than 3,500 calories from their 24-hour ration packs.

Serjeant Sweet, whose family is originally from Brecon, said the best part is when they get parcels addressed to 'Soldier, Afghanistan', which include chocolate bars and toothpaste.

He said everyone is "apprehensive" about the tour, but most are looking forward to going out there.

"We go there hoping for the best and that everything will turn out ok," he said.

It will be his third deployment to Afghanistan.

Serjeant Barry Welch, 33, whose wife and children live on the Army estate in Beachley Barracks, shares the same optimism.

"A lot of people do a job on a daily basis, only we have been training for ours for years. I am looking forward to it - this is what we sign up to do," he said.

But for Private Kat Lindfield, 23, this will be her first tour as one of a handful of women on the mission.

She says she does not mind being a minority amongst the male soldiers - as she recently got engaged to one.

"He's a signaller based in Germany and he was on Herrick 15. We got engaged on leave and it's a logistical nightmare - but it helps because we can talk about what we go through together," she added.