It was Napoleon who first acknowledged the importance of refuelling troops for battle by stating that 'an army marches on its stomach'.
Striking a chord with logistic regiments across the UK, the famous quote marks a recognition of the work done behind the scenes to get a soldier ready for ops.
It may not be the sexy side of combat, but without the refuelling of vehicles, the supply of food, water and ammunition, and the maintenance of vehicles, the fight could never truly be won.
So for the first time, 10 Transport Regiment, The Queen's Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment (QOGLR), part of 101 Logistic Brigade, has been working alongside the battle group they will be supporting when they leave for the dust of Afghanistan in October.
Under Exercise Grand Prix Viper 2, the loggies were based at Sosian - a wide-open sprawl of wilderness in western Kenya - and almost three hours' drive away from the Grenadier Guards they were working to support:
"This is fantastic training," said Brigadier Angus Fay, Commander 101 Logistic Brigade. "In fact I would say it's the best training we have had in a long time as the battle group we are working with here is the one we will support in the future.
"It is the first time ever that we have done this and co-ordinated our efforts to provide sophisticated services. This is about as close as we get to the real thing - we can take what we are learning here forward and continue to build on it. It is excellent experience for the soldiers."
Crucial to their deployment as part of 11 Light Brigade on Op HERRICK 11, the exercise demonstrated a real-time situation where the convoys were under constant threat from insurgent attacks as they made their way to resupply the Guards' battle group.
"This is what the soldiers here join the Army to do. They have really risen to the challenge. They love coming out here and taking part in this exercise - they have been really enthusiastic as it shows them the way forward."
Captain Giles Sugden, Adjutant of 10 Transport Regiment, The Queen's Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment
Before leaving on their precarious journey, the Gurkhas briefed their commanders using maps drawn in the dirt to show potential threats and demonstrate their protective tactics.
The distances covered to reach the battle group were representative of those they will face in southern Afghanistan, forcing the loggies to plan ahead in terms of quantity of supply as constant convoys will not always be possible.
The sheer distance and off-road nature of driving is also a training opportunity unique to the Army in Kenya - there is nowhere in the UK that provides the terrain needed for this type of activity.
Captain Giles Sugden, Adjutant of 10 QOGLR, said the exercise gave the loggies a deeper insight into how they fit into the wider picture once on deployment:
"There is no training area in the UK that would facilitate this type of driving training," he explained.
"This is the first time the logistic regiment has been out here on this serial in Kenya. We have never operated as a regiment in support of a battle group or brigade before. We have learnt to integrate and support a brigade and they have learnt the same with us. You couldn't ask for a better training opportunity."
To increase the authenticity of the exercise, the loggies shipped out their entire fleet of vehicles - around 90 in total, including Oshkosh water and fuel tankers and DROPS (Demountable Rack Offload and Pickup System) vehicles. After arriving at the port of Mombasa these were driven to Sosian in a mammoth four-day convoy over narrow rocky tracks and rough terrain:
"There is a training element to us bringing all our vehicles over," explained Capt Sugden. "This helps the soldiers to learn all the way through the exercise. They will experience exactly what it feels like to be in the heat and dust with heavy logistic support vehicles.
"This is the first time the logistic regiment has been out here on this serial in Kenya. We have never operated as a regiment in support of a battle group or brigade before. We have learnt to integrate and support a brigade and they have learnt the same with us. You couldn't ask for a better training opportunity."
Captain Giles Sugden, Adjutant of 10 Transport Regiment, The Queen's Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment
"For example, visibility is limited because of the dust clouds and the terrain is tough on the vehicles - they may experience problems that need to be fixed. This is all increasing the soldiers' awareness for deployment to Helmand province."
When the regiment leaves for its tour of Afghanistan it will often be a long and perilous path they must travel on their mission to refuel those on the front line, forcing them to beef up in all areas of combat to protect their cargo.
To ensure they are at the top of their game, the exercise also allowed the Gurkhas to sharpen their general soldiering skills with time on the firing range, looking at equipment care, communications and first aid:
"This is what the soldiers here join the Army to do," added Capt Sugden. "They have really risen to the challenge. They love coming out here and taking part in this exercise - they have been really enthusiastic as it shows them the way forward.
"Obviously we're hoping we can do this again but we'll see what happens in the future. For the type of soldiering we will be expected to do I think this has been an essential part of our training."
This article first appeared in the June 2009 issue of Soldier - Magazine of the British Army.