Corporal Marie Oxley, 209 Signal Squadron, and Corporal Terri Lee, Adjutant General's Corps, on top of a Jackal vehicle in Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan
[Picture: Cpl Steve Wood RLC, Crown Copyright/MOD 2009]
Corporal Marie Oxley of 209 Signal Squadron and Corporal Terri Lee of the Adjutant General's Corps are currently based at 19 Light Brigade's Headquarters in Lashkar Gah, Helmand province.
Both corporals work closely with Brigadier Tim Radford, the Commander of all British forces operating in Afghanistan.
One of Cpl Oxley's jobs is to act as the technical expert for video-link conferences between staff in the Brigade Headquarters and colleagues all over the world, from London to Brussels and Kabul. She said:
"After I've set-up the link I wait outside the door in case there are any technical problems, which if there are, I come in and fix. And no, I don't earwig in on the conversations before you ask," she added laughing.
Meanwhile, Cpl Lee is kept hard at work as the PA to Brigadier Radford which sees her rub shoulders with the great and the good on a regular basis:
"I've met the Prime Minister and all the top brass who come out to have meetings with the Brigadier. Anyone that sees him goes through me first, so it's an interesting job."
But Cpl Lee's job at the start of her tour was very different:
"Initially it was my job to work on casualty tracking, keeping tabs on where in the system injured soldiers were and how they were progressing.
"I have to say it was quite an upsetting job as I knew many of the names I was dealing with.
"But it was just as satisfying to hear how many were safe and recovering back in the UK. I was really impressed by the speed and standard of care our guys were getting."
Cpls Oxley and Lee have just weeks left before they return home to their families following an arduous six-month tour.
But for both, leaving Afghanistan will be bittersweet. Cpl Oxley will return home to find her boyfriend has deployed to Afghanistan for six months, while Cpl Lee will arrive home on the day that her younger brother leaves the UK for the same six-month tour.
Cpl Oxley said:
"To tell the truth I don't really want to come home. That's partly because my boyfriend has just deployed here for six months and I'd really like to be here with him.
"Having said that, going home, seeing my family, and doing some clothes shopping will be some small consolation!"
Cpl Lee also has mixed feelings for very similar reasons:
"I've found out the day I'm due home my baby brother, who is currently serving with 3 RIFLES [3rd Battalion The Rifles], is due to fly out to Kajaki and begin his six-month tour!
"But what's almost as strange is that he will be taking over from my boyfriend who is with 2 RIFLES [2nd Battalion The Rifles] and is based in Kajaki at the moment.
"So on the one hand I'll be happy to be home and happy to see my boyfriend again, but I'll also miss my little brother. But I know he loves his job, so that makes it a little easier at least."
Both soldiers are due to return home early in October.