Press and Journal Article 7 Jan

Territorial Army soldiers left their jobs and families behind yesterday for a compulsory tour of duty in Iraq. A convoy carrying 53 members of the 51st Highland Regiment headed off from Queen's Barracks, Perth, yesterday at noon. They will be joining an advance party of 20 soldiers, who left on New Year's Day, to spend four months in the war-torn country. The troops, who form the UK's largest TA regiment, will guard Shaibah airfield, to the south-west of Basra. The airfield is a desolate place which Saddam Hussein used to billet his soldiers. It now stores British forces' medical and military equipment.

A bus driver, a chef, a fish farmer, a solicitor and a postman were among those leaving behind their day jobs yesterday to serve their country in the compulsory mobilisation for Operation Telic. The troops, who represent the Black Watch, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and The Highlanders territorial units, have undergone an intensive two-month training programme in weapons, biological and chemical warfare, Islamic culture and the history of the Iraqi conflict to prepare them for the tough job ahead.

Company Sergeant Major Ewen Marshall, their full-time leader and trainer, said the trip to Iraq would initially be a shock to the system for many of the volunteer troops, but they could take "anything thrown at them". The senior trainer at the Black Watch barracks in Dundee said: "This is one of the best-trained TA units I've seen deployed in operations. "They've been put through their paces and they have worked hard. Some are feeling a bit apprehensive about going. You have to remember that they usually only go on a annual two-week camp, so reality will hit home when they land in Iraq. But I've no doubt that they can take anything thrown at them."

The only female soldier in yesterday's deployment was Private Jolene MacKay, from Wick. The 21-year-old supermarket assistant is on her first deployment with the TA. The young soldier said she and the lads had a few nerves, but said joining the Army had always been her dream. "Everyone is apprehensive but they are also excited. It's a new experience. We just want to get out there and put everything we have planned into action." While fiancé, Klint Pickering, 29, is worried about her, being the only female in the deployment does not bother Pte MacKay. "The boys all treat me as one of the gang and, jokes aside, I am their equal. I don't get any preferential treatment and I don't expect any. I'm here to pull my weight just as much as the rest of them."

Speaking from her home in Wick last night, mum Pearl said the family were worried about Jolene, but said her adventurous daughter was doing what she loved. She added: "It's her life. I am not happy but I can't stop her. I would rather she was at home, but she has a mind of her own. She's always looking for adventure. We are very proud of her."

For Inverness Private Andy Lingard this is the second time he will have visited the Gulf. He fought in the first Gulf war as a Regular Army soldier. A storeman with a medical company in Inverness, he will be swapping his job for the role of chef in Iraq.

It has been hard saying goodbye to his wife, Lorraine, and children, Andrew, 8, Daniel, 6, and Emily, 3. He said: "The oldest one has taken it a bit hard."

Corporal Martin Durrand, 30, is returning to Iraq for the second time, after having been involved in the assault on Baghdad last year. The chef from the Norseman Hotel in Wick, knows that things can get pretty hot in the base kitchens, cooking for up to 2,000 soldiers in searing desert heat. He said: "I was out there when it was hot last year in Basra. As I left it was up to 53 degrees, but in the kitchens it was about 70 degrees. You couldn't touch too much metal."

Father-of-two William Hutchison, 38, from Dundee, said he did not mind being called up for service in Iraq. The Dundee City Council employee said: "I have been in the TA for 18 years and this is the first tour I have done. I got called up for it, but I felt it was my duty. I have taken the money for 18 years - it's time to give something back."

New Zealander Douglas Burgoyne, 35, who works for the Amazon Fishing Agency at Kyle, said his boss had not minded him being called away from work for the tour. He added: "He is pretty good. It's my second time since I have been working with him. He let me go to Afghanistan before. He's a pretty-flexible guy."