The 1st Batallion of the Royal Irish Regisment are currently serving in Afghanistan.

Thirty-five-year-old, father of two Wally Mahaffy from North Belfast, gives a unique insight into life on the front line of a current war zone and the important mentoring role being conducted by Ulster soldiers.

Wally's Blog

What a week! As I find myself adapting to the extreme heat of the Afghan desert, the never ending movement of equipment and weapons, the fierce pace of life of the Afghan Army, it is rare I find five minutes to myself. Anyway, that is what the job is all about.

As a soldier in the 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment life can be extremely varied. At present we are tasked with mentoring the Afghan National Army.

We have formatted ourselves into groupings called Operational Mentoring and Liason Teams or OMLT's for short. What exactly does that mean?

Well, we all have asked the same question. As soldiers we seek to help the Afghan Army in many ways. Equipment, planning and conducting operations are all 'par for the course' as they say. As a 35 year old from North Belfast you may find it strange that helping people find their way and assisting them in their fight comes quite natural.

I see it no different than school for example. We all need someone to take us by the hand and show us how to do the things that don't come naturally. For example my poor mathematics when I attended the Boy's Model School was swiftly sorted out by my teacher's endless amounts of help that continued until I managed to get the arithmetic correct.

But once I had I could do it on my own. That is the same here in Helmand Province. Show the soldiers the right way, stand beside them as they carry out their tasks and most importantly help them whilst they take the fight to the Taleban.

The key is not to do it for them but to point them in the right direction and mentor them through the job at hand.

Now that the scene is set it is time to tell you all about the business end of mentoring. The initial few days in country consisted of endless amount of briefings in order to orientate us to Helmand Province followed by a few days of shooting practice on the local ranges.

It was time to meet the men of the 3/205 Hero Brigade, Afghan National Army. These are soldiers, fathers, sons, grandsons from differing tribal enclaves, but with one common goal. To bring about the defeat of the Taleban Insurgency that has oppressed their country for many years. With exception of appearance these people would not be out of place walking down the shores of Glenarm, shopping in the Abbeycentre or having fish and chips in Beatties on the Shankill Road.

Normal, hard working, streetwise but with an underlying issue. Seems quite a normal type of person to me. But obviously they are identified by their long beards, old tattoos from the Mujahadeen days and a uncanny smile that would 'make you wonder', as they say. Currently I am part of an OMLT team comprising of all ranks that is now dealing with the men of the 3rd Kandak (an Afghan Battalion).

We have begun to help with basic administration tasks such as issueing American M16 Assault Rifles as we trade them for their old AK47 ones from the old wars. New uniforms have been issued in return for a smile and a cup of Chai (strange herbal tea) that would make our soldiers giggle a little after drinking a cupful.

Make them shoot straight, make them believe that they can defeat the enemy and make them believe in who they are. I always remembering my Da say 'Son, where there's a will there's a way'. I have taken this phrase and with the use of my interpreter, or terp as they are known to us, have told these guys that what we are asking them to do is no different than when my Dad told me at the age of 5 to take the stabilisers off my bike one Sunday afternoon at Belfast castle and just go for it.

Life in Camp Shorobak with the ANA, Afghan National Army, is certainly going to be a challenging time. The language barrier is immense and to me sounds like a mixture of tones from Cullybackey and Blackwatertown with an Arabic influence. In the next few weeks we will deploy to the centre of the infamous Green Zone deep in Helmand's most notorious areas and help the Afghan's take the fight to the Taleban.

Continue to log on to my Blog as I will try to paint a picture of how it is out here. Who said life was boring? As we pray for you all at home spare a thought for us, and God Bless.