TWO Territorial Army soldiers have returned to their Kidderminster homes following six-month tours of duty in Afghanistan.

Private Richard Greenhill, of the West Midlands Regiment, and Lance Corporal Rob Wallace, of the Royal Army Medical Corps, had been based in the Afghan capital of Kabul.

Former King Charles I High School pupil, Private Greenhill, was working as an infantry soldier with the Kabul Patrol Company - KPC - as a member of the Quick Reaction Force at Maza e Sharif in the north of the country.

He is keen to join the British police force and said of the Afghan people: "They thank you in the street for coming to their country although, sadly, the city is still mostly poor."

He added: "I think I would have missed out on a lot of character building experiences, had I not been deployed out there.

"One such experience was when I found myself being one of the first into a hostile compound we were patrolling. The adrenaline was pumping but I knew that I had the training and experience to deal with whatever I encountered."

Lance Corporal Wallace, an HGV driver in his civilian life, worked as an ambulance driver and transport co-ordinator in Kabul.

He said: "The main lasting impression which I will have about the country is the meeting of modern and biblical living.

"Some areas I have visited would look perfectly at home in the times of Jesus but then a Toyota would drive past and you are transported back to reality."

One of his toughest challenges was transporting a refrigeration unit to an altitude of 6,000 ft during winter. "At some points on the 17-hour journey, the desert was covered by 20ft of freshly fallen snow," he explained.