A soldier from Huddersfield had a Christmas break with a difference – travelling to Africa to train troops.
Lieutenant Darayus Vachha, 22, caught some winter sun while visiting Uganda with the British Army Reserve.
But it also felt like home as part of the exercise was conducted in torrential rain!
Lt Vachha was part of a team of regular and reserve soldiers from 4th Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment who travelled to the East African country.
He is based at the Drill Hall in Huddersfield and helped train 1,800 Ugandan People’s Defence Force soldiers who are due to go into Somalia next year on a peacekeeping mission.
Lt Vachha said: “Uganda has been outstanding, it’s very warm and when it rains it really rains.
“It’s nice to see something so different from England. Wherever you go nobody has a bad word to say.
“It’s really good to speak to the Ugandan officers and connect with them.
“They are very friendly, they all get together on Saturday and talk about football. I support Arsenal and loads of them do as well so we’ve had a laugh about that.”
Lt Vachha was part of a team of 28 British soldiers were deployed to Singo camp in the south of the country to give two weeks of training.
The troops had to endure tropical rainstorms and temperatures of up to 34°C as they delivered combat and counter-insurgency training in rural and urban settings.
They worked alongside soldiers from America, France and Denmark on a range of realistic, intelligence driven exercises.
The Ugandan soldiers were shown not only how to deal with IEDs and defend a convoy from attack but also how to engage with the local community.
They will put this training into practice when they are deployed as part of the African Union Mission to Somalia.
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Lt Vachha, of Corunna Company, hopes to use his experience in Uganda when he applies to join the regular army.
He said: “They say the regiment is like a family and everyone is willing to give up their time to help.”
Lt Vachha returned to the UK following the two-week training exercise then jetted off to Hong Kong to spend time with his family.
Corunna Company is based at the Army Reserve Centre on St Paul’s Street in Huddersfield.
Lt Vachha was joined in Uganda by Corunna Company colleagues including Colour Sergeant David Midgley, 46, and Corporal David Myhowycz, 34.
