HE is 8,000 miles from home and training to be sent into war.

But Huddersfield soldier Luke Jamie Sutcliffe-King is loving every minute of his new life.

The Infantryman has been battling the harsh weather and terrain of the Falkland Islands during a two-month tour as part of the British Forces South Atlantic Mission.

And it is training which could stand him in good stead when he deploys to Afghanistan in a few months time.

Private Sutcliffe-King, 19, who serves with Germany-based A Company 1st Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment (1 Yorks) is in the Falklands as part of the British Army’s permanent presence on the islands.

British infantry companies take up the six-week post on rotation, joining more than 1,000 military personnel on the operation, which has existed since the end of the Falklands conflict in 1982 to ‘deter military aggression and reassure the local population’.

Operating from RAF Mount Pleasant – a huge military base on the East Island some 35 miles from the capital Stanley – Luke, a former Shelley College student, has conducted beach patrols, taken part in the islands’ Quick Reaction Force (QRF) and also helped local farmers with their work.

The sparsely-populated Falklands – the majority of its 2,400 citizens living in and around Stanley – provide unrivalled live-fire training opportunities.

It is a great scenario for Pte Sutcliffe-King and his fellow troops from A Company, who are set to deploy to Afghanistan next year.

Luke, who joined the Army in 2006 and has since served in Iraq and South Africa, said: “This is my first time here; it’s been hard work but really good. I have just returned from a week-long coastal patrol of the West Island searching for any sign of a threat.”

The patrols are part of the role of keeping the deterrence profile high in the Falklands.

Military chiefs say the islanders are grateful for the reassurance the British Army provides, which is one of the key objectives of the patrols. The other is to search for anything or anyone who shouldn’t be there.

Luke, whose parents Julian and Alison still live in Huddersfield, added: “During the patrol I met one of the local farmers. He was very polite – we had just done 25km on foot and it had been raining the whole time.

“We were searching the beaches and the sand banks and sometimes were knee deep in the mud. He was good enough to offer us a night’s shelter.

“That’s what the islanders are like – they feel reassured by our presence here and are always happy to see us and help us – they are really generous.

“Farmers in the Falklands really do depend on their farms. The only real shops here are in Stanley so they quite literally live off the land. It’s interesting to see this very different way of life.

“Our packs weigh 60kg and include rations, water, body armour, sleeping bag and ammunition.

It is hard graft, but that’s why we are here, to be toughened up and prepared for Afghanistan.

“I have also had some free time to see some of the wildlife such as the penguins and seals and I am due to go on a battlefield tour and learn about the conflict in 1982.”

Major Phil Bassingham-Searle, in charge of A Coy, said: “It might be a different environment to Afghanistan, but the basics don’t change. You adapt them to the theatre you’re in.

“For the patrol commanders it’s a really good chance to develop their teams. There are plenty of training opportunities here including live firing. It’s a chance to get our basic skills right ahead of going to Afghanistan, and that’s our top priority.”