Recently returned soldiers from 2 YORKS share their training experiences and how they put what they learnt in the UK into practice in Helmand province.

About STANTA

The Stanford Training Area (STANTA) in Norfolk houses a replica rural Middle Eastern village and an urban Middle Eastern complex, which provides all troops deploying on operations with the most advanced training facilities in the UK.

The training camp was designed by the Operational Training Advisory Group (OPTAG) to replicate as closely as possible the situations troops could face on operations in Afghanistan.

With the help of Afghan nationals and others who take on the role of insurgents in these training areas, OPTAG is able to replicate the sights and sounds of Afghanistan.

From the call to prayer heard across a busy market place to a network of claustrophobic alleyways with high walls, the areas provide a realistic way to train troops and test their skills under demanding conditions.

STANTA is a vast range and is used for live firing and non-firing training, with an average of 80,000 troops using it annually.

The whole area, including fields and farmland, equals 43 square miles (124 km2) and represents more than two per cent of the county of Norfolk.