A soldier from 16 Air Assault Brigade on operational deployment in Zabul Province, Afghanistan, in 2008

igital photograph by Sergeant Ian Houlding, Royal Logistic Corps, 2008.

In 2008 elements of 16 Air Assault Brigade, including the 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment were deployed to the mountainous province of Zabul, near the border with Pakistan.

The soldier taking up a defensive position behind a mud wall is armed with a Minimi machine gun and wears a 'Proud to be English' wristband. The red tipped bullets are tracer rounds, used to mark the trajectory of the ammunition when it is fired.