'Inside Mastiff 33A ("Withdrawing, we don't retreat"), Feb 2010'

Oil on paper by Jules (Julian) George, Ministry of Defence war artist, 2011.

The painting of Mastiff 33A reveals something of the routine experience of danger encountered by soldiers as they travel around Afghanistan in these heavily-armoured patrol vehicles. As they sit in the confined space in full kit, with a very restricted view of their surroundings and often in searing temperatures, soldiers are continually aware of the potential but unpredictable threat from Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

The painting captures the soldiers' expressionless faces, presenting an outward sign of detachment, as they internalise the tension in these claustrophobic conditions. The sitter on the far right of the picture, Bombardier Robert Fletcher, recollected, 'I would have been sort of on edge because, you know, you've got to react to anything that happens. It's somewhere where you can take stock, but it's almost like a professional silence.'

The painting is based on two incidents George witnessed at first hand. On one day he was with an artillery fire support team (giving cover to an infantry patrol) that became embroiled in a three-hour firefight against insurgents hidden on the opposite side of a valley. Eventually, the team moved off, causing the artist to ask, 'Are we retreating?' The terse reply that he received, 'We are withdrawing - we don't retreat', was incorporated into the title of the painting.

In the second incident, a Mastiff drove over a buried IED, which exploded canting the vehicle to one side, hence the angled viewpoint in the painting. The driver was airlifted to hospital, lucky to have sustained only a broken leg.

Returning to Britain, George recalled 'the stunning beauty of the Afghan landscape'. Yet, he said, 'these seemingly peaceful views [presented] a scene of perfect serenity at odds with the weapons of an inescapable military presence'.