British troops expecting action in Afghanistan soon
British servicemen and women in Oman have been put on standby to go into action against Afghanistan.
Military chiefs are holding the official line that troops are concentrating purely on an exercise planned months ago.
RAF personnel are among those who have been warned to be ready for the real thing once the exercise is over.
It has been reported that 1,000 British troops, including members of the SAS, are to be deployed in Afghanistan.
British commanders in Oman insist troops will start heading back to the UK at the end of this week.
However, Steve Ward, 36, a Chinook helicopter technician, says he and his colleagues are expecting to go home, but possibly only for a few days. "There's a lot of people told not to hand in their kit, put it like that," he said.
Mr Ward, a chief technician with Joint Helicopter Force, who is based at RAF Oldham, Hampshire, added that as they are acclimatised to the region, they are more likely than others to be sent to operations in Afghanistan.
Mr Ward, who has been in Oman since August 3 and has two weeks left to go, says he is expecting five days' leave: "Everyone's pretty tired and I think it's recognised that they need a bit of down time."
Despite the situation in Afghanistan, military commanders in Oman insist the forces there will leave the country as planned before the Muslim Holy Month of Ramadam starts on November 17.
But one senior Navy source said it was "not beyond the wit of man" to expect some of the 22 warships on the exercise to remain in the region.
