Reporter Nadia Stone spent the weekend on exercise with 6 Rifles as they prepare for a tour of duty in Afghanistan:

OUR hearts start to race at the sound of an explosion.

We're on patrol in what, for the purpose of the exercise, is Afghanistan, and an IED (improvised explosive device) has just detonated, causing significant injury to one of the men.

This is a chance for the TA infantry battalion to practice their skills, from covering each other, getting out of a dangerous situation, and helping someone who is injured.

I'm following Rifleman Phil Hanson, from Churchdown, and I'm swept up in the action.

As 23-year-old Phil, who joined the TA when he was 19, later tells me, these exercises teach you something new every time, and they're a chance to consolidate the skills you have, repeating things again and again until they're instinctive.

The group I'm with move as a unit, staggered and spaced exactly, all responding to set hand gestures that remain a mystery to me.

They move this way on a set pre-organised route, looking for information as they go which they can feed back to those at the FOB (Forward Operating Base).

We are invited into the local village, where those who have already been to Afghanistan pose as locals, dressing as they do and adhering to the same customs.

The idea is to recreate, as much as possible, the world soldiers could see in Afghanistan.

As one man from a different group goes missing, there's tangible tension in the group.

Our group is halved as they try to find him. We're left waiting in the village unable to leave.

At the end of the exercise, the whole group will receive feedback, but so will individuals.

As commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Tim House says: "It's about practising individual skills, and giving them awareness about how people react to them, and how they conduct themselves. It is particularly important for them to be as prepared as possible to talk to people in Afghanistan."

In the briefing before we head out, the soldiers are reminded to be friendly, which is difficult considering they do not know who is a friend and who is not.

It seems like a lot of pressure, but not one of the people I speak to has anything negative to say.

As Phil Hanson, who has a place at Sandhurst next autumn, tells me the Army is made up of passionate people who, in the main, very much want to be there.

He says: "It's a sense of duty. I feel what we're doing is right, and that is why we're there for the right reasons. Of course I'm concerned about going out. I think, if you're not, you're being naive, I'd feel like I wasn't doing my bit if I didn't want to go."

His enthusiasm is shared by Tom Wykes, 21, who joined the TA base in Eastern Avenue when he was at university studying sport and exercise science.

He tried to join the regular Army from school but couldn't because of a broken bone in his ankle.

He said: "I've got a lot out of being in the TA. My fitness is good, I've met lots of people and my confidence has gone up. It's totally different from university.

"We have to have a bit of fun, but it's also serious work. Going to Afghanistan is the next step.

"If you give up your weekends and do the training, you naturally want to go out and now would be the right time for me."