The four of us sat around John's bed space. Or at least the other three sat. I stayed standing as my arse was killing me. We were all going through John's kit, stuffing his gear into bin liners so it could be shipped home to his wife.

Si had switched on John's radio while we worked. I reckoned we were all glad of that as it saved us having to say anything to each other. Well, there wasn't really much to say. When the news came on at half past, we all stopped to hear the report on Afghanistan. As usual, the news girl kept it brief: 'Last night in Afghanistan, British Forces continued their military offensive against the Taliban. Over three thousand British troops are currently taking part in Operation Condor. Their aim is to take control of the Taliban poppy-growing region in Southern Afghanistan. The MoD's spokesperson, Major Jennifer Dufton, said that British ground forces were encountering small pockets of resistance, but that good progress was being made…' Si got really pissed off and hit the Off button. 'Good progress my arse. I can't listen to any more of that crap.' He leant forward on the bed and pulled out John's patrol pack from underneath it. Toki nodded his agreement, and pointed at a pile of thin blue airmail letters sticking out of the top.

'Flash. Those blueys. Sit down and read 'em. Check they're all from John's wife, will you? Or his mum and dad. If not, burn them.'

Flash shook his head as he bent down for the blueys. 'The man's dead. It's not right.'

'I know, but do you really want his wife reading letters from some other woman? They could just be from a sister, but we can't take that chance, mate. It happened in Basra when a guy from A Company got hit by a sniper. His wife got all his personal kit, and in there was a pile of blueys from another woman. John's family have enough problems as it is.' Toki scanned our faces as if searching for clues. 'That goes for all of us. Let's get John's stuff sterile. If we see anything dodgy, bin it.' Flash quickly started sorting through the blueys while we got back to sorting out John's kit.