A ROYAL Air Force officer from Marhamchurch is playing a vital role in keeping the RAF's personnel in contact with one another in Afghanistan, helping to defeat the brutal Taliban insurgency.

Squadron Leader Chris Bagnall, 31, leads the elite Tactical Communications Wing at Kandahar Airfield. His team of specialist airmen work with multi-million pound communications equipment, ranging from encrypted telephone systems to satellite communications dishes. Sqn Ldr Bagnall is responsible for making sure that everything works — and the stakes are high.

"My team looks after all of the communications equipment and computers for the RAF at Kandahar," he said. "If we don't do things properly, people cannot communicate with each other, the UK loses touch of our operations, flying operations could be compromised – ultimately, commanders wouldn't be able to command. That's a big responsibility."

Chris joined the RAF in 1999, and has seen service throughout the UK, in the Falkland Islands and the Middle East. Usually based at RAF Leeming in North Yorkshire, he has been to Afghanistan before, and says he enjoys getting to grips with the challenges.

He added: "The biggest challenge is making the best of the difficult conditions we find ourselves in. As well as the dust and heat, which can play hell with our equipment, we have to bear in mind the risk of the occasional rocket attacks. Although we're very well protected here, some weeks ago our buildings were hit by shrapnel from a rocket. That was a sharp reminder that we're facing a determined and dangerous enemy."

Sqn Ldr Bagnall returns to the UK next week, and is looking forward to seeing loved ones — including his fiancée, Kate Martinez-Jenkins, 35, a sales rep from Swindon.

"It's been difficult to be away from Kate," he said. "Going away from home is always the toughest thing about being deployed, and getting home is something we all look forward to."

With a full military wedding to look forward to in September, Chris knows that there will be plenty of hard work when he gets home. Nonetheless, his immediate plans are simple: "I just want to get back, head out into the countryside with Kate and our dog for a long walk, and end up sipping a pint in a beer garden. After nothing but dust and blistering sun for the last few months, a calm English evening will be fantastic."