Five Oxfordshire RAF reservists are preparing to take on the Taliban in a few weeks when they begin a tour of duty in Afghanistan.

The reservists, from RAF Benson's 606 Chiltern Squadron, will also make military history when they join forces with Territorial Army soldiers from the London Regiment's Somme Company to form an amalgamated multi- forces company.

One of the men heading for Afghanistan at the end of March is 22-year-old Stephen Hall from Headington, Oxford. Leading Aircraftsman Hall, a former St Gregory the Great School pupil, is now nearing the end of his pre-deployment training in Kent.

He said: "Training has been very intense, but enjoyable too. Although I'm not exactly sure what to expect, we all now have a pretty good idea and have been well prepared. After so much training, I'm looking forward to getting out there and doing the job. By the time I return I'll have been called up for nearly a year."

The five Afghanistan-bound reservists will take the total number from the squadron currently serving overseas to 23. Some are already in Afghanistan while others are in Iraq and the Balkans.

Commanding Officer, Squadron Leader Charlie Anderson said: "I'm immensely proud of all my personnel in the squadron, but I'm particularly proud of those who have served and are serving overseas on operations alongside their regular counterparts.

"We normally provide personnel to support the Joint Helicopter Command but supporting the TA is a first and a prime example of the 'total force' concept.

"Somme Company has been supplemented by a number of regular soldiers in the past, but it is primarily a TA reserve unit, so all in all it is a bit of an amalgam and truly 'all arms'."

* Two British soldiers were killed in a rocket attack in Helmand, southern Afghanistan, last weekend. The deaths of the two men, who were members of the 29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery, brings the number of personnel killed in Afghanistan since operations began in November 2001 to 50.