DEEP in the former Soviet Union, a UN aid helicopter has crash- landed and British soldiers have been ordered to secure it and its valuable cargo.

Nearby, two British troops have been hurt on the battlefield – one has been shot – and colleagues must get them to safety.

One of the soldiers has a broken leg and can be treated in the field hospital, the other is in a more serious condition and needs to be evacuated to a hospital 40km away.

Thankfully, neither situation is real.

Rather, they are two of a series of scenarios Territorial Army troops from 7 Rifles, based in Abingdon, travelled to Kazakhstan to train for.

More than 160 TA and regular soldiers from Oxfordshire and southern England spent two weeks at the Illiskiy army base, about 30 miles north-west of Almaty, as part of the annual Operation Steppe Eagle.

Its aim was to train the part-time soldiers for possible action in troublespots such as Afghanistan, as well as pass on valuable skills to Kazakh troops for future peacekeeping assignments.

Men and women from a range of backgrounds, including a barrister, detective, BT engineer and mum donned military uniforms to take part in the exercise.

Troops got to try Kazakh army weapons including a handgun, an AK47 Kalashnikov rifle, and a ground-shaking rocket propelled grenade – RPG – launcher, a weapon favoured by terrorists.

Meanwhile, the Kazakh Air Mobile Brigade and a battalion of conscripts got the benefit of the British Army’s expertise, as the country makes a bid to get Nato accreditation to send its troops on peacekeeping missions, which could include Afghanistan.

Training involved lessons in carrying out searches and setting up cordons, how to search safely for IEDs (improvised explosive device), patrolling techniques and handling riots.

Now in its seventh year, Operation Steppe Eagle culminated in an intensive three-day exercise involving the TA and Kazakh troops.

Soldiers had to respond to mortar attacks and guerilla ambushes, as well as searching and capturing insurgents out to kill them.

There was also a riot by villagers and a car bomb explosion.

Midway through the fortnight a sports day gave troops a chance to flex muscles and uphold the honour of the countries taking part – Britain, Kazakhstan and the US, which had also sent troops to the exercise. The host country chose the sports, which included arm wrestling, tug of war, power weightlifting, a relay race and football.

Kazakhstan won the first four events, but for the first time in seven years the UK team did not go home empty-handed, coming out on top in the football tournament.

Major Marcus Dicks, 40, who commands TA troops based at Edward Brooks Barracks, in Abingdon, has been in the TA for 22 years and has completed tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said the days when TA soldiers were never expected to see active service were long gone.

The Abingdon unit currently has soldiers out in Afghanistan, while two recently returned home after they were injured in an bomb explosion.

He said: “They’re fine. They were blown out of the vehicle and broke a leg landing outside. They have both been very lucky.

“Our guys are doing proper stuff, not guarding the camp or office jobs. They’re fully integrated with the unit.”

He said the exercise in Kazakh-stan was an excellent chance for the Rifles to train in a country similar to Afghanistan, although communication difficulties slowed everything down.

None of the Kazakh troops spoke English, so everything had to be translated through an interpreter.

He added: “When I joined the TA, we were prepared to fight the Soviets, now we’re here training them.”

By day Major Dicks is a best practice manager for a construction firm in Bristol but at weekends he puts on an Army uniform.

He said: “Most people only ever see this on films or television. You get to do a lot of things you wouldn’t ordinarily do.”

Lt Col Paul Uden, the commanding officer of 7 Rifles, said: “We’re here as part of the Nato Partnership for Peace exercise programme.

“It’s the seventh annual exercise and the main aim is to conduct peace support operation training for the second battalion of the Kazakh Air Mobile Brigade.

“At the same time it’s our annual training camp, so we use the fantastic facilities here to conduct a week-long live firing package, which culminated with a company live firing attack over 900 metres through very difficult terrain.

“In fact it’s the perfect operation for us, because it simulates the terrain and heat of Afghanistan.

“That’s purely a coincidence – the main aim is to train the Kazakh brigade to such a level they receive Nato accreditation for the second brigade in 2010.”

Lt Col Uden said there were differences in how the Kazakh and British armies were run, namely only officers among the Kazakh troops could make a decision.

Soldiers from 7 Rifles will have a chance to volunteer to go on a tour of duty to Afghanistan in late 2011.

The exercise concluded with an official visit by Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.