20th Armoured Brigade (The Iron Fist) is currently taking part in a huge army exercise in Canada, to help prepare them for their deployment to Afghanistan next year.
The three-month-long Exercise Prairie Thunder is held at the British Army Training Unit Suffield (BATUS), located in the heart of the vast plains of Alberta in the west of Canada.
The brigade is due to deploy to Afghanistan next year and Exercise Prairie Thunder forms part of their preparations leading up to their mission specific training.
Surrounded by endless barren prairieland it's not hard for the 1,200 soldiers taking part to imagine they are actually in the middle of a gruelling tour in Helmand.
They make up a battle group headed by 1st Battalion The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (1 PWRR) – the first of three battle groups from the Germany-based brigade to be put through their paces in the exercise's fictional state of Pokharistan.
Including Pashtu-speaking Afghan actors who live locally in Canada, the scenario is incredibly realistic, with mocked-up villages complete with shops, eateries and schools.
The battle group is able to train in the kind of environment they will face in Afghanistan, conducting counter-insurgency operations, patrols and dealing with locals.
