Cpl Vint largely goes where the Major General goes – driving him and his bodyguard to and from important meetings and visits within the military bases and outside camp:
"I take him wherever it is he wants to go," said Cpl Vint. "A lot of the time, he flies by helicopter and I don't go with him then, but everywhere else it's me that takes him. It's an interesting job. I'm enjoying it, although the best bit for me was the six weeks of training that I did before I deployed – doing lots of driver training and learning different manoeuvres.
"Major General Page has an important job and he's a nice bloke. He had to come back to the UK for a few days for meetings and I drove him over here as well. He was a bit more relaxed then and even offered to drive us, but I wouldn't let him!"
Cpl Vint recently enjoyed some mid-tour leave, just in time to celebrate his 31st birthday at home where also enjoyedseeing his beloved Everton FC make a winning start to the new football season:
"I was really pleased to be home for my birthday but catching the start of the season and seeing Everton win was an added bonus," he said.
This is Cpl Vint's second operational tour of duty since joining the Territorial Army 11 years ago. He served in Iraq in 2003 as part of Operation TELIC. His latest tour in Afghanistan is due to end in October 2007.
156 (North West) Transport Regiment RLC is one of several TA regiments based in the North West. Its HQ is in Allerton, Liverpool, but it also has training bases in Bootle, Salford and Birkenhead. The primary military role of the regiment is to keep the Army on the move by transporting anything, anywhere, anytime. The regiment is equipped with the latest military vehicles, from HGVs and fuel tankers to motorcycles.
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