ALTHOUGH Worcester man Ricci Lancaster says he is pleased to be back at Athlone Barracks, he also added that going to Kosovo was an experience he was glad to be involved with.

The Lance Corporal said that while it was good to be back in Germany, the six-month tour had presented him with a diversity of work as well as the chance to see another country's culture.

Although the Hussars are a tank regiment, - which also doubles up as an infantry regiment - they perform foot patrol duties with Kosovo's fledgling police service and carried out home and vehicle searches to reduce the amount of guns on the streets.

Ricci - who worked with the intelligence corps during the tour - said it had been demanding, but extremely rewarding.

"I am glad to be back in Germany and back in regimental life," he said.

"It is obviously very different from Kosovo. Being there certainly allowed us to see the difference in culture, but it was also about learning to deal with people properly.

"Many of the people were quite scared when we were searching their homes for weapons, because they thought we were doing the same as the Serbians at first.

"However, we would calm them down and explain we were only trying to get guns off the streets and then they were OK."

Now back in Germany, the Lance Corporal is proving life in the Army offers many different careers.

He has completed an intensive training course as a qualified Army medic.

"The tanks have a lot of very technical equipment on it, so the job is very challenging," he said. "But I am a trained medic so things can get pretty busy.

"Life in the military certainly means you learn about responsibility and there is a lot of very intensive training involved."

However he added there were many rewards for the hard work put in.

"The pay is very good and there are plenty of perks such as adventure activities and the chance to travel," he added.

"It's a great life. When I get home and talk about my life people think I am making it up or bragging. But when you're used to it, you don't realise how it can sound to others."

This is Worcester Picture Special