Nearly 200 Territorial Army soldiers are working alongside former Soviet bloc troops in Kazakhstan. Soldiers from the 3rd Battalion of the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment have already completed six months in Iraq. Now the challenging, sandy terrain and hot weather of Kazakhstan is being seen as a good place to train for the Gulf. Lance Corporal Tony Scott said: \"It\'s sandy, it\'s hard and recent operations have been in hot weather so it\'s good to get used to that sort of thing.\" Lt Col Tony Guthrie, the battalion\'s commanding officer, said many find it hard to believe they are working alongside former USSR troops. \"I spent my formative years studying tactics and learning how to fight these people,\" he told BBC South East Today. \"You do have to keep pinching yourself and remembering that they are now your friends. \"But actually when you deal with them, it\'s not difficult because they are so incredibly friendly.\" The soldiers are taking part in a two-week camp which is part of a \"Partnership for Peace\" exercise with the Kazakhstan Army, firing ex-Soviet weapons and using Soviet-built helicopters. The 3rd Princess of Wales Royal Regiment is the voluntary infantry regiment for the South East of England, with units across Surrey, Sussex and Kent. Later this year, members of the battalion will participate in a patrol competition in Italy and an exchange programme in the United States. (BBC)