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Ex-soldier Alan Lawson swapped the Army for marriage, but with five of the past 10 Christmases spent supporting operations overseas as a MOD civilian, his wife is far from impressed.

Alan joined the MOD in 1985 after a ten-year stint as an infantryman - rising in that time from Junior Soldier to Sergeant:

I鈥檇 probably still be in the Army now if I hadn鈥檛 been married,鈥� he sighs. 鈥淲e came to an agreement that I would come out and get a real day job, then she鈥檇 marry me, but I could 鈥榩lay TA [Territorial Army]鈥� at weekends.

Alan, who works in a Permanent Joint Headquarters J8 (Finance and Human Resources) role at Northwood, had his first taste of supporting operations as a civilian when he was commandeered to be a policy advisor (PolAd) in Iraq while deployed there as a reservist. Relishing the experience, he quickly volunteered to deploy again.

Several deployments on, the now 55-year-old鈥檚 most recent stint has been in Afghanistan, based in Camp Bastion during HERRICK 15 as the Civil Secretary (CivSec) in charge of the deployed British civilian support staff across the area of operations:

There are three main parts to the job,鈥� explains Alan. 鈥淩egularity and propriety - to make sure finance is done properly, that people consider it and take it seriously.

Then there鈥檚 the commercial aspect. The big contracts are let and run and administered by the coalition partners, but with in-theatre advice; such as the supply of fuel and food. Operational requirements not covered under the main contracts can be sourced and purchased in theatre by a small commercial team:

You name it, the commercial team will find it and buy it,鈥� says Alan. 鈥淲e have bought some very peculiar things over the last year, ranging from flags to drape over coffins for dead Afghan warriors to traditional bread for the locals, who find our Western bread to be indigestible - all sorts of strange things.

The CivSec鈥檚 third role is looking after people. It鈥檚 a huge line management responsibility in a highly pressured environment. At any one time there are some 200 MOD civilians, 400-a-year, working, eating and, when they get the chance, relaxing, side-by-side, day-in-day-out for an average six months at a time.

With a range of personalities, each with their own problems, brought together in the confines of the base, it鈥檚 easy to see how pressures can build. If there鈥檚 someone who rubs you up the wrong way, and inevitably there will be (and bear in mind it might be you who鈥檚 unwittingly doing the rubbing), it could change the whole dynamic of a tour for the others.

A deployed civilian must therefore have patience, tolerance, humility and, most importantly, a sense of humour to balance the social pressures. A strong manager to hold things together when the going gets tough is essential. Alan takes it in his stride:

It鈥檚 extremely rewarding, and it鈥檚 just good fun,鈥� he beams.

The 12-14-hour days can take their toll:

The major challenge is tiredness,鈥� says Alan. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e there for six months and people say 鈥榳hat do you do on your day off?鈥� Well there鈥檚 no day off. There鈥檚 usually something different every day, which makes life interesting, but it鈥檚 just sheer hard work.

And he thrives on it.

Even after pre-tour training and any previous experiences of the Forces, the alien military environment of the base itself doesn鈥檛 really hit home until you arrive:

You鈥檙e among the uniforms and guns and it feels like there鈥檚 thousands of people carrying loaded weapons around you 24-hours-a-day - it鈥檚 something that takes getting used to,鈥� and that鈥檚 coming from an ex-soldier.

Working with the military system you鈥檝e got to prove yourself straight away,鈥� continues Alan. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to be good and you鈥檝e got to show that you鈥檙e good. If you can stand your ground, if you can do your job, you鈥檒l be fine. If you鈥檙e not adding value you鈥檒l be ignored.

Which seems fair enough - in an operational theatre there鈥檚 no time to muck about.

MOD civil servants will generally deploy on the same terms and conditions as their military colleagues: six-month tours, two weeks 鈥榬est and recuperation鈥� in the middle, flying out from and returning to Brize Norton on the same troopers, living in the same accommodation, and eating the same food.

As well as filling roles which aren鈥檛 usually carried out by the Forces, such as in commercial and finance areas, deployed civil servants can add value simply by dint of being outside the military machine:

A civilian adviser can be someone the commander is comfortable bouncing ideas off, can have a quiet conversation with, but they are not military and that can sometimes make an awful lot of difference,鈥� says Alan.

And there are some roles which are perfectly suited to the civvies, such as the MOD Police, who are best placed to train the Afghan National Police with their unique insight as a weapons-trained civilian constabulary or gendarmerie, and the 鈥榙eep-down spanner-turners鈥� of the Defence Support Group, some of whom have been repairing vehicles for 20 to 30 years - shop floor experience that you鈥檇 be hard-pushed to match in the military:

So there are a lot of things that we bring to the party,鈥� says Alan.

Most civilians never leave the relative safety of their bases, but if required to do so they are well-prepared:

There might be an occasion when a PolAd would be going out with their brigadier or with their general,鈥� says Alan. 鈥淲e weigh the risks up. We wouldn鈥檛 do anything stupid,鈥� he smiles.

You do pre-deployment training and a lot of assessments happen before you go. You get briefed, you get trained, you get first aid training, you鈥檝e got the body armour and the helmet, so you鈥檙e pretty well tooled up. You know what you鈥檙e letting yourself in for.

In spite of, and perhaps because of the many challenges, you find that civilians who deploy once volunteer to deploy again and again:

鈥楽erial tourists鈥� they call them,鈥� says chief 鈥榮erial tourist鈥� Alan. 鈥淗aving done it once, realising what fun it is, they鈥檒l have another go. You鈥檙e working very hard, but you鈥檙e doing a worthwhile job, and it really is rewarding.

This interview by Shell Daruwala appears in the November 2012 issue of Defence Focus magazine - for everyone in Defence.