THE dust and sweat clings to your back. The air is thick and humid and the night is choked with the white noise of millions of trilling insects and howling monkeys.

This has been the experience of Herefordshire woman Alexandra Scott, 31, who is serving in Belize.

This is the first time she has been to Belize on exercise and she says she has really enjoyed the experience: "It's been great." she said.

Alexandra is a remedial physiotherapist with Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) and an old girl of Hereford Cathedral School.

She really enjoys the travel aspect of her work and has been deployed to many different parts of the world since she joined up in 2004.

"It's great to get away and see a bit of the world," says Alexandra.

"This is my first time in South America and once you get used to the humidity you just get on with the work - it's nice to have a bit of sun for a change. "

The jungles of Belize are a long way from the rolling hills, secluded bays and cloud-covered peaks of the Mourne Mountains of Co Down Northern Ireland, but the six-week long jungle training exercise "Tropical Storm" is just another stop on the busy intinerary of the 1st Battalion, The Cheshire Regiment.

The last few years have offered contrasting experiences including a six-month tour of Iraq and two years as the resident battalion at Abercorn Barracks Ballykinler.

When the battalion arrived in Northern Ireland from Iraq, they were off the boat no more than 24 hours when they exchanged gunfire with loyalist rioters.

Aside from this blip, the tour of the Province has been notable for the greatly reduced tempo of operations.

As the practical effects of normalisation have taken hold, it has made it a lot easier for Northern Ireland-based resident battalions to get involved in more conventional training.