THEY are ready to fly out at a moment’s notice to pluck the injured from the battlefield.

The Immediate Response Team (IRT), crewed by personnel from RAF Odiham, is based just yards from the Chinook hangars at Camp Bastion.

The four-man team spends a 24-hour shift in a tent, essentially waiting for a phone call that will instruct them to pick up either injured soldiers or civilians within what is known as the “golden hour”.

They are joined on the flight by RAF medics who will often give emergency treatment on the floor of the aircraft as it flies back to the hospital at Camp Bastion, said to be one of the best in the world for trauma cases.

I spent two afternoons in the tent talking to two different crews about their experiences of what can often be a harrowing job.

Flying Officer JJ Gooding, 23, of 18 (A) Squadron, said: “We live in this little tent. The aircraft are prepped and ready to go. Then it’s lift-off and we run to the flight line.

“We spend most of the time picking up guys who have been injured by Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), some of which are single, double or triple amputees.

“We obviously hope we do not get called, but we know we are going to because guys get hit.”

When they are not in the air, the crew tries to relax by watching DVDs of the latest comedies, reading magazines, or resting in their beds. But the thought of that call coming in is never far from their minds.

Squadron Leader H Bailey, 41, from 18 (A) Squadron, said: “I do not particularly like it because I’m on tenterhooks. As soon as we get a call, that’s fine and your training kicks in and you go for it. But waiting for that phone to ring is awful.”

I also caught up with Flight Lieutenants Leon Fisher, 28, and Richard Smithson, also 28, of 18 (B) Squadron at RAF Odiham, at the end of their IRT shift.

They said they had responded to five calls, including one report of three British injuries. It was later confirmed that two of the men they collected, Lance Corporal Alan Cochran, 23, and Corporal Terry Webster, 24, of Mercian Regiment, 1st Battalion, had died following the gun battle in the Nahr-e Saraj of Helmand Province.

In a separate mission, they also picked up a three-year-old Afghan girl who had suffered a gunshot wound.

In a very matter-of-fact way, Flt Lt Fisher said that coming under enemy fire on landing is a regular threat, and the Chinook is often flanked by Apache helicopters for protection.

He added: “It’s the most rewarding job I have had or will ever have. However, it’s not nice, especially when you have to pick up injured troops. But you know you will do everything to get to them and pick them up as soon as you can.”