HUNDREDS of Colchester-based soldiers who are fighting in Afghanistan will endure the hardship of being parted from their families at Christmas.

Warrant Officer Neil Lewis will be spared the pain of separation – but he won’t be snuggling up in front of the fire with his wife.

Better-half Michelle is also a warrant officer with Colchester-based 16 Air Assault Brigade, and the pair will be spending the festive season at Camp Bastion in the Afghan province of Helmand.

They live and work about two miles from each other at the huge air base and get together about once a day for a cup of tea and a chat.

Mrs Lewis said: “Compared to other couples, we know we are really lucky.

“The rest of our colleagues have to manage with just a 30-minute phone call each week, while we can see each other almost every day.”

Mr Lewis added: “If you have had a bad day, it is really nice to catch up for a chat.

“Once a week, we meet at the coffee shop in the evening for a drink, and discuss our holiday plans for when we get leave.”

While this is the first time they have served abroad together as husband and wife, it was a previous deployment which brought them together.

Michelle explained: “We were waiting for our flight home after a tour in Iraq, and met over a coffee at the Naafi cafe.

“We were serving in the same regiment at the time, and got engaged after we returned to our base in Abingdon.”

The couple then returned to Iraq for a second tour, working at the air base at Basra.

When asked if they are concerned about each other’s safety, Mr Lewis said: “We received a lot of incoming rocket fire in Iraq, which got a bit hairy at times.

“But the base here is much quieter, so we never really worry about each other.”

Mrs Lewis, 34, originally from Wimborne, Dorset, is a warrant officer class 2 in 16 Medical Regiment, working as a combat human resources specialist.

She is responsible for a team who look after administration for the whole regiment, including booking soldiers’ flights in and out of Afghanistan.

She said: “One of the best parts of my job is giving the medical staff the details for their flights home for rest and recuperation.

“After all they have seen, looking after the injured troops, they really deserve their break.”

Mr Lewis, whose family live in Grimsby, is also a warrant officer class 2, and works in the Theatre Logistic Group.

His team is responsible for tracking the progress of 1,000 shipping containers, on their way to Camp Bastion from the UK via Pakistan, as well as managing the stores at the camp.

Mr Lewis said: “We look after all the ammunition, medical stores, food, fuel, clothing and general defence stores the paras need on the ground.

“We make sure there is always enough kit ready to go out to the forward operating bases on the convoys.”

The 35-year-old, who lives with his wife in Army housing in Colchester, will stay in Afghanistan until April 2011.

Mrs Lewis goes home in February and intends to run the London Marathon in April, to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Mr Lewis explained: “My best man Brian Bowman died in September from cancer. He and his family were helped tremendously by Macmillan, so this is our way of saying thank you.”

After Mr Lewis gets back to the UK in April, the couple are planning a long holiday together.

He said: “We are planning to go to New Zealand for a month, hire a camper van and travel around the country.

“On our way back to the UK, we will probably go to Las Vegas.”