TWO young Cronulla men, privates Todd Haig and Dominic Simpson, will commemorate this year's Anzac Day in Camp Qargha, Afghanistan.
The Australian Army soldiers from First Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment, in Townsville, are part of the Force Protection Platoon at the Afghan National Army Officer Academy near Kabul. They are there as part of Operation Slipper.
Private Haig, 22, a former De La Salle College student, said he and Private Simpson, 21, did not know each other before their deployment but thought it likely their paths had crossed in the past given their love of surfing and rugby league.
"It's funny, we reckon we must have played each other in rugby league during high school but we cannot quite place an exact time," he said.
"We both enjoy our surfing and the Rabbitohs, which is very unusual for us shire boys."
Private Simpson, a former Georges River College — Oatley Senior Campus student, said it was a good experience to be deployed with someone with whom he could share stories about home.
"This will be the first Anzac Day for us both overseas on operations and it's certainly something we won't forget," he said.
They are nearing the halfway point of their deployment and will return home around the middle of the year.
Following the completion of Australia's mission in Afghanistan's Uruzgan province last year, Australia's efforts shifted to providing training and advisory support to the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF).
About 400 Australian defence personnel will continue to work in Afghanistan in 2014 through training and mentoring the ANSF in both Kabul and Kandahar.
About 800 personnel are deployed in the Middle East.