Reverend David Latimer of First Derry Presbyterian will join the seventy medical staff of 204 (NI) field hospital unit in England on June 24 for a week's training with the army medical services in Strensell outside York.
The unit will then travel to the most troubled area of Afghanistan, Helmand province, for a four month tour.
The reverend has been a member of the Territorial Army for 25 years but this will be his first experience in a war zone.
"Early July we travel to Kandahar then we have the short but dangerous journey to Camp Bastion," he expalined.
"We are not only providing medical and spiritual care for allied troops but also innocent Afghans including many children who are caught up in terrible fighting. They are cared for in exactly the same way.
"We have a range of specialist doctors and nurses coming with us including intensive care, burns, orthopaedic and paediatric specialists as well as lab technicians, radiographers and an A and E consultant."
The Reverend is naturally feeling trepidation ahead of his trip to the country, one of the world's most lawless.
"As the time approaches I do question my sanity at going.
"I'm nervous of course, it's something none of us have done before. I'm out there to help address the pain of others but I have to remember that I'm human and will have similar problems.
"We have seen pictures of the kind of injuries that are being suffered out the and it's like an abbatoir.
"It's gut wrenching that in the 21st century we are doing things that we associate with uncivilised nations.
"I don't think we should be over there really. Why are we taking young men and women into this situation where rising numbers are not returning home?
"Our model for the way a country should be run may not be suitable for cultures different to our own."
The Reverend Selwoode Graham will stand in for Reverend Latimer in his absence.