Ivor Caplin in Iraq

Drop them into a war-ravaged country without proper power or sanitation. Turn the temperature up to a scorching 40C.

These ingredients could easily create a powder keg with the potential to explode into an international disaster.

Yet this military melting pot not only runs efficiently as the multinational headquarters for south-east Iraq, it also oversees the security operation for a quarter of the country.

The multinational division based at Basra international airport is the nerve centre for the military operation in the still-volatile territory.

It runs the only way it can - on military precision.

Life for the British troops on six-month tours of duty is far from comfortable.

They sleep in baking hot, windowless dormitories lined with rows of bunks.

There are no flushing toilets, only banks of chemical loos.

Hand-washing is reduced to a squirt of germ-killing gel.

Shower blocks, housed in temporary buildings, are a march away.

This being the military, there are even strict rules governing how to shower.

A notice on the wall instructs squaddies, officers and VIPs alike: "Step in, shower on, get wet. Soap up, shower on, wash off. Step out, move on, take rubbish with you."

Water is in short supply, so taking more than your fair share is a disciplinary offence.

An army marches on its stomach, as Napoleon said, so providing three meals a day for thousands of hungry troops - with different cultural backgrounds and culinary tastes - is an important task.

The Catering Corps manages to provide a full cooked breakfast, a buffet lunch and at least three choices of supper, albeit eaten with disposable knives, forks and plates.

In recent weeks, fresh fruit has started to reach the base after a long wait.

To help the Americans stave off homesickness, Pizza Hut has flown entire restaurant operations out to Basra.

The Navy, Army and Airforce Institutes (Naafi) provides a selection of non-perishable creature comforts and although Iraq is "dry" alcohol is available, though rationed to two bottles of beer per week for each soldier.

One of the few women I met there was Carolyn Murison, who was on her last day of an eight-month tour in Iraq.

Back home she is an environmental health officer but has been serving with the Territorial Army.

She said: "It's a shock when you arrive but you quickly get used to the way of life here.

"When I get home I think I'll enjoy drinking fresh, cold milk, straight from the bottle.

"I've missed having a bath. I haven't had to think about going shopping, what to wear or what I'm doing next - that has all been planned for me. Thinking for myself will be new."

While working with so many men has become routine for Carolyn, working with Iraqis has posed more of a challenge.

She said: "I think they have found it quite strange to work with a woman - and a tall one at that.

"Some will shake hands. Many just put their hands to their chest for the 'Peace be with you' sign.

"I have tried to be careful not to show the soles of my feet in public, which is offensive here, and we were all advised not to look at an Iraqi woman because they are someone else's property.

"I know of one Iraqi woman who looked at a soldier and was very badly beaten for it.

"It is hard for us to understand but it is their way.

"But on the whole, the Iraqis appreciate we are trying our best and overlook anything offensive."

Carolyn, who has been helping Iraqis rebuild a water plant, said she had been impressed by the progress made in the last eight months.

She said: "I have seen a huge difference in the quality of their lives.

"They have more power. There are more cars on the streets. Schools are being refurbished. Police stations, courts and public facilities are coming together again.

"It's good to see things improving, otherwise I would leave here thinking, 'What the hell was all that for?'. It has left me looking to the future with hope.

"When I came here I said I was going on an adventure and that is exactly what it has been."

Of the 13,000 troops in south-east Iraq, 8,215 are British.

They are joined by Italians, Czechs, Danes, Romanians, Portuguese, Lithuanians, Norwegians, Dutch, New Zealanders and just two troops from Iceland.

The coalition is jointly responsible for security in four provinces, covering the towns of Basra, Umm Qasr, Amarah, Nasariyah and Samawah, which have predominantly Shia populations.

They guard Iraq's only coastline and the Shatt Al Arab waterway.

As well as security, coalition forces are responsible for tackling organised crime such as oil and copper smuggling.

Under Saddam's regime smuggling was state-backed so legitimate power stations and oil refineries became neglected and unviable.

Troops are also involved in building bridges, roads, schools and hospitals, reconnecting power and water supplies, and training police and soldiers. There are times, however, when their aims and the Iraqi people's wishes do not quite match.

As I travelled around Iraq with the minister, it became clear that while the British rated roads and sanitation as the priorities, top of the Iraqis' wish-list was electricity so they could plug in their newly-available TVs and satellite dishes.

But there are teething troubles in all new relationships and after a few tiffs this most unlikely of affairs seems to be slowly blossoming.

The target is to hand back power to Iraq's new leaders on June 30.

Coalition troops will remain - but to guide rather than govern.