Medcaps take place roughly once a month, and, like illegal raves, the locations are kept secret until the last moment. Five hundred tickets are handed out to the local population, which means that up to three times that number will turn up, as mothers often bring three or four children each.

An abandoned warehouse that had once stored raisins and almonds is secured by UK troops (including snipers on the rooftops), while lines of Afghan civilians queue to be seen by coalition or Afghan medics.

Captain Rob Faulconer is advising an Afghan man who complained of constipation:

"We can help with simple stuff, and offer reassurance and simple intervention," he says. "If someone's got an infection, you can hit them with an antibiotic, but for chronic illness it's another story."

The medics' arsenal is basic: antibiotics, painkillers, vitamins, worm pills. Cases are "triaged", with the most serious ones being seen first. Anyone found to be in good health is not sent away empty handed, though: they are given simple medical provisions, such as aspirin and multivitamins. The local diet relies heavily on rice and white bread, despite the plentiful fruit and vegetables in the street markets, and malnutrition is a problem.

The drugs are paid for with American money, and the US also provides some of the medical practitioners. The Kabul support group (see below) provides security and some "medical observers".
 
On the day we visit, there is also five Afghan national Army doctors and three Afghan civilian medical staff.

The participation of Afghan medics is vital to the project, says Captain Peter Dale:

"Putting an Afghan face on the treatment is our route out of here."

Coughs and colds are usual at this time of year, as well as skin infections like ringworm. Arthritis is a common complaint among older people, but the teams cannot do much for the crippling illness besides handing out painkillers. Most of the ailments seen at medcaps are minor, although one woman attending the previous session had a heart attack while on the site, and had to be medevaced to hospital.

Medcap has a serious healthcare agenda, but the clinics also improve relations between coalition troops and the locals. the operation is as much about hearts and minds as it is about stomachs and infected toes.

Lieutenant Colonel Nick Cheshire is commanding officer of the Kabul support group, based in camp souter. His troops are responsible for security in a 24-square kilometre area of north Kabul, and conduct regular foot patrols with the Afghan national police:

"Things like medcaps offer an opportunity to take the edge off some of our more military based activities," he says. Meanwhile regular "shuras", roughly equivalent to local council meetings, are used to consult local people about their needs.

"We're trying to make life bearable by asking people what they want, rather than simply giving them what we think they need."

The Kabul support group also works with project officers from the UK's department for international development on "micro-projects": distributing seedcorn money for small businesses. Anyone with an idea for a sustainable business can get around $250 to start it up. It's hoped that such smallscale initiatives will help increase economic security in the area:

"We're trying to flutter the British flag," says Nick Cheshire.

They do so quite literally: UK forces have been encouraging kite flying, an Afghan national obsession:

"Often you see Coldstream Guards flags on the children's kites," he says.