Family man Mick Natynczyk has swapped his toolbox for a kitbag to join fellow Territorial Army soldiers massing in the Gulf.

For Mick, a self-employed mechanical technician from Keighley, is a reservist corporal with the 4th Volunteer Battalion The Parachute Regiment.

In just a matter of days he will be leaving behind the drill hall to join the thousands of troops readying themselves for a possible conflict with Iraq.

Like many of his fellow reservists, the 34-year-old is ready to put his years of training into practice.

Mick said: "It is the first time I've been mobilised but I'm happy and proud to be going.

"It's a similar scenario if you go to football training and never get to have a game. This is our chance to prove to ourselves and to everyone else that we have done justice to ourselves.

"Obviously, there is a lot of apprehension about the extent to which we become involved, but this is what we have been prepared for.

"I like to think I'm ready for this and I'm confident because we have trained hard for this scenario."

A family man, Mick said the hardest thing would be leaving behind his wife Julie, who is a sales assistant in Keighley, and children Jody, 16, and James, 12.

"I'm concerned about being away from my family and it is hard on them, but this has been on the cards for some length of time and they have had time to adjust and come to terms with it," he said.

"They have been incredibly supportive and I hope that I am doing them proud."

Mick joined the regiment -- based at Thornbury Barracks in Pudsey -- in 1994, after initially thinking about a full-time career in the armed forces.

As a section commander, he will be in charge of an eight-man rifle company, which is likely to be slotted in with the regular army.

After spending time at the Regiment Training Mobilising Centre, in Nottingham, Mick will spend several days in training and join up with the 1st Battalion before deployment.

"The closest I've come to the very hot conditions we'll experience was training in North Carolina, but we should have time to acclimatise, " he added.

Although the threat of possible conflict with Iraq still divides public opinion in Britain, Mick is sure about his course of action.

"I'm quite happy with what we are about to do. We don't want a war to happen, but if it does come we are trained to take that task on."