One of the late, great Robert Dunlop's sons - Corporal Danny Dunlop, 23 - and Colour Sergeant Stephen McConnell MC,33, are currently serving with The 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment which has just taken on the responsibility of becoming the 'Spearhead Land Element'.
The role of the SLE involves being put on 24-hours notice to move to any area of the world where British military assistance is required.
Having already completed a tour of Iraq and one of Afghanistan, Danny knows what it's like to be at the heart of the action.
He admits that, like many others in his family, he is one of life's natural risk takers: "In Afghanistan we were shot at quite a bit but it didn't bother me. In fact, I wanted to be in the middle of it all. People say to be careful what you wish for but it gets the adrenaline pumping. It's all good and well until it goes wrong. It's the same with motor biking. You know the risks before you start. That's just the way it is."
In preparation for the SLE role, which could see them dealing with anything from natural disaster to civil unrest, the men joined the nine-hundred strong Royal Irish Battlegroup as they descended on Salisbury Plain for a three-week exercise designed to test the soldiers' resilience and capability in a range of different scenarios.
Through driving rain, the men and women moved across the Plain to secure towns and villages, freeing hostages, dealing with detainees and both civilian and military casualties along the way. In a spectacular night time clash with enemy forces, flares hurled through the sky as the troops stormed a village deep in the heart of Salisbury Plain.
The Battlegroup organised and carried out a series of helicopter drops across the training area, delivering humanitarian aid to the local population, as well as protecting convoys bringing supplies to remote areas. The attached Royal Engineer elements were tested in their ability to restore key infrastructure as they undertook the rebuilding of a bridge on the Plain.
The troops wore 'Tactical Engagement System' kit, consisting of a vest and helmet with sensors attached. The sensors tell the soldier when he has been shot, blown up or injured in any other way, allowing company medics to test their skills in keeping their men fit and healthy for the duration of the operation. The kit is also fitted with a satellite tracking system to allow commanders to see troop formations on the ground.
Using interpreters, the soldiers liaised with and collected intelligence from Afghan nationals, acting as real civilian population across the training area. A number of real military amputees also came back to the field to play the part of injured soldiers. Makeup artists imitated some horrifically realistic wounds on the amputees, which tested the medics in their ability to deal with the reality of the type of injuries that they are likely to encounter during their career.
Danny, a former Ballymoney High School pupil, has been in the Army for six years. "I always wanted to join the Army. I think my parents knew that from quite a young age. I like being out and about and travelling. Both of my brothers ride the bikes so I'm the only one who's gone a different direction.
"To be honest I reckon the biking is probably more dangerous. I think my mum worries more about my brothers than she does me going to war! She knows the reality of what can happen with the bikes and I suppose the Army is a bit of an unknown world to her.
"This training that we are doing is really important because we've got a lot of new guys in the Battalion and they need to get the right training because they are going to come up against an enemy at some point. They need to be thinking for themselves and seeing how we all work together.
"It blows off the cobwebs for all of us and makes sure we are ready to roll."
CSgt McConnell has been in the Army for 15 years and has completed tours of Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan and Iraq.
He said: "This training is vital so that we're as prepared as we can be for any future deployments. For the SLE role we have to have all the admin and logistics sorted so that we are ready to go at 24 hours notice."
CSgt McConnell has been at the heart of the action for real on more than one occasion. In 2008 he was awarded the Military Cross for his actions when his platoon got ambushed in Sangin: "It was a 360 degree ambush. We fixed our bayonets and I ran across open ground and took out two enemy machine gun posts. The only thing going through my mind at the time was that I was due to go on R'n'R the following day and I was definitely going to go intact. It was just efficiency on my part; with the credit crunch I was making each one of those bullets work for the public!
"On that tour alone I got shot in the helmet, blown up twice and awarded the Military cross. I didn't even realise that I'd been shot in the helmet. We were trying to extract two casualties at the time and the enemy were firing mortars at us. One minute I was running across a gravel track and the next I was in a ditch, having been knocked back by the force of the bullet.
"I see it as being in the right place at the right time, not the wrong one. I want to be at the heart of the action. That's what we train for. A lot of it is pot luck but some of it is good training and that's why these exercises are so important."
Lieutenant Colonel Ed Freely, Commanding Officer of The 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment, said that the training was vital to ensure that they were as practiced as they possibly could be for the challenges that lay ahead. Having spent long enough under a poncho in sub zero temperatures, Cpl Dunlop admits that he is looking forward to a comfortable Christmas at home in Shropshire with his girlfriend and newly born daughter: "Faith is just a month old so this will be her first Christmas. We'll be taking her back to Ballymoney for the first time to meet the family. They haven't seen her yet. I know my mum's excited about meeting her."