We arrived with the first group of South African Mi-8 helicopter pilots in Afghanistan and Neall approached this vast new Central Asian country with discernible eagerness. It was quite a hop, from flying Mi-24 helicopter gunships to being at the controls of slow and meandering Mi-8s. I reckon that it was hard for him to get accustomed to because the Hip is hardly an offensive weapon in this kind of environment. He changed his style of flying as well. These days he takes more of a defensive approach with the Hip—mostly high flying and none of the low-level aggressive stuff he was used to in Africa and elsewhere. You can’t help sensing that it is perhaps a little boring for him.

This has come to the fore several times in recent months: an example being the day we were flying along the western fringes of the Hindu Kush when Nellis leaned forward with a curious look on his face. He tugged at the side of his helmet and turned that side of his head towards the window. With an elated grin he happily exclaimed that we were being shot at. Quietly, and without fuss, he pulled his helmet straight again, leaned back in his seat and, with a look of contented nostalgia, continued with whatever he had been doing moments before.

Flying with Neall has its advantages. On long flights he insists that there has to be a break in the middle. That means stopping at a DFAC, usually on the turnabout point. It also means great food and goodies to enjoy. Fantastic! It does a lot for crew camaraderie and is always something to look forward to.

I enjoy going to Kabul with him too. If he wants something he buys it, simple as that. In Afghanistan the art of bargaining is something ingrained in the local psyche from birth. The old story runs along the lines of dividing by two whatever they first ask you to pay but Nellis doesn’t have the time for that kind of nonsense. He just hands over the money and doesn’t argue. He reckons that ‘if you want it, buy it, don’t dally around’.

It’s basically the way the man runs his life, and has done since his formative years growing up in the south of Africa.