A former Army colonel whose daughter is in Iraq says waiting to hear from her is "a hundred times worse than me being there".

Lieutenant Colonel John Clutson, from Kings Worthy, near Winchester, has not heard from his daughter, Monica (26), since March 18th.

The former Peter Symonds' pupil, is an Army captain, stationed to the west of Basra, engaged in the crucial battle to win the "hearts and minds" of the Iraqi people.

But Col Clutson says it was his experience in combat that made him urge her to go.

"I feel slightly guilty," he said. "I always think the worst thing is being left behind on an operation. When the call came through at the end of December and Monica was asked to go, I told her she should.

"But she says I shouldn't feel bad - she says this is going to be a life-changing experience.

"I have spent a lot of time in the desert and I told Monica to take time to look at the stars. You have no idea what stars look like until you see them in the desert. You feel you can touch them.

"In her last letter, Monica wrote that she was standing in the desert at 11.30pm, having a shower and touching the stars."

Monica, who completed her officer training at Sandhurst, in Surrey, less than two years ago, is part of the team putting together the leaflets being dropped over Iraq.

She is engaged in "psychological warfare," according to her father, responsible for putting out radio transmissions, co-ordinating aid agencies and looking after refugees and prisoners of war.

News that around 3,000 Iraqis were being held as prisoners of war hit the headlines this week.

But although Monica is situated immediately behind the frontline forces, this does not mean she is in any less danger, says her father.

"No matter what you're doing you are still in a very dangerous environment. The opposition will not differentiate about whether you are providing aid or fighting on the front line.

"I sit there and watch Sky News and the problem is that you get a snapshot of everything that is happening and you get the idea that this is what she's doing, but we don't know to what extent Monica is involved," said Col Clutson.

He added that he and his wife, Christa, took comfort in the fact that Monica would receive mail from them less than two days after they send it via the Army's "e-bluey" computer system, named after the lightweight blue airmail paper.

However, letters from the Gulf take up to eight days, said Col Clutson.

"They take mobile phones off the soldiers. If a call is made it can be traced to within five feet and the Iraqis have the technology to do that just as much as we do," he said.

"Monica's main problem is the living conditions - they're challenging but it's strange because you get used to it. She says it's almost quite surreal because the Americans are so well prepared it's difficult to comprehend.

"She also said their tent blew away in the sandstorms. There's nothing you can do then except hang on to your kit and wait for it to pass. But the main priority is the job when you are out there," he added. "You are totally focused on what you are doing."