IT’S normally heralded with some bubbly, fancy frocks and a rendition of Auld Lang Syne.

But New Year’s Eve looks set to be a more sober affair for a married couple fighting on Afghanistan’s front line.

Warrant Officers Class 2 Neil and Michelle Lewis have been posted together since leaving Abingdon’s Dalton Barracks in October, although they live two miles apart in Camp Bastion.

And the pair won’t be able to kiss at midnight as it is banned in the Army.

They met while serving in Baghdad, Iraq, in 2005 and love blossomed when they were posted to Abingdon.

Mrs Lewis, 34, said: “It’s great having him out here. When I feel a bit down he is only close by.

“But then we can’t really do anything else like walking along hand-in-hand as we do at home.

“Compared to other couples, we know we are really lucky. The rest of our colleagues have to manage with just a 30-minute phone call each week.”

Mrs Lewis is in 16 Medical Regiment, working as a Combat Human Resources Specialist.

Her 35-year-old husband serves in 13 Air Assault Support Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps, and works in the Theatre Logistic Group – which deals with ferrying supplies around.

They have been married for 18 months and normally get to see each other for 15 minutes every day in the base’s coffee shop.

Mr Lewis said: “If you have had a bad day, it is really nice to catch up for a chat.

“Once a week, we meet at the coffee shop in the evening for a drink, and discuss our holiday plans.

“We received a lot of incoming rocket fire in Iraq, which got a bit hairy at times. But Camp Bastion is much quieter.”

The couple will return to the UK in the spring, and will be together until at least summer 2012, their next overseas posting date.

Mrs Lewis added: “Even if we are sent in different directions, being part of the forces we both know how it all works.”