The 25-year-old said it was the difference Australian troops were making in the war that kept his and his comrades' spirits buoyed.

"We are making a massive difference. You can see how it has changed from the time we arrived to now," he said. "I guess that keeps all the boys acting so positively."

With the loss of 21 Australians in the campaign, and almost 1800 soldiers in total when taking into account the western coalition force of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and the Netherlands, reasons for cheer are short on the ground.

But celebrations were in order when Pte Ball travelled to Paris on leave in June and proposed to his girlfriend of two years, Julie Wooler.

The Brisbane-based legal secretary said that despite the romantic destination and urging from her friends that a proposal might be at hand, she was completely surprised when he presented her with an engagement ring.

"Dan convinced me he wasn't going to do it during his Afghanistan trip, so I believed it wasn't going to happen," she said.

For the full story, see today's Mercury newspaper.