Operation Herrick order of battle

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This is the Operation Herrick order of battle, which lists the British forces that have taken part in Operation Herrick since it began in 2002.

Contents

[edit] Ground Forces

[edit] Kabul

Operation Herrick began in 2002 on the end of Operation Fingal, which saw Britain hand command of the ISAF force to Turkey. At that point, the deployment was scaled back from 2,100 to approximately 300, primarily concerned with security in Kabul, and manning the UK Afghan National Army Training Team (UKANATT).

In 2003, the deployment in Kabul was expanded to battalion size when two Provincial Reconstruction Teams were established, along with a rapid reaction force, based around a light role infantry battalion, the Afghanistan Roulement Infantry Battalion (ARIB).

[edit] Helmand

In January 2006, the Government announced that, due to the worsening situation in the south of Afghanistan, a brigade sized formation numbering approximately 3,000 would be deployed to Helmand. Since the increase to brigade strength, there have been four rotations of troops to this province.

In February 2007, it was announced that an additional 1,400 troops would be deployed to Afghanistan, primarily formed as a battlegroup around a light infantry battalion, the 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh (Royal Welch Fusiliers).
*Renamed as 2nd Battalion, The Mercian Regiment (Worcesters and Foresters) 01/09/07

[edit] Air Forces

The air component of British forces assigned to Operation Herrick is based at Kandahar and comes under the overall command of 904 Expeditionary Air Wing.

Also under the command of 904 EAW are a number of ground based units of both the Army and RAF:

  • RAF Regiment - A field squadron assigned to Kandahar to provide ground defence for the airfield.
  • 1 Air Mobility Wing - The UKMAMS is a specialist unit of the RAF trained in the loading and unloading of transport aircraft. This unit operates in conjunction with the Hercules detachment.
  • Tactical Medical Wing - The TMW provides RAF medical services to all forces, and is particularly adept in the field of aeromedical evacuation.
  • Mobile Meteorological Unit - Providing weather forecasting and reporting services to aircrew and commanders.
  • 47 Air Despatch Squadron, Royal Logistic Corps - 47 AD Squadron is a specialist unit trained in the receipt, loading and preparing of stores by both helicopter and fixed wing aircraft.