The Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Philip Hammond)
The next roulement of UK forces in Afghanistan is due to take place in October 2013. Around half of these units will form Taskforce Helmand under the command of 7th Armoured Brigade. The remainder will deploy within Helmand and to other locations in Afghanistan—particularly Kandahar and Kabul—as part of the UK’s overall contribution. The forces deploying include1:
7th Armoured Brigade Headquarters and Signal Squadron (207) |
Headquarters 101 Logistics Brigade |
857 Naval Air Squadron |
3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery |
The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) |
9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales’s) |
Elements of The Queen’s Own Yeomanry |
Elements of 5th Regiment Royal Artillery |
Elements of 14th Regiment Royal Artillery |
Elements of 16th Regiment Royal Artillery |
Elements of 32nd Regiment Royal Artillery |
Elements of 39th Regiment Royal Artillery |
Elements of 47th Regiment Royal Artillery |
32 Engineer Regiment |
63 Works Group Royal Engineers |
Elements of 36 Engineer Regiment (Search) |
Elements of 42 Engineer Regiment (Geographical) |
Elements of 101 (City of London) Engineer Regiment (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) |
Elements of 10th Signal Regiment |
Elements of 14th Signal Regiment (Electronic Warfare) |
Elements of 15th Signal Regiment (Information Support) |
Elements of 21st Signal Regiment (Air Support) |
Elements of 30th Signal Regiment |
Elements of 39th (Skinners) Signal Regiment |
1st Battalion Coldstream Guards |
The Highlanders, 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland |
2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment |
3rd Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Staffords) |
Elements of 3rd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment |
Elements of 3rd Battalion The Royal Welsh |
Elements of 4 Regiment Army Air Corps |
Elements of 9 Regiment Army Air Corps |
2 Logistic Support Regiment The Royal Logistic Corps |
27 Theatre Logistic Regiment The Royal Logistic Corps |
Elements of 7 Theatre Logistic Regiment The Royal Logistic Corps |
Elements of 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment The Royal Logistic Corps |
Elements of 29 Regiment The Royal Logistic Corps |
Elements of 151 (London) Transport Regiment The Royal Logistic Corps |
Elements of 158 (Royal Anglian) Transport Regiment The Royal Logistic Corps |
Elements of 162 Movement Control Regiment The Royal Logistic Corps |
Elements of 159 Supply Regiment The Royal Logistic Corps |
Elements of 148 (Expeditionary Forces Institute) Squadron The Royal Logistic Corps |
2 Medical Regiment |
202 (Midlands) Field Hospital |
203 (Welsh) Field Hospital |
2 Close Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers |
Elements of 7 Air Assault Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers |
Elements of 101 Force Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers |
Elements of 103 (Hybrid) Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers |
111 Provost Company Royal Military Police |
Elements of 114 Provost Company Royal Military Police |
Elements of Special Investigation Branch Regiment Royal Military Police |
Elements of The Military Provost Staff Corps |
Elements of 1st Military Working Dog Regiment |
Elements of 1 Military Intelligence Battalion |
Elements of 2 Military Intelligence (Exploitation) Battalion |
2 (Army Cooperation) Squadron, Royal Air Force |
617 Squadron, Royal Air Force |
51 Squadron Royal Air Force Regiment |
58 Squadron Royal Air Force Regiment |
Number 5 Royal Air Force Force Protection Wing Headquarters |
Number 2 Tactical Police Squadron, Royal Air Force |
Elements of 24 Squadron, Royal Air Force |
Elements of 30 Squadron, Royal Air Force |
Elements of 32 (The Royal) Squadron, Royal Air Force |
Elements of 216 Squadron, Royal Air Force |
Elements of 39 Squadron, Royal Air Force |
Elements of 13 Squadron, Royal Air Force |
Elements of 27 Squadron, Royal Air Force |
Elements of 51 Squadron, Royal Air Force |
Elements of 99 Squadron, Royal Air Force |
Elements of 33 (Engineering) Squadron, Royal Air Force |
Elements of 90 Signals Unit, Royal Air Force |
Elements of 1 Air Control Centre, Royal Air Force |
Elements of Tactical Supply Wing, Royal Air Force |
Elements of 1 Air Mobility Wing, Royal Air Force |
Elements of Tactical Medical Wing, Royal Air Force |
Elements of Number 1 Royal Air Force Police Wing |
Elements of Number 2 Royal Air Force Police Wing |
Elements of 2 (Mechanical Transport) Squadron, Royal Air Force |
Elements of 93 (Expeditionary Armaments) Squadron, Royal Air Force |
Elements of Engineering and Logistics Wing, Royal Air Force Odiham |
1Where the contribution is 10 personnel or more. 2In some cases there will be up to three rotations of Royal Navy and Royal Air Force individual augmentees during Herrick 19, due to differing deployment durations often occurring outside the numbered Herrick iterations. |
In addition to the list of formed units, individual augmentees from each of the services will continue to deploy as part of this integrated force package. In total we expect around 1,119 individual augmentees to deploy on operations. This will be comprised of 246 Royal Navy personnel, 370 Army personnel and 503 Royal Air Force personnel2. The Royal Air Force currently provides the command element of Headquarters Joint Force Support (Afghanistan), with the wider headquarters manned by individual augmentees from all three services. 101 Logistic Brigade will deploy in November to take on this role.
Volunteer and ex-regular members of the reserve forces will continue to deploy to Afghanistan as part of this integrated force package, and we expect to issue around 400 call-out notices. On completion of their mobilisation procedures, the reservists will undertake a period of training and, where applicable, integration with their respective receiving units. The majority will serve on operations for around six months although a small proportion of any force that is stood down due to force level reductions is likely to be reservist.
As the Prime Minister announced in December 2012, the UK’s conventional force levels in Afghanistan will draw down to around 5,200 by the end of 2013, from the current level of around 7,900. As part of this draw down, there will be around 6,000 personnel in Afghanistan from autumn 2013. However, this figure may fluctuate and occasionally exceed this total due to relief in place and additional surges into theatre.
As announced by the Defence Secretary on 14 May 2013, some elements of 7th Armoured Brigade will deploy on Op Herrick 19 for up to eight months. This will remove the requirement to train and deploy an extra brigade, at greatly reduced scale, to cover the final months of 2014. It will also align tours to key milestones in the transition process, such as the Afghan presidential elections in spring 2014. A small number of reservists may voluntarily serve eight months.
I shall make a further statement on 7th Armoured Brigade’s planned replacement formation, 20th Armoured Brigade, nearer the time of their deployment.