The Secretary of State for Defence, the Rt Hon Philip Hammond MP, and the Chief of the Defence Staff General Sir David Richards last week met with troops from 12 Mechanized Brigade as they prepared to be deployed to Helmand province, Southern Afghanistan, on OPERATION HERRICK 16.
A source at the MoD said OPERATION HERRICK, the name given to the UK’s military campaign in Afghanistan, had already achieved a great deal in preparing the Afghan army and police forces to take responsibility for their own security.
By building on the successes of the UK forces in Southern Afghanistan up to now, said the source the objectives for HERRICK 16 are clear.
According to the MoD source the Brigade will continue the strong work of theUK military in assisting the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) to suppress the insurgency. This enables the ANSF to consolidate the security lead in the areas which have already transitioned to Afghan security control and set the conditions for further moves towards transition.
Vigilance learnt that elements of 12 Mechanized Brigade demonstrated their capabilities during an exercise at Copehill Down, Salisbury Plain ahead of their deployment to Afghanistan.
The Brigade Commander, Brigadier Doug Chalmers OBE said: “We will be working to build on the hard work of our predecessors to build sustainable Afghan National Security Forces, taking them to the next level. We will continue to move the focus of our operations from counter-insurgency to that of security support assistance for the Afghan forces.”
Secretary of State for Defence, Philip Hammond MP said: "The training that I have witnessed today is part of a programme which ensures that our troops deploying to Afghanistan are professionally equipped and fully prepared for the task ahead of them. The morale of the men and women I have spoken to today is high and their confidence in their ability to do the job is clear.”
Secretary Hammond added: “Despite the tragic loss of life earlier this week of soldiers from the same battalion (3 Yorks), it is clear that the units preparing to deploy are looking forward to being able to put their training into practice and are keen to get to Afghanistan to engage the enemy. “The men and women of our armed forces know that, whatever the risks and sacrifices involved they have a job to do and a mission to complete. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to them all for their professionalism and commitment to the task we are undertaking."
Another MoD source revealed that due to its complementary make up of armoured, medium and light-roled troops, 12 Mechanized Brigade is capable of a wide variety of missions anywhere in the world.
12 Mechanized Brigade consists of a Headquarters Staff supported by 228 Signal Squadron, five Combat Units and a host of Combat Support and Combat Service Support Units enabling it to live, move and fight wherever and whenever it is required. On Op Herrick 6, in 2007, 12 Mechanized Brigade was the first non-specialist Brigade to operate in HelmandProvince in Southern Afghanistan.
The Brigade is based throughout the South of England, with its headquarters located in Ward Barracks, in Bulford, Wiltshire.