Operation Herrick order of battle

This is the Operation Herrick order of battle, which lists the British forces that have taken part in the duration of Operation Herrick between 2002 and 2014

Ground Forces

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).

ARIB Deployments

Helmand

In January 2006, the Government announced that, due to the worsening situation in the south of Afghanistan, a brigade sized formation numbering approximately 3,300, Task Force Helmand, would be deployed to Helmand Province.[1]

Operation Herrick IV

May – November 2006:

Operation Herrick V

November 2006 - April 2007:[4]

Operation Herrick VI

April – October 2007:[6]

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

Operation Herrick VII

October 2007 - April 2008:[8][9]

Operation Herrick VIII

April – October 2008:[10]

*Elements of the Theatre Reserve Battalion, 2nd Battalion The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires) were deployed in support of both 16 Air Assault Brigade and 3 Commando Brigade

Operation Herrick IX

October 2008 - April 2009:[11]

Operation Herrick X

April – October 2009:[12]

Operation Herrick XI

October 2009 - April 2010:[13][14]

In October 2009, the total force was increased to 9,000 personnel with the addition of several other units:

Operation Herrick XII

April - October 2010:[15]

Operation Herrick XIII

October 2010 - April 2011:[16]

Operation Herrick XIV

April – October 2011:[17][18]

Operation Herrick XV

October 2011 - April 2012:[20][21]

Operation Herrick XVI

April - October 2012:[22]

Operation Herrick XVII

October 2012 - April 2013:[24]

Operation Herrick XVIII

April – October 2013:[25][26]

Operation Herrick XIX

October 2013 - June 2014:[27]

Operation Herrick XX

June 2014 - December 2014:[28]

Logistic Support

Supporting the UK force is HQ Joint Force Support (Afghanistan)(JFSp(A)). This 1* headquarters has commands the Theatre Logistics Group, Theatre Provost Group, Theatre Medical Group and Theatre Equipment Support Group. It also includes elements of the Engineer Group, coordinated by the Joint Force Engineer. These force elements are split between Kandahar Airfield and Camp Bastion. JFSp(A) is a joint command and currently the HQ is made up of 101 Logistic Brigade staff and augmentees.

Aerial Assets

Mixed operators

The Westland Lynx AH.7/9/9A was used in Afghanistan by both the Army Air Corps and the Fleet Air Arm. With the Army Air Corps (AAC) it was operated by both 1 and 9 Regiments and with the Fleet Air Arm it was only used by 847 Naval Air Squadron (NAS).

Year January - May May - September September - January
2006
2007
2008 847 NAS[29]
2009 847 NAS[29]
2010 672 Sqn/9 Regt AAC[30] 659/9 Regt AAC
2011 847 NAS[29]
2012
2013 847 NAS[31] 661/1 Regt AAC[31]
2014

Army Air Corps

The Army Air Corps operated the AgustaWestland AH.1 Apache and the Westland Lynx AH.7/9/9A in Afghanistan.

The AgustaWestland AH.1 Apache was operated by 3, 4 and pre September 2007 9 Regiment

Year January - May May - September September - January
2006 N/A 656 Sqn/9 Regt 664/9 Regt
2007 656/9 Regt 664/9 Regt 662/3 Regt
2008 663/3 Regt 664/4 Regt 654/4 Regt
2009 656/4 Regt 662/3 Regt 663/3 Regt
2010 653/3 Regt[32] 664/4 Regt 654/4 Regt
2011 662/3 Regt 663/3 Regt 653/3 Regt[33]
2012 654/4 Regt[34] 664/4 Regt[34] 662/3 Regt[35]
2013 663/3 Regt 653/3 Regt[36] 654/4 Regt[37]
2014 664/4 Regt[38] 664/4 Regt 662/3 Regt

The Westland Lynx AH.7/9/9A's were also used by the Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing of which 657 Squadron was part of. The squadron was deployed to Kandahar at least once during 2014 where one of its Lynxes was lost with along with the entire crew.[39]

Royal Air Force

The air component of British forces assigned to Operation Herrick was based at Kandahar Airfield and came under the overall command of 904 Expeditionary Air Wing. In August 2004, Britain announced that 6 Royal Air Force British Aerospace Harrier GR.7 jets from No. 3 Squadron would deploy to Afghanistan, marking the first time RAF ground-attack jets have been deployed to the country. They fully arrived in September.

British aircraftmen from B Flight, 27 Squadron, RAF Regiment take a break whilst on a combat misson near Kandahar Airfield, 2 January 2010

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

Fleet Air Arm

Elements of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm squadrons regularly rotated with each tour.

The ASaC7 version of the Westland Sea King has been in use in Afghanistan since May 2009.[50]

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "3 Para soldiers on their way to Afghanistan". Ministry of Defence. 3 May 2006. Archived from the original on 2 December 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 McNab 2009, p. 7.
  3. 1 2 3 "Easy Company is withdrawn from Musa Qala, Helmand". The Royal Irish. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  4. ↑ "Handover in Helmand as 3 Cdo Brigade replace 16 Air Assault Brigade". Ministry of Defence. 9 October 2006.
  5. ↑ "Light Dragoons gear up for Afghan deployment". Ministry of Defence. 22 September 2006.
  6. ↑ "12 Mechanized Brigade to replace 3 Commando Brigade". Ministry of Defence. 1 February 2007. Archived from the original on 2 December 2012.
  7. 1 2 "Tour of duty - the troops return". The Daily Telegraph. 26 September 2007.
  8. ↑ "52 Infantry Brigade to replace 12 Mechanized Brigade in Afghanistan". Ministry of Defence. 19 July 2007. Archived from the original on 2 December 2012.
  9. ↑ http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200607/ldhansrd/text/70719-wms0001.htm |chapter-url= missing title (help). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 19 July 2007.
  10. ↑ "16 Air Assault Brigade to replace 52 Infantry Brigade". Ministry of Defence. 6 February 2008. Archived from the original on 2 December 2012.
  11. ↑ "3 Commando Brigade to replace 16 Air Assault in Afghanistan". Ministry of Defence. 8 July 2008. Archived from the original on 2 December 2012.
  12. ↑ "19 Light Brigade to replace 3 Commando Brigade, Royal Marines, in Afghanistan". Ministry of Defence. 16 December 2008. Archived from the original on 2 December 2012.
  13. ↑ "11 Light Brigade to replace 19 Light Brigade in Afghanistan". Ministry of Defence. 15 July 2009. Archived from the original on 2 December 2012.
  14. ↑ http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200809/ldhansrd/text/90715-wms0001.htm |chapter-url= missing title (help). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 15 July 2009. col. 79–82.
  15. ↑ "4th Mechanized Brigade to replace 11 Light Brigade in Helmand". Ministry of Defence. 21 January 2010. Archived from the original on 23 March 2013.
  16. ↑ "16 Air Assault Brigade to replace 4th Mechanized Brigade in Helmand". Ministry of Defence. 14 July 2010.
  17. ↑ "3 Commando Brigade Take Command Of Task Force Helmand". Ministry of Defence. 11 April 2011.
  18. ↑ "3 Commando Brigade to replace 16 Air Assault Brigade in Helmand". Ministry of Defence. 17 December 2010.
  19. ↑ "First HERRICK 14 unit leaves Afghanistan". Ministry of Defence. 30 August 2011.
  20. ↑ "20th Armoured Brigade takes command of Task Force Helmand". Ministry of Defence. 10 October 2011.
  21. ↑ "20th Armoured Brigade to replace 3 Commando Brigade in Helmand". Ministry of Defence. 13 July 2011.
  22. ↑ "12th Mechanised Brigade to replace 20th Armoured Brigade in Helmand". Ministry of Defence. 9 February 2012.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "RC – Southwest - Task Force Helmand". International Security Assistance Force(ISAF). 19 April 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  24. ↑ "4th Mechanized Brigade to replace 12th Mechanized Brigade in Helmand". Ministry of Defence. 11 July 2012.
  25. ↑ "1st Mechanized Brigade takes over in Helmand". Ministry of Defence. 10 April 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  26. ↑ "Units to deploy as part of Herrick 18 announced". Ministry of Defence. 12 February 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  27. ↑ "Op Herrick 19 - 7th Armoured Brigade in Helmand". Defence Viewpoints. 10 July 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  28. ↑ "UK forces in theatre (from June 2014)". MoD. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  29. 1 2 3 "RNAS Yeovilton 847 squadron deployed to Afghanistan". BBC. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  30. ↑ "Lynx Mk9A on Op Herrickm Afghanistan". LZDZ. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  31. 1 2 "847 Lynx fliers complete final Afghan duty". Royal Navy. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  32. ↑ "Wattisham Army Air Corps regiments in Afghanistan". BBC. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  33. ↑ "653 Squadron, 3 Regt AAC Operation Herrick 14: A Ground Crew Perspective". The Eagle. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  34. 1 2 "Diamond welcome for troops back from Afghanistan". MoD. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  35. ↑ "UK's Prince Harry deployed to Afghanistan". CNN. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  36. ↑ "Sailors help give the Army’s Apaches wings in Afghanistan". Royal Navy. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  37. ↑ "Corby airtrooper embarks on final training exercise before deployment". Northampton Herald and Post. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  38. ↑ "Apache flies 50,000 hours on operations in Afghanistan". MoD. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  39. ↑ "Army's most skilled pilots among five killed in Afghanistan helicopter crash". The Telegraph. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  40. 1 2 Herrick Harriers. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. 2009. p. 17.
  41. 1 2 AirForces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. September 2013. p. 27.
  42. ↑ AirForces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. March 2014. p. 27.
  43. 1 2 AirForces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. July 2014. p. 7.
  44. ↑ "RAF Tornados leave Afghanistan for the last time". MoD. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  45. ↑ "RAF Hercules Detachment Leaves Afghanistan". RAF. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  46. ↑ March 2008, p. 8.
  47. ↑ March 2008, p. 9.
  48. 1 2 "Navy Sea Kings complete Afghanistan mission". MoD. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  49. 1 2 "Latest deployment of UK forces to Afghanistan announced". MoD. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  50. ↑ "Sea Kings help seize massive drugs and explosive hauls". Royal Navy. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  51. ↑ "Operations in Afghanistan: Chronology of Events". MoD. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  52. ↑ AirForces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. October 2014. p. 33.
  53. ↑ "Baggers get back to sea". Royal Navy. Retrieved 17 September 2014.

Bibliography

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