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EUROPE
16 Oct 09. Afghanistan: OP HERRICK. From 1 Jan 06 to 30 Sep 09, 896 UK personnel were categorised as Wounded in Action and 2,649 were aeromedically evacuated. (MoD, 16 Oct 09.) From 16 to 30 Sep 09 the figures were 21 and 56. The Royal Military Police currently provide six teams to train Afghan National Police in Helmand. (Ministerial Answer (MA), 12 Oct 09.)
Helicopter types currently in Afghanistan are: Lynx Mk7, Lynx Mk9, Sea King Mk4 and Chinook Mk2. There are no plans to replace the Tornado [with Typhoon] in the foreseeable future. (MA, 12 Oct 09.)
The Prime Minister announced that the number of British troops in Afghanistan would be increased from 9,000 to 9,500, subject to certain conditions. (MoD, 14 Oct 09.) The figure of 9,000 includes 700 troops deployed to cover the period of the Afghan Presidential Election. (MoD, 15 Oct 09.)
Comment: Speculation about the number of troops required appears to have died down for the time being. The Prime Minister’s announcement was welcomed by the newly-appointed Chief of the General Staff: “This is the right decision and it reflects the military advice the Prime Minister has received since the Summer.”. The former Defence Secretary John Hutton, on the other hand, reportedly said that it would have been “much more helpful had we had the additional troops there six months ago”.
The Prime Minister’s Statement on ‘Afghanistan and Pakistan’ is recorded in ‘Hansard’ for 14 Oct 09 starting at Column 299. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 10/38, 12 Oct 09)
05 Oct 09. Afghanistan: OP HERRICK. A Guardsman from 1st Bn Grenadier Guards was killed as a result of an explosion near to Nad e-Ali District Centre on 5 Oct 09. A Lance Corporal from 1st Bn Coldstream Guards was killed by an explosion near to Camp Bastion on 8 Oct 09. UK deaths since the start of Operations in October 2001 thus rose to 221, of whom 190 were killed as a result of hostile action. (MoD, 8 Oct 09.)
From 1 Jan 06 to 15 Sep 09, 875 UK personnel were categorised as Wounded in Action and 2,593 were aeromedically evacuated. (MoD, 5 Oct 09.) From 1 to 15 Sep 09 the figures were 25 and 62.
“….the purpose of our mission in Afghanistan is to prevent terrorism coming to the streets of Britain.” (Ministerial Answer (MA), 5 Oct 09.)
Since 2007, 12 interpreters have been killed while working with UK Forces in Afghanistan. (MA, 5 Oct 09.)
No equipment failure reports have been submitted for SA80 rifles in Afghanistan during 2009. (MA, 5 Oct 09.)
The number of contacts involving ISAF and insurgents in Helmand Province was 1,320 in 2007; 1,490 in 2008 and 360 in the first two months of 2009. (MA, 5 Oct 09.)
During their six months in Afghanistan, the soldiers of 38 Engineer Regiment constructed 13 bridges, 58 new bases and enough protective walls to stretch from London to Brighton. (MoD, 5 Oct 09.)
Nearly 200,000 personnel passed through RAF Brize Norton during 2008, over 38% of whom were going to or arriving from Afghanistan. (MoD, 6 Oct 09.)
The Defence and Home Secretaries visited Afghanistan and