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Afghanistan Roulement

In his statement to the House on 12 December 2007, Official Report, column 304, the Prime Minister said we shall continue to maintain a strong military force in Afghanistan. In his statement to the House yesterday, the Prime Minister recognised the hard and dangerous work being undertaken by our armed forces, and reiterated United Kingdom's objectives in Afghanistan. The next roulement of UK forces in Afghanistan will take place in April 2009. The force package that we plan to deploy will see the current lead formation, 3 Commando Brigade, Royal Marines, replaced by 19 (Light) Brigade which will command the majority of the units serving in Afghanistan. The forces deploying include:

These units represent direct replacements for previously announced deployments to Afghanistan. In addition, commanders on the ground need to retain tactical flexibility to call forward reserves on a temporary basis to meet short term operational needs. Elements of 2nd Battalion, The Princess of Wales Royal Regiment, the Theatre Reserve Battalion, are deployed or are about to be deployed in this capacity. In his statement yesterday the Prime Minister announced the approval until August, including for the period of preparation for the elections, of an increase in the number of British troops deployed to Afghanistan from just over 8,000 to around 8,300. These additional troops will come from 2nd Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers and will replace equivalent forces deployed from 2nd Battalion, the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment. These forces will be building on recent security gains in central Helmand. Volunteer and 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 600 call-out notices to fill some 575 posts. On completion of their mobilization 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 six or so months, although some may have shorter tours. As part of this commitment, we expect up to 15 members of the sponsored reserves to be in theatre at any one time. The House will also wish to be aware that 19 Light Brigade's deployment will last until October 2009. On current plans, the brigade will then be replaced by 11 Light Brigade. I shall make a further statement on the units we expect to commit from next October in due course.