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Afghanistan: Battle Casualty Replacement

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Bob Ainsworth) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement. Since deploying in April this year, 19 (Light) Brigade have been engaged in a number of high-intensity operations and this has resulted in a significant number of casualties, both due to enemy action and the harsh terrain in which they operate. As a result, Commanders on the ground have requested battle casualty replacements to enable them to sustain the required operational effectiveness for the remainder of their tour, and in particular throughout the election period. Further to our announcements to Parliament on 16 December 2008 (Official Report, col. 105WS) and 29 April 2009 (Official Report, col. 46WS), around 150 personnel have deployed to Afghanistan as battle casualty replacements since 27 July 2009, the majority of whom were from 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment (Duke of Wellington’s).