Exercise South West Sword, Gosport. Royal Marines from 42 Commando launch an assault from HMS Albion, to prove her capabilities as high readiness amphibious assault ship. Joining the assault were Challenger 2 tanks and Scimitar light tanks from the King's Royal Hussars.
Members of 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh's Mobility Recce Force during Operation BAMBIRIK in Nad e-Ali, Helmand province [Picture: Major Paul Smyth, Crown Copyright/MOD 2010]
The Royal Welsh lauch helicopter assault into Taliban stronghold. The patrol partnered with a platoon of Afghan National Army soldiers for the operation.
More than 300 helicopter-borne soldiers from 1st Battalion the Royal Welsh (1 R WELSH) have targeted a Taliban stronghold in one of their biggest operations since ariving in Helmand over a month ago.
ROSYTH, UNITED KINGDOM - FEBRUARY 01: HMS Illustrious arrives at Rosyth naval dockyard on February 1, 2010 in Rosyth, Scotland. The Royal Navy's flagship aircraft carrier will undergo a £40million upgrade programe at the Fife yard.
Crew members assigned to Royal Air Force Cottesmore, United Kingdom, prepare the GR-9 Harrier for flight on the Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., flight line during Red Flag 10-2 Feb. 3, 2010. Red Flag is a realistic combat training exercise involving the air forces of the United States and its allies. The exercise is conducted on the 15,000-square-mile Nevada Test and Training Range, north of Las Vegas. (U.S. Air Force photo by Lawrence Crespo/RELEASED)
Brigadier James Cowan (R) of the British Army, commander of the Task Force Helmand, visits troops as they practice their battle plans in Military Operating Base Shorabak in Helmand province, February 7, 2010.
A British soldier listens to Brigadier James Cowan during his visit to Military Operating Base Shorabak in Helmand province, Afghanistan February 7, 2010. British soldiers and Afghan troops practiced their battle plans ahead of a major NATO offensive to seize central Helmand from Taliban.
British soldiers walk to a Royal Air Force (RAF) Chinook helicopter for transport in Lashkar Gah, Helmand province, February 7, 2010. British forces and U.S. Marines are expected to lead a major offensive to Talbean strongholds in central Helmand in the upcoming days.
A British soldier is seen holding on to the turret gun of a manoeuvring armoured vehicle in Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan, February 8, 2010. Coalition forces are expected launch a major assault in central Helmand in the upcoming days to seize the area from Taliban.
Officers and soldiers from the Brigade Reconnaissance Force for 4th Mechanized Brigade have braved the latest blanket of snow to take part in a Combined Arms Live Fire Exercise at the Otterburn Ranges within Northumberland National Park. The exercise is in preparation for their forthcoming tour to Afghanistan in April. 4th Mechanized Brigade will replace 11 Light Brigade in April 2010 as the lead formation of British troops in Helmand province. [Picture: Corporal Jim Barron RLC, Crown Copyright/MOD 2010]
In this handout photo released by Military of Defence via PA, Afghan soldiers together with troops of the 1st Battalion, the Royal Welsh as they head to the helicopters on mass as they prepare for Operation Moshtarak in
In this photo released by Britain's Ministry of Defense, a member of the F Company (Fire Support) 1 Royal Welsh takes a retina image of an Afghan during operation "Moshtarak" Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010, near Marjah, in
In these photos released by Britain's Ministry of Defense, members of the F Company (Fire Support) 1 Royal Welsh take position during operation "Moshtarak" Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010, near Marjah, in
Operation Moshtarak is an Afghan-led initiative to assert government authority in the centre of Helmand province. Afghan and ISAF partners are engaging in this counter- insurgency operation at the request of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Helmand provincial government.
15,000 troops are set to launch major assaults on Taliban strongholds in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
At Camp Bastion soldiers from 1 Royal Welsh are working alongside French, Estonian and Afghan National Army soldiers to practice drills together and conduct battle preparation.
Other troops are carrying out operations which have been going on for a number of weeks in Nad Ali district to prepare for Operation Moshtarak.
Alongside the British troops are soldiers from Afghanistan, Australia, Canada, the United States, France and Estonia. The operation has been planned to remove insurgents from areas of central Helmand not previously cleared by ISAF troops.
NATO commanders intend to turn the tide this year on the insurgency.
Lieutenant General Nick Parker, the British ISAF Deputy Commander in Afghanistan, said that Op Moshtarak was the first part of a three-stage plan to increase security in the country.
He said that after the insurgency in the south had been subdued British forces would move to building capacity in the Afghan National Security Forces and that this would likely become the main effort later in the year.
The third stage will be transition and the reintegration of insurgents and sympathisers into Afghan society through an Afghan-led reintegration policy.
KIRKHAM, ENGLAND - APRIL 02: Five-year-old Ashton Peterson welcomes home his father Sergeant Carl Peterson, of 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment (Green Howards), home as he returns from
at Weeton Barracks on April 2, 2010 in Kirkham, England. 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment (Green Howards) deployed from Lancashire to Afghanistan in September 2009 to begin its third operational tour in Afghanistan in five years. The soldiers of 2 YORKS have been operating throughout Helmand, including in Sangin, Musa Qalah, Lashkar Gar, Gereshk and Babaji.
40 Commando Royal Marines take over authority of Sangin from 3rd Battalion The Rifles. Lt Col Nick Kitson, 3 Rifles (left) wishes Lt Col Paul James well for the next 6 months during the short ceremony. || Helmand Blog-Afghanistan
Members of 40 Commando loading a Chinhook helicopter to move from Camp Bastion to Forward Operating Base(FOB) Jackson at Sangin. || Helmand Blog-Afghanistan
ATLANTIC OCEAN (April 16, 2010) A British Sikorsky S-61 helicopter takes off from the guided-missile destroyer USS Laboon (DDG 58) after transporting Royal Marines from the 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company (ANGLICO) during exercise Joint Warrior 10-1. Joint Warrior is a semi-annual event off the coast of Scotland to improve interoperability between allied navies. (U.S. Navy photo By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Nikki Smith/Released)
