{"id":49301,"date":"2014-10-27T13:41:00","date_gmt":"2014-10-27T13:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=7e780de4ea3aa2320cb7990a8ecdeaf5"},"modified":"2014-10-27T13:41:00","modified_gmt":"2014-10-27T13:41:00","slug":"news-story-british-troops-leave-helmand-province-for-the-last-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=49301","title":{"rendered":"News story: British troops leave Helmand province for the last time"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

UK Armed Forces have left the Bastion-Leatherneck complex, the final camp in Helmand Province, for the last time, handing the base over to 215 Corps of the ANA<\/abbr>.<\/p>\n

British troops and United States Marine Corps personnel who had been serving under the International Security Assistance Force\u2019s Regional Command (Southwest) (RC (SW)<\/abbr>) redeployed to Kandahar after formally marking the end of combat operations at a ceremony yesterday.<\/p>\n

Helicopters and aircraft from the UK and US moved personnel to Kandahar Airfield in preparation for their return home. <\/p>\n

\n
\"British<\/div>
British military personnel arrive at Kandahar Airfield from a Hercules transport aircraft having departed Camp Bastion for the final time time [Picture: Corporal Andrew Morris RAF, Crown copyright]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said:<\/p>\n

\n

This is a historic moment for the UK\u2019s Armed Forces and we leave with our heads held high.This orderly transition underlines the progress that we have made alongside our allies over the past 8 years. <\/p>\n

We leave Helmand in good order, having transferred Camp Bastion to the ANA<\/abbr> to use alongside their own Camp Shorabak which will allow them to continue to ensure security and stability in that part of their country.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

He continued:<\/p>\n

\n

Thanks to our Armed Forces and our Afghan and coalition allies, Afghanistan is no longer a safe haven for terrorists.<\/p>\n

In bringing our troops home, our efforts will now focus on the NATO Resolute Support Mission, developing the Afghan security ministries and training the future leaders of the ANA<\/abbr> at the Officer Academy in Kabul.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n
\"British<\/div>
British military personnel at Kandahar Airfield having departed Camp Bastion for the final time [Picture: Corporal Andrew Morris RAF, Crown copyright]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Brigadier Rob Thomson, Deputy Commander RC (SW)<\/abbr> and the senior British officer in Helmand, said:<\/p>\n

\n

This is the final step in a long-process of transferring all our bases to the ANA<\/abbr>.<\/p>\n

The Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF<\/abbr>) have repeatedly demonstrated that they are more than ready to tackle the insurgency on their own, as they have been doing with limited ISAF support since June 2013.<\/p>\n

We can be proud of what we have achieved here. There is no doubt that we have contributed to a brighter future for Afghanistan.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n
\"British<\/div>
British military personnel arrive at Kandahar airfield on a Chinook helicopter [Picture: Corporal Andrew Morris RAF, Crown copyright]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Major-General Sayed Malouk, Commander 215 Corps of the ANA<\/abbr> said:<\/p>\n

\n

We thank the UK and other nations for their efforts in Helmand. Without their training and support we would not now be in a position to take on responsibility for security.<\/p>\n

Our ISAF partners have fought long and hard in this part of our country. It is now our responsibility to provide security on our own.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Camp Bastion, built in early 2006, was the hub of British and coalition forces operations in Helmand Province. At the height of the UK operation it was the centre of a network of 137 bases in the Province, all of which have now been handed over to the ANSF<\/abbr> or remediated.<\/p>\n

\n
\"British<\/div>
An RAF Regiment Officer arrives at Kandahar Airfield carrying the Union Flag that was lowered at Camp Bastion for the last time on Sunday [Picture: Corporal Andrew Morris RAF, Crown copyright]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The UK has had a military presence in Afghanistan since October 2001, when troops deployed as part of the NATO response to the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in the US. <\/p>\n

The British effort moved to Southern Afghanistan when Task Force Helmand was formed in April 2006 to tackle a growing insurgency in the region.<\/p>\n

British and allied efforts in Helmand set the security context for the development of the ANSF<\/abbr>, with recent ISAF operations focussing on training and mentoring Afghan forces. <\/p>\n

In June 2013 the 340,000-strong ANSF<\/abbr> took full responsibility for security across Afghanistan and since then they have been responsible for 99% of operations.<\/p>\n

Notable achievements have included planning and delivering the security for the successful Presidential elections in April during which seven million Afghans turned out to vote. <\/p>\n

\n

Find out more about the UK\u2019s involvement in Afghanistan.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UK forces have left Camp Bastion in Helmand Province for the last time, handing the base over to the Afghan National Army (ANA).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49301"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=49301"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49301\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49355,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49301\/revisions\/49355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=49301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=49301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=49301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}