Defence
News Article
11 Brigade will provide vital support to Afghan operations
7 Nov 07
A temporary Brigade Headquarters has formed up which will command UK forces in Afghanistan between October 2009 and April 2010, it was announced today, Wednesday 7 November 2007.
11 Brigade logo
[Picture: MOD]
The Brigade HQ, known as ‘11 Light Brigade’, will be based in Aldershot.This commitment has been widely known for some time and illustrates the agility which the Army has shown previously in meeting the demands we face today.
It is expected to provide the command and control required to meet the demands of current operations, by taking existing manpower and organising it to best deliver our commitments in Afghanistan. HQ 11 Light Bde will disband on its return from Afghanistan in April 2010.
This new adjustment does not affect the Future Army Structure (FAS) of seven Brigades (two Armoured, three Mechanised and two Specialist brigades). Indeed the principles of FAS remain valid. This is an adjustment to fit the specific environment in which the Army currently finds itself, just as the Army has always adjusted its structure to meet the demands of operations:
The Brigade HQ will be formed now to take command and control of the force elements assigned to it, and to begin to direct their training for deployment. The Ministry of Defence undertakes sensible contingency planning to determine how commitments in both Iraq and Afghanistan will be met, and will continue to look at the extent to which other elements of the Army might need to temporarily adjust to meet the requirements of current operations.
Army spokesman Colonel Ben Bathurst said:
"11 Light Brigade has been formed to provide the ongoing command and control that our forces in Helmand will require. The fact that we have been able to take existing Army manpower and organise it to support directly our operations in Afghanistan shows that we are completely focussed on meeting the demands of current operations.
"As a result, 11 Light Brigade has been formed under the command of Brigadier James Cowan who will now train his Brigade Headquarters to command the force package for Operation HERRICK in Afghanistan from October 2009 – April 2010."
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