Equipment and logistics vital to Afghan mission

For those troops on the front-line in Afghanistan, equipment and logistics play a vital part in helping them achieve their mission, taking the fight into the Taliban's heartland in order to help rebuild a nation's shattered infrastructure.
 
Supporting more than 7,700 troops from all three Services as well as thousands of vehicles and machines is an immense task and conditions in the southern Afghan deserts in and around Helmand Province, where temperatures routinely reach over 50 degrees Centigrade, are notorious for the wear and tear they inflict on both people and machinery.

Despite the undoubted challenges, feedback from troops on the ground is positive with a general consensus that the equipment gives them a battle-winning edge on the front-line, with the quality of the kit and its support allowing troops to 'overmatch' their opponents when it matters most.

Items which have drawn particular praise from troops in theatre include the protected Viking tracked vehicles, state-of-the-art medical facilities, the protected cross-country Pinzgauer variant Vector, the Mastiff protected patrol vehicles, the Desert Hawk unmanned air vehicle and the potent Land-Rover mounted Grenade Machine Gun system.

WMIK has big impact

The vehicle that is arguably having the most impact on the ground is the protected Land-Rover with special weapons mounts ("Weapons Mounted Installation Kit" or WMIKs). Tough, manoeuvrable and with huge amounts of firepower – from the rapid-fire grenade machine gun and 50 calibre heavy machine gun to new night vision sights and Javelin missiles – the WMIKS have been dubbed 'porcupines' by local Taliban.

Lance Corporal Ali Procter, from the Royal Anglian Regiment, commands a WMIK in Helmand. He said:

"The WMIKs are armoured, very flexible and tough. We go in ahead of the infantry to help suppress the enemy with our heavier weapons. The firepower is pretty awesome when it comes to engaging with the enemy and we can overmatch them with our weapons."

Tactical logistics is fulfilling a vital role on the ground ensuring everything from vehicle spares to water is in the right place at the right time. Proven vehicles such as DROPS and Close Support tankers have been armoured and armed and are proving their worth supplying vital supplies despite atrocious driving conditions and the constant threat of ambush.

Major Gareth Webberley, Officer Commanding 4 Close Support Squadron, Royal Logistic Corps, explained how his troops moved
70,000 ration packs and 84,000 litres of drinking water in just a few days:

"We've had convoys from seven vehicles right up to 55 depending on the mission.  We supply everything that the troops need day or night. The terrain is certainly a challenge and the enemy threat is very much there but the guys are incredibly well trained and have got the equipment they need to do the job."

One weapon proving its worth is the .338 Large Calibre Long Range Rifle which is a bigger, more powerful version of the normal L96 marksman's rifle. With a bigger round it has given the British a big boost with regards range, enabling them to outrange Taliban counterparts and hit targets at far greater distances. Lance Corporal Dean Bailey, who commands a two-man team, said:

"This is the first time we have had this rifle on operations so it's a new capability for us. I prefer this rifle to the standard weapon due to the longer range – it is heavier but from our point of view it is a better weapon."

Kandahar is logs hub

One of the vital hubs in getting equipment into theatre is the air base at Kandahar. Huge amounts of equipment arrive or depart via the tri-service logistical hub based there. During the latest changeover of battlegroups more than 9,500 people went through the Kandahar hub plus more than a million kilos of equipment.

Typically in a week the teams shift around 250 tonnes of ammunition alone. Put into perspective this is the equivalent to 25 fully-loaded Hercules transport aircraft, a huge logistical feat. The number of Operational Ration Packs delivered equates to 88,000 man days, while the value of fresh food delivered for one year is around £2.5M.

Fifty-six tonnes of fresh rations are flown in each month while approximately £7M of clothing is delivered annually and mail delivery amounts to around 18 tonnes per month.

Eye in the sky

One of the smallest pieces of equipment currently proving its worth in Afghanistan is the mini Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) 'Desert Hawk'. Nicknamed 'the desert budgie' the Desert Hawk is a super-lightweight UAV which soars above the battlefield relaying vital information about the enemy back to British battlefield commanders.

Weighing in at just seven pounds (around 3Kg) and made mainly out of polystyrene, the battery-powered vehicles give troops in Helmand Province a vital edge in operations against the Taliban fighters – sending back accurate high quality intelligence and surveillance material day and night.

Lieutenant Tom Styles from 57 Battery, Royal Artillery, who help run the vehicles out of Camp Bastion, said:

"It is a pretty unique piece of equipment which gives commanders the ability to see what is going on behind hills and buildings. It is the sort of information that is incredibly useful to troops on the ground and can change the course of a battle. When people first see it they are unsure what to make of it but it soon proves its worth."

Launched with a powerful elasticated cord to help conserve power the vehicles can circle the area of operations high above the battlefield – quiet and small they are hard to see making them very hard for the enemy to bring down. When the batteries run down, they are simply replaced and the vehicles are ready to be relaunched in minutes.

First-rate medical care

Another vital piece of equipment much appreciated by troops is the new CT (computerised tomography) scanner. A special type of X-ray machine, it rapidly gives surgeons a highly detailed 3-D image and can 'stream' images and data by satellite back to specialists in the UK.

The scanner, recently installed at Camp Bastion, is the first British one in Afghanistan. It can carry out a full body scan of a patient in less than five minutes giving surgeons vital information in situations where time is often critical. It complements a range of new mobile X-Ray machines and blood-clotting agents giving the Bastion Field Hospital a specialist capability.

Defence Equipment and Support will provide the best that British armed forces need to do their jobs. That was the pledge of the Chief of Defence Materiel, General Sir Kevin O'Donoghue, recently when he said:

"I'm committed to ensuring our armed forces have the best equipment and support to do the job asked of them. We live in a dynamic and fast changing world and with more than 15,000 people currently on deployment sustaining and equipping those forces is a huge task.

"In Afghanistan each month we are moving 330 tonnes of freight by air and a further 290 ISO containers by sea. We are also responding to more than 1,000 urgent operational requirements involving everything from protected vehicles to guided missile systems. We have achieved a huge amount but there is more to do and we will have to be agile, intelligent and responsive to overcome the challenges of the future but I am sure Defence Equipment and Support is more than up to the task."