This often involves transporting the police hundreds of miles across sometimes very hostile terrain.
On one recent mission, personnel from RAF Lyneham-based 24 and 30 Squadrons, detached to the Kandahar-based 904 Expeditionary Air Wing, transported over 200 Afghan Border Police recruits from the airfield at Camp Bastion to a police training facility in the west of the country. They later took more than 100 ANP from Camp Bastion to Kandahar.
The task was flown on behalf of the Afghan Regional Security Integration Command (ARSIC) which is charged with (among other things) training, equipping and mentoring the ANP.
The efforts of the RAF have brought praise from Captain Kevin Walton, an ARSIC officer from the United States Air Force, who said:
"We really appreciate what the Hercules crews are doing for us; the RAF is currently the most reliable airlift in theatre for our organisation. Missions like these enable the Afghan Security Forces to take control of areas when insurgents have been driven out, enabling vital reconstruction projects to proceed."
The police officers ranged in age from late teens to mid-thirties, and were all flying for the first time. They were accompanied by an interpreter who said:
"They made the most of the experience and were transfixed by the view from the C130 aircraft's porthole windows. The use of the aircraft's toilet by some of the passengers generated unprecedented interest. But, seriously, the Afghans were exceptionally grateful to the men and women of the RAF for giving them a lift and for their help in the ongoing situation in Afghanistan."
Moving the police recruits by air avoided the need to conduct an arduous and extremely dangerous journey through a country which has very limited transport infrastructure.
Group Captain Phil Beach, the Commander of 904 Expeditionary Air Wing (EAW) in Kandahar, said:
"The Hercules continues to prove to be an extremely effective Counter Insurgency platform in Afghanistan and these sorties contribute directly to ISAF's [International Security Assistance Force] work to increase Afghan governance. Looking to the future, this type of mission will become a task for the burgeoning Afghan National Army Air Corps and 904 EAW is well placed to contribute to the partnering and mentoring of this developing Afghan capability."
As for the crews of the 24/30 Squadron detachment, they will be back again tomorrow and the next day to fly whatever task is placed upon them – it's all in a day's work for them.