Royal Horse Artillery only use force where necessary in Helmand

"As we approach the mid-point of the tour, it is worth reminding ourselves of what 'success' will mean for 11 Brigade and for the 1 RHA-based Joint Fires and ISTAR [Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance] Group (JFIG).

"Overall, the Brigade Commander sees this tour as setting the campaign onto a firm, clear footing, making it easier for others to follow. This approach incorporates a number of areas.

"Firstly, the PRT [Provincial Reconstruction Team] owned Helmand Plan sets out progress in each district towards Afghan autonomy of governance, security, infrastructure, economic development etc.

"This does not mean we are looking for the 'exit', but, without articulating the end state and the means of delivering it, we cannot actually define success or be clear whether one is succeeding.

"Within the Helmand Plan, the military own the security line (shared between Task Force Helmand (TFH) and Task Force Leatherneck).

"The TFH Security Plan (the sum of a number of Battle Group plans) envisages 'protected communities' with, ultimately, Afghan National Police (ANP) on the inside of the community, Afghan National Army (ANA) as an outer cordon, and ISAF [International Security Assistance Force] protecting in depth.

"This is of course subject to police training and delivering embedded partnering. Ultimately, therefore, embedded partnering with the ANA and ANP development will eventually enable the transition to Afghan National Security Forces primacy in Helmand.

"Of course the enemy retain a vote in the meantime, hence we continue to push the Taliban further away from the population centres in order to make the overall plan easier to achieve. The brigade won't achieve all this before we leave in April, but we will have set the conditions for it all to happen.

"Specifically within the JFIG we have made much progress. It is worth reiterating just how good our training was in preparing us for the realities of operations in Afghanistan.

"Assisted by some really clear direction from Commander ISAF, we were able to replicate in the UK the types of scenario we would find in theatre and refine our responses accordingly.

"In practice, this meant achieving a mindset of NOT using force unless we needed to, rather than the traditional model of responding to force with more force.

"As a result we continue to see reductions in the amount of lethal artillery and mortar ammunition fired, without seeing an increase in the number of UK military casualties.

"Indeed, the real benefit appears to be that the local people perceive a less noisy battlefield to mean a more secure environment, and therefore there are positive signs of closer relationships with the local people, something the Taliban find increasingly frustrating.

"The JFIG continues to deliver a combination of force protection to our troops and precision targeting of the Taliban to assist the freedom of movement of both ourselves and of the local population.

"Interestingly, of the artillery ammunition so far fired, over three quarters of it has been non-lethal (smoke and illumination), designed to enable our troops to move unseen or work more effectively at night.

"The boys and girls on the gun lines split their time between firing the guns or rockets and protecting their bases whilst getting enough time to do some exercise, phone home and even conduct some self-generated education!

"We also continue to develop the Afghan Artillery capability, and the relationship between the British instructors and Afghan students is increasingly like a partnership - the level of camaraderie and soldierly banter amongst them is great to see.

"For the moment, we also have a team of Gunners working in the Helmand Police Training Centre. Its first 150 Afghan police recruits are undertaking a short course to develop their teamwork and policing skills within the complex, often violent environment of Helmand.

"Again, the degree of interaction between Brits and Afghans is impressive, with each understanding the psychology of the other increasingly well.

"The variety of our role has even extended to one of the Gunner Captains taking temporary command of his infantry company whilst his boss is on leave in the UK. He has loved the opportunity and the company have continued to perform strongly."

See another story about the Royal Horse Artillery on operations in Afghanistan under Related News.