History of UK Force levels in Afghanistan
From 2002 to spring 2006 the UK had fewer than 1000 troops in Afghanistan; these were mainly based in Kabul. In spring 2006 we took the lead in Helmand as part of the ISAF expansion into the South and initially deployed around 3,500 additional forces, taking the overall total to over 4,000. British forces in Helmand were rapidly caught up in a fierce fight against insurgents. In response, we increased overall British forces in Afghanistan from 4,000 to 5,500 in autumn 2006; to 7,800 in summer 2007; and to just over 8,000 in summer 2008.
In December 2008 the Prime Minister approved a request from commanders for an increase in troop levels, to reinforce security in central Helmand, from just over 8,000 to around 8,300.This included around 200 troops to counter the emerging IED threat.
At the NATO summit in April 2009, as part of a wider NATO commitment to strengthen security through the crucial election period, a decision was taken that a further 700 troops would be deployed as part of a surge force, including specialist units to protect our forces against the growing threat from IEDs.
As a result of these changes, our total troop numbers reached around 9000 over the 2009 summer. At the same time, some manpower savings and efficiencies have been made across Afghanistan, enabling a greater focus on operations in Helmand.
Over the same period some 5000 US Marines deployed into Helmand.
The recent statement by the PM confirms that 9,000 will now become the permanent baseline for the UK force in Afghanistan and that there is a decision in principle to see British force levels increase to 9500, in line with clear military advice and subject to the conditions being met, an increase of about 1200 since December 2008.
Following the success of Operation PANTHER’S CLAW, which secured more areas of the Afghan population in central Helmand; more UK forces are now needed to hold the area around Babaji until Afghan capability can be generated. This will be achieved by maintaining the force level of 9000 and by redeploying the troops from RBG(S) into Helmand
The uplift to 9500 will also allow Task Force Helmand greater flexibility to continue to increase the capabilities of the Afghan Security Forces through greater ‘partnering’ and to do more to take forward the process of ‘Afghanisation’.