bobdina
11-05-2009, 06:27 PM
Change of the Light Brigades
THE commander of 11 Light Brigade has pledged to “bring prosperity” to Helmand after his troops arrived in southern Afghanistan for Op Herrick 11.
Speaking at a ceremony to mark the transfer of authority from 19 Light Brigade to 11 Light Brigade, Brig James Cowan stressed the importance of reconstruction to the mission over the next six months.
Brig Cowan’s soldiers arrive in theatre after a testing deployment for 19 Light Brigade which saw British forces suffer 70 fatalities as they drove the Taliban away from the centre of Helmand province.
“It is in all our interests that we succeed,” he said. “Only the people of Afghanistan can provide the lasting solution. We will do everything we can to help achieve this goal.
“To this end, we will consolidate our close relationship with our friends in the US Marine Corps and our civilian counterparts in the Provincial Reconstruction Team in order to bring prosperity to the people of Helmand.”
Formed in 2007 specifically to tackle the insurgency in Afghanistan, 11 Light Brigade contains a counter-IED task force and is made up of major units including the Household Cavalry Regiment, 1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards and The Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment.
It will disband on its return to the UK next April.
Brig Tim Radford, commander of the outgoing 19 Light Brigade, said that his troops’ major successes – including Op Panther’s Claw, which drove the Taliban out of Helmand’s most populated areas – had helped to deliver “security and governance” to southern Afghanistan.
“I want them to be remembered for the courage, fortitude and resolve they have shown in the harshest operational environment,” he said.
“They have been tested to the extreme and they have delivered.
“I expect that 19 Light Brigade’s tour will be remembered for the hardest fight the British Army has encountered in Helmand province.
“But to selectively remember the sacrifice without the progress would be to forget the reason that so many laid down their lives.
“The resolve, determination and bravery of the whole task force are something that I am extremely proud of and I believe the British public should be too.”
THE commander of 11 Light Brigade has pledged to “bring prosperity” to Helmand after his troops arrived in southern Afghanistan for Op Herrick 11.
Speaking at a ceremony to mark the transfer of authority from 19 Light Brigade to 11 Light Brigade, Brig James Cowan stressed the importance of reconstruction to the mission over the next six months.
Brig Cowan’s soldiers arrive in theatre after a testing deployment for 19 Light Brigade which saw British forces suffer 70 fatalities as they drove the Taliban away from the centre of Helmand province.
“It is in all our interests that we succeed,” he said. “Only the people of Afghanistan can provide the lasting solution. We will do everything we can to help achieve this goal.
“To this end, we will consolidate our close relationship with our friends in the US Marine Corps and our civilian counterparts in the Provincial Reconstruction Team in order to bring prosperity to the people of Helmand.”
Formed in 2007 specifically to tackle the insurgency in Afghanistan, 11 Light Brigade contains a counter-IED task force and is made up of major units including the Household Cavalry Regiment, 1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards and The Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment.
It will disband on its return to the UK next April.
Brig Tim Radford, commander of the outgoing 19 Light Brigade, said that his troops’ major successes – including Op Panther’s Claw, which drove the Taliban out of Helmand’s most populated areas – had helped to deliver “security and governance” to southern Afghanistan.
“I want them to be remembered for the courage, fortitude and resolve they have shown in the harshest operational environment,” he said.
“They have been tested to the extreme and they have delivered.
“I expect that 19 Light Brigade’s tour will be remembered for the hardest fight the British Army has encountered in Helmand province.
“But to selectively remember the sacrifice without the progress would be to forget the reason that so many laid down their lives.
“The resolve, determination and bravery of the whole task force are something that I am extremely proud of and I believe the British public should be too.”