Royal Navy steps into breech in Afghanistan

The Royal Navy will plug the gaps in Afghanistan caused by overall troop shortages in the UK armed forces, said Commander-in-Chief of NATO's Allied Maritime Component Command (CiC Fleet) Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope on 30 July, as one of the UK's largest tri-service pre-deployment exercises drew to a conclusion.

The Mission Rehearsal Exercise (MRX) on Salisbury Plain in southern England took place between 21 July-1 August and is a prelude to the deployment of 5,800 troops from 3 Commando Brigade (3 Cdo Bde) to Afghanistan from September through October, as part of Operation 'Herrick 9'. The deployment will enable the rotation of the majority of the UK's approximately 8,000 personnel already in theatre and will include 3,000 maritime personnel.

It is the "largest maritime contribution to land operations in recent years", said Adm Stanhope, and "clearly an indication of how taut we are, but it's clear that if this expertise exists we should be on the front foot providing [it] where we can".

His comments came on the same day as the UK House of Commons Defence Select Committee - a parliamentary oversight body - released a report on the recruitment and retention of UK armed forces personnel in which it claimed that personnel shortages were threatening operational capability. "Operating at a higher tempo than ever before [with] commitments [that] outstrip the levels for which there are resources ... has put service personnel under extreme pressure," it said. Operational capability, it claimed, was also threatened by skilled areas that are understrength such as aircrew, mechanics and engineers.

However, Adm Stanhope said that, while the navy deployment is "an indication we're busy and stretched, I have no doubt it's the right way of doing it".

Caption: Afghan National Army advisers who formed part of the Mission Rehearsal Exercise between on 30 July on Salisbury Plain, southern England (D Hammick). 283 of 709 words