MORE than 4,000 troops and 400 vehicles of the Army’s newest formation, 11 Light Brigade, have been carrying out final training exercise on Salisbury Plain in pre-paration for deployment to Afghanistan later this year.

This brigade was formed in November 2007 in Aldershot and will disband on its return from Helmand Province in 2010.

Commanded by Brigadier James Cowan, who formerly commanded the Black Watch, this has been raised as a counter-insurgency brigade and has been training both as a headquarters and with all its units specifically for their role in Afghanistan.

Local units deploying with the brigade include 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery (1 RHA) from Tidworth, 18 Battery from 32 Regiment at Larkhill and elements from 2 RTR, 4 RIFLES and 4 MI Battalion.

When the brigade deploys in October, it will become Task Force Helmand and will be four times the size of a conventional brigade HQ and will include in its order of battle HQ 8 Force Engineer Brigade and HQ 101 Logistics Brigade, four infantry battalions, and reconnaissance, artillery, engineer, logistic, signals and REWME regiments as well as elements from another eight infantry regiments.

Brigadier Cowan explained the very detailed training the brigade has undergone, including many staff sessions in the combined arms training facilities at Westdown Camp, and a week-long counter-insurgency seminar at Sandhurst.

The highlight was a five-week exercise in Kenya where they tried to replicate conditions in Afghanistan – and not just the heat and arid conditions, They hired 500 Kenyans to be the civilian population, and units from the Kenyan Army joined them as “coalition forces” to practise “The brigade has been on exercise for 21 weeks already,” added the Commander. “Compare this to the tour length of 26 weeks, and you will see just how well we have been preparing.”

“Kenya was very valuable. The US force commander, General McCrystal, is determined to reduce civilian casualties and having a live civilian population element in the exercise helped us to refine our methods of operation.”

The brigade will move on to Otterburn for a final two weeks’ live firing camp before pre-tour leave and deployment.