Seventy soldiers from a Larkhill-based regiment will shortly be on their way to Afghanistan. They will join more than 3000 other military personnel for an operation called, ‘The Helmand Task Force’.

The new deployment comes after an announcement by the former Secretary of State for Defence, John Reid, on 26th January 2006 to increase security forces in the region.

The men and women from 18 Battery, 32 Regiment Royal Artillery based at Roberts Barracks in Larkhill, will deploy on a mission using the ‘Desert Hawk’ Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). This is a £33,000 piece of kit  which will provide valuable intelligence information and also help securing the safety of soldiers on the ground.

Picture by Gaz Tyson, Army Media Ops. 2Lt Olivia Rotheram and Sgt Simon Mulvany

As well as carrying out training with the United States forces, who pioneered the equipment, the troops also took part in some last minute training on Salisbury Plain ranges, north of Tidworth.

35 year-old Sergeant Simon Mulvany is the UAV commander for 18 Battery, he said:

“This kit is brand new and our job is to provide intelligence information to the rest of the brigade. I’m really looking forward to the tour, it is what we've trained for and although the weather here is very warm at the moment; I won’t miss it as when we get to Afghanistan as it will be even hotter.”

Click here to listen to 35 year-old Sgt Simon Mulvany and 24 year-old 2lt Olivia Rotheram, talk Castledown Radio’s Shirley about their impending operation and also listen to 32 year-old Bombadier Richard Lewis get all techy, as he describes how the UAV equipment works.