We’re working to improve the effectiveness of Afghan governance, supporting economic growth, developing basic services and reducing poverty. We are working towards the day when Afghan forces can take charge of the security situation, ensuring a stable and peaceful country.
Christmas Day on camp will mean roast turkey and all the trimmings, served by the civilians, officers and senior non-commissioned officers. There'll be a carol service in the chapel, touch rugby, Christmas films and of course the Queen's speech. I …
As people around the world concentrate on HIV/AIDS - today is World AIDS Day - it's hard to know where to focus here in Afghanistan. We just don't know much at all about the scale of the problem. Data for …
Of all the routine events of life here in Helmand, there’s one thing I’ll never get used to: the all too frequent repatriation services, or ‘ramp ceremonies’, for fallen soldiers. 125 British soldiers have now died in Afghanistan. While the …
I live on a military base in a very dusty part of the world, where temperatures top 50 degrees in the summer. We've not seen much rain since I first came here in early June. A number of UK troops live on …
I was in the air somewhere above Helmand the other day, flying in a Sea King helicopter, trying to do my commute-time reading, but a long way from the squeeze of the Tube. A moment later, I was interrupted from …
The themes of my week have been interrupted dinners and the frequent donning of body armour. Why? On Saturday night, there was an attempted attack on Lashkar Gah - the first since the Taleban arrived here in the 1990s. The …
Three months ago, the bazaar in Garmsir, southern Helmand, stood empty. Stalls were bare; some were shuttered, others all but derelict. Fighting between the insurgents and the Afghan and international forces meant the population had left the district centre, leaving …
We are living in an insecure place and that’s why we have to cultivate poppy. We are not happy that our small children become addicted to opium. I am worried about my two sons because they are youths and they …
Afghanistan is in the news in the UK every day. But the media approaches Afghanistan from a select few angles, and development - improving the lives of Afghans through jobs, education and better health - isn’t often one of them. …
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