More Lancashire soldiers set for Afghanistan duty (From Blackpool Citizen)

More Lancashire soldiers set for Afghanistan duty

5:40pm Friday 22nd January 2010

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MORE soldiers from Lancashire, including 15 Territorial Army members, are to be deployed in Afghanistan this spring.

The forces to be deployed include The 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment and The 4th Battalion the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment which is the infantry Territorial Army (TA) battalion of the North West of England.

Among the reservists giving up their normal day jobs to join the war is a group of 15 from Moss Street TA volunteer centre in Blackburn.

Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth made the announcement yesterday.

Around 1,200 soldiers have been recruited from the North West to help maintain the current number of 9,500 British troops in Afghanistan.

The Blackburn reservists were mobilised in preparation for a likely deployment before Christmas.

Since then they have been training with The 1st Battalion in Somme Barracks, Catterick, North Yorkshire.

The new troops will join The 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, a Theatre Reserve Battalion, which is already in Afghanistan providing additional reserves.

A spokesman for the Army said the majority of the soldiers would serve on operations for around six months.

Greg Pope, Labour MP for Hyndburn, said it was a 'difficult decision' to send troops, but one that had been made along with US generals, who have also committed 30,000 more troops to the war, on the basis of past experiences.

He said: “In 2005 people were suggesting Iraq could become the next Vietnam.

"But the surge there from a large number of soldiers enabled our forces to come home quicker than otherwise they would have done.

“Nobody wants to send extra troops into harm's way, but it has to be done, and we believe this is the best way of allowing all our troops to return home more quickly.”

Nigel Evans, Conservative MP for the Ribble Valley, said he was proud that Lancashire was playing 'more than its fair part' in contributing to the war effort.

He said: “Their contribution is clearly hugely important.

“If allied forces were to ever withdraw without putting the proper measures in place a vacuum would be created that would be filled by Taliban terrorists.

“I am afraid the battlefield would not then be Afghanistan.

"It wouldn't be Kabul, it would be the UK, the US, Paris and Berlin.

“I think the vast majority in Lancashire whether they support our involvement in general or not would be proud of the contribution our troops are making.”

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