Operation Herrick

Operation Herrick
Part of War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the War on Terror
A British soldier of 21 (Gibraltar 1779–83) Air Assault Battery, Royal Artillery raising the Union Flag during a transfer of authority ceremony in Lashkar Gah, Helmand Province in May 2006
Date 20 June 2002 – 12 December 2014 Location Afghanistan, Asia Result End of Operation Herrick. Start of Operation Toral
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Taliban Al-Qaeda
Commanders and leaders
Tony Blair (Prime Minister 1997–2007) Gordon Brown (Prime Minister 2007–2010) David Cameron (Prime Minister 2010–2016)	Mohammed Omar † Osama bin Laden †
Units involved
Various units of the British Army, Royal Navy, Royal Marines and Royal Air Force
Strength
150,000 over duration of operation	Unknown
Casualties and losses
454 killed 1 recon plane crashed	Unknown

Operation Herrick was the codename under which all British operations in the War in Afghanistan were conducted from 2002 to the end of combat operations in 2014. It consisted of the British contribution to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), and support to the American-led Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), within the South Asian country.

Operation Herrick superseded two previous efforts in Afghanistan. The first of these was Operation Veritas, which consisted of support during the United States invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001. The last major action of this was a sweep in east Afghanistan by 1,700 Royal Marines during Operation Jacana, which ended in mid-2002. The second was Operation Fingal, which involved leadership and a 2,000 strong contribution for a newly formed ISAF in Kabul after December 2001. Command was subsequently transferred to NATO ally Turkey several months later and the British contingent was scaled back to 300. Since then, all combat operations in Afghanistan have been conducted under Operation Herrick. After 2003, Operation Herrick increased in size and breadth to match ISAF's growing geographical intervention in Afghanistan.

In December 2012 the UK Prime Minister David Cameron announced that 3,800 troops, almost half of the force serving in Helmand Province, would be withdrawn during 2013 with numbers to fall to approximately 5,200.^[1][2] The UK ceased all combat operations in Afghanistan and withdrew the last of its combat troops on 27 October 2014.^[3][4] Between 2001 and 24 July 2015 a total of 454 British military personnel died on operations in Afghanistan.^[5][6]

With the end of combat operations, British military operations in Afghanistan focused on training as part of Operation Toral, the UK's contribution to the NATO Resolute Support Mission. This operation ended in July 2021.