THE loss of two British soldiers on this tour has "cut the taskforce deeply" but the highest ranked officer in Afghanistan said all troops remained fully focused on the job in hand.
With the focus now on the Afghan army and police taking the lead on security in Helmand, the number of soldiers being killed has not been as high as in previous tours.
However, there is still a danger faced by our armed forces, with Lance Corporal James Brynin killed on patrol in Helmand last month and more recently Sgt Maj Ian Fisher killed in a suicide attack while on operations.
Brigadier James Woodham, who is the commander of Task Force Helmand during Herrick 19, said: "When we are moving around the region, conducting operations, or re-supplying bases, we are in a part of the world where there are threats.
"When one loses a soldier, and we have lost two this tour, it cuts very deeply into the heart of the taskforce. But we remain utterly focused on the job in hand.
"Both men were the most professional and focused soldiers who would be willing us to complete the mission. Which is what we have to do although clearly our thoughts are with both their families."
Brig Woodham said the differences he has seen from his last tour in 2009 to now have been huge.
"Afghan security forces are now taking the lead," he added.
"They have been doing it for a little while now and during the traditional summer fighting season they needed very little support and advice from us.
"They were more than up to the threat posed by the insurgents and have come out on top every time. They have held the area of Helmand that is most important to them. They have been challenged but have fought off the insurgents.
"The level of mentoring is light. They can conceive, plan and execute an operation with very little support.
"There are still some areas they are not where they would like to be – these being the medical capability and evacuation and they are also working hard to get their artillery and fires up to the right standard.
"But I was on an operation with their Brigadier General and they had a gritty time as they cleared through a village and picked up a lot of casualties. A few quite serious ones we would assist with but the vast majority they evacuated from the battlefield. They triaged, patched up and evacuated via ambulance to their own surgical facility. Six months ago we would have done an awful lot more.
"History points towards solutions to insurgencies being mostly political. This is an Afghan problem that must have an Afghan solution.
"In Nad-e-Ali or west of Lashkar Gah, areas that were dominated by insurgency, there is now local governance, a police force, people can move around freely, bring their crops to market and kids can go to school. That is a stark change.
"But we must not see progress through tinted glasses. This is still a challenging place. But from what I can see all the building blocks of society going forward are in place. Next year will be key with the presidential elections and it is vital that there is a fair and credible result.
"I think to judge whether the whole campaign has been a success we have to take it back to why we are here. In 2001 coalition forces originally came here as threats from this region emanated across the world. The people of Kabul were then liberated from the Taliban and it was then about the longer process of rebuilding Afghanistan, with the right security forces and government structure to prevent it going back.
"The threat for the UK has significantly reduced from this part of the world and I am proud of the work we have done here.
"We are the caretakers of a campaign that are set by our predecessors. We are on a journey and it is a real privilege and honour to command British soldiers and move it on 6-8 months forward."
