ASPFOR XI

Last February the Spanish government modified the deployment of the Spanish forces in Afghanistan. In May they started to be transferred from Kabul to Herat, in the west of the country, and a Forward Support Base (FSB) was established in that town under the command of Colonel Vayá of the Spanish Air Force.

On 31 May, once the FSB had reached initial operational capability, the Regional Area Coordinator for western Afghanistan began his task: Coordinating the Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) deployed in the provinces of Chaghcharan (led by Lithuania), Herat (Italy), Farah (US) and Badghis (Spain). Badghis is around 150 km from Herat, on the border with Turkmenistan and not far from Iran. The Provincial Reconstruction Team in the province is based in its capital, Qala-i-Naw.

The military component of the Badghis PRT is made up of troops from the 1st Mountain Light Infantry Brigade “Aragón”, based in Jaca. It is under the command of Colonel Gumersindo Veiga Mestre, current chief of the 66th Mountain Light Infantry Regiment “América”. Like the other PRTs in the west of Afghanistan, it reports to the Commander-in-Chief of the International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) through the Western Area Coordinator who manages the deployment process.

The task of the Spanish-led Provincial Reconstruction Team is to provide security and stability in Badghis in order to support its reconstruction. The Spanish force within the PRT is made up of several units, each with a specific task: protection, logistic support, signals, reconstruction support… It also includes teams devoted to explosives deactivation, intelligence and tactical air control – the latter, from the Air Force.

The 1st Mountain Light Infantry Brigade “Aragón” provides the bulk of the troops to the Spanish PRT, whilst the Manoeuvre Force contributes the soldiers necessary to complete it. Civilian experts from the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation will be joining the PRT once deployment is complete.

All in all the Army has deployed 116 troops in Qala-i-Naw. 47 more are there to complete works at the base, forming the Deployment Support Unit. Its members come from the 11th Engineering Specialties Regiment in Salamanca.

In addition, the Army has supplied a company to the Forward Support Base in Herat. It is also made up of soldiers from the aforementioned 1st Mountain Light Infantry Brigade “Aragón” and acts as a Quick Reaction Force for ISAF. It is equipped with high mobility vehicles which grant it the tactical mobility it needs to operate in any of the four provinces situated in ISAF's western area of responsibility.

The Army deployment in Herat also includes 51 soldiers who form a Helicopter Unit. They come from the 4th Manoeuvre Helicopter Battalion based in Copero (Seville) and are equipped with three Cougar helicopters. They are supported by the 40 members of the National Support Element (NSE). Finally, 10 soldiers from the Spanish Army are stationed at ISAF HQ in Kabul.

The 7th Light Infantry Airborne Brigade "Galicia" set up one of the task forces deployed to support ISAF in Afghanistan in July 2005. This Quick Reaction Task Force was made up of 293 men and women from the "San Quintín" battalion of the 3rd Light Infantry Airborne Regiment "El Príncipe", with base at the garrison "Cabo Noval" (Siero, Asturias), alongside 187 more soldiers from the 29th Light Infantry Airborne Regiment "Isabel la Católica" and the Airborne Sappers Unit from Figueirido (Pontevedra), and 20 Air Force personnel.

The Task Force was under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Julio Herrero and included a command headquarters, two motorised companies, a helicopter company, a command company and a service company. It also had a sappers unit with explosive ordnance disposal capabilities. The motorised companies were equipped with high mobility tactical vehicles. The heliborne company had three Cougars from the Spanish Army and three Chinooks from the Italian Army.

The assignment of the Task Force was fostering an environment of security in the western area of responsibility in Afghanistan (i.e. Herat) in order to make it possible to hold the parliamentary elections scheduled for 18 September 2005. The unit was fully operational on 18 August and finished its mission on 11 October, when its last soldiers returned to Spain.