HERCULES aircrafts from RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire are playing a vital role in restoring law and order to remote parts of Afghanistan by transporting police hundreds of miles across some of the world’s most hostile terrain.
Crews from the Kandahar-based 24/30 Squadron Detachment are helping to combat insurgents by flying the Afghan National Police (ANP) where they need to go.
They recently transported more than 300 Afghan Border Police recruits from the airfield at Camp Bastion to a training facility in the west of the country and to Kandahar.
The police officers ranged in age from late teens to mid-30s, and were all flying for the first time.
They were accompanied by an interpreter who said: “They made the most of the experience and were transfixed by the view from the C130 aircraft’s porthole windows.
“The use of the aircraft’s toilet by some of the passengers generated unprecedented interest.
“But seriously, the Afghans were exceptionally grateful to the men and women of the RAF for giving them a lift and for their help in the ongoing situation in Afghanistan.”
The task was flown on behalf of the Afghan Regional Security Integration Command (ARSIC), the organisation in charge of training, equipping and mentoring the ANP.
ARSIC officer from the United States Air Force captain Kevin Walton said: "We really appreciate what the Hercules crews are doing for us.