Scots soldiers deployed to Kabul to train Afghan army

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-33520174

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Hundreds of Scottish troops are to be deployed to Afghanistan.

The soldiers from the 2 Scots battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland are being sent to Kabul to help train the Afghan army.

The last British combat troops left Helmand province in October last year.

The Scots soldiers are due to leave from their barracks in Penicuik sometime next month, with their deployment expected to last for seven months.

The soldiers have completed months of intensive training.

About 250 soldiers will be based in the Afghan army college near Kabul.

Their role will be to assist in the training of Afghan army soldiers and officers as part of Operation Toral, the ongoing British mission to support Afghan security forces.

Lt Col Graham Wearmouth, of 2 Scots Battalion, said the troops will be there in a very different capacity to their previous combat role in Helmand.

"I think it is all comparative," he said.

"You've got to look at what went before and yes, it is not without risk of course, and as a British soldier deploying on an operation overseas you would expect that.

"But it feels very, very different and we are not the ones who are primarily in the lead.

"It is the Afghans in the lead. We are there in a supporting role, helping them to develop their institutions so that they can then deliver more enduring stability to their own country."

More than 450 British servicemen and women lost their lives in the 13 year conflict in Afghanistan.