On October 26th 2014 Camp Bastion was formally handed back to the Afghan National Army, marking the withdrawal of British combat forces after 13 years.

Camp Bastion was the main British military base of operations in Afghanistan, and as such acted as the primary logistical hub for Helmand Province and beyond, serving a network of Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) and Patrol Bases (PBs). At its peak, it was home to nearly 30,000 military and civilian personnel, was roughly the same size as the town of Reading, and had an airport that ranked as amongst the busiest operated by the UK at the time.

The creation, operation and eventual discontinuation of the base was a huge feat of logistics, with soldiers from the RLC taking responsibility for transport, supply, catering, postal services, EOD and supply chain logistics, amongst many other roles.

Camp Bastion took its name from the sheer number of HESCO collapsible defensive blocks – or bastions – used in its construction. The photograph at the top of the page shows two soldiers from 23 (Pioneer) Regiment RLC unloading a HESCO Bastion during the construction of Camp Bastion in 2005.

The next pair of photographs show a Combat Logistic Patrol (CLP) setting out from Camp Bastion in 2009. CLPs were vast logistical operations whose convoys could sometimes be made up of over a hundred vehicles and stretch well over 2 miles in length. Often moving along lesser used roads to minimise the threat from Improvised Explosive Devices, they would have near constant air support provided by aircraft such as the Army Air Corps’ Apache AH Mk 1, as well as Force Protection troops on the ground.

An RAF Merlin helicopter flies over the Combat Logistic Patrol at Camp Bastion as it prepares to leave the front gates. Also pictured are Panther, EPLS,Foden vehicles from both British and American forces. The RLC Unit (Queens Own Royal Gurkha Logistic Regiment) at Camp Bastion prepare to deploy on a six day CLP; provisioning the force by road. This CLP is a joint effort between the British Army, the ANA and the Americans.

A British Army AH64 Helicopter flies over the Combat Logistic Patrol at Camp Bastion. Pictured from left is a 4×4 from The Afghan National Army , A british Jackal,two American PLS Vehicles and four British EPLS Vehicles. The RLC Unit (Queens Own Royal Gurkha Logistic Regiment) at Camp Bastion prepare to deploy on a six day CLP; provisioning the force by road. This CLP is a joint effort between the British Army, the ANA and the Americans.

The eventual withdrawal from Camp Bastion, and Afghanistan as a whole, was a monumental effort of logistical planning as the UK Armed Forces began returning all equipment, supplies, and vehicles that were not to be left to the Afghan National Army. A key part of this saw thousands of vehicles undergo repatriation processing, including receiving a 24 Deep clean, before being loaded onto the large RAF C-17 Globemaster Transport Aircraft for the flight back to the UK.

Find out more about the RLC’s roles in Afghanistan – we are open Tuesday to Saturday from 9.30 to 4pm.