Lost another helicopter?

The answer was yes. It has been another difficult week for the RAF in Afghanistan. Political stirrings in the UK have meant that most of the news savvy public now know of a severe shortage in vital heavy lift military helicopters.

Two weeks ago an RAF Chinook helicopter was brought down by enemy fire in southern Afghanistan. The crew and occupants, soldiers from 2 Rifles, all escaped the wreckage. The airframe and engines had been badly damaged.

The crew and soldiers came under enemy fire and a decision was made to make the helicopter unusable rather than recover it for repairs, a tactical choice. The Chinook was destroyed with plastic explosives in the desert.

The British forces had 10 Chinooks in Afghanistan. This number dropped to 9 and at the end of last week had dropped again to 8.

How does this affect the position of UK forces?

A glaring example can be seen in the Helmand River Valley.  The Taliban controls much of the 'Green Zone' a highly fertile poppy growing area next to the Helmand River. Small military camps known as FOB (Forward Operating Base) Jackson and FOB Inkerman are a mere 7km apart. It is deemed, even in armoured vehicles, to be suicidal to travel this distance on the ground. the only way to reach these bases is by Helicopter. All supplies, food, water, ammunition and medical services have to be flown in and out by Chinook. These are small outposts, home to between 30 and 50 men. 

It can take, for example for a person to get back to Camp Bastion a 10 minute flight away and the HQ of British Forces, on average about 2 days to travel this distance due to the lack of helicopters.

Now that 2 have been lost how will the gap be filled?