Task Force Uruzgan
Encyclopedia
Regional Command South
Regional Command is a multinational military formation, part of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. It is responsible for provincial reconstruction and security in Kandahar, Lashkar Gah, Qalat and Tarin Kowt. The Command also has responsibility for the provinces of Nimruz...
, International Security Assistance Force
International Security Assistance Force
The International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...
, in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. The Dutch lead one of the four Provincial Reconstruction Team
Provincial reconstruction team
A Provincial Reconstruction Team is a unit introduced by the United States government, consisting of military officers, diplomats, and reconstruction subject matter experts, working to support reconstruction efforts in unstable states. PRTs were first established in Afghanistan in late 2001 or...
s in the southern region of the country. 1,200 to 1,400 Dutch military, mandated by the Dutch Parliament in February 2006, will attempt to maintain order in Uruzgan province through July 2010. They will also attempt to develop political and economic infrastructure and to train the Afghan police.
The unit is located at one Main Operating Base
Main Operating Base
Main Operating Base is a term used by the United States military defined as "an overseas, permanently manned, well protected base, used to support permanently deployed forces, and with robust sea and/or air access." This term was used to differentiate major strategic overseas military facilities...
(MOB) and a few smaller Forward Operating Base
Forward Operating Base
A forward operating base is any secured forward military position, commonly a military base, that is used to support tactical operations. A FOB may or may not contain an airfield, hospital, or other facilities. The base may be used for an extended period of time. FOBs are traditionally supported...
s (FOB): the MOB is Kamp Holland
Kamp Holland
Kamp Holland is the main Dutch military base on the outskirts of Tarin Kowt, the provincial capital of Uruzgan province in southern Afghanistan....
in Tarin Kowt
Tarin Kowt
Tarinkot or Tarin Kowt is the capital of Orūzgān province in southern Afghanistan in Tarin Kowt District. It is a town of about 10,000 people, with some 200 small shops in the city's bazaar...
, the capital of Uruzgan province. There are a few smaller FOBs Camp Hadrian 60 kilometres (37.3 mi) west of Tarin Kowt near a town called Deh Rahwod, FOB Coyote north of Deh Rawod near a place called Chutu and FOB Phoenix on the west bank of the Helmand river
Helmand River
The Helmand River is the longest river in Afghanistan and the primarily watershed for the endorheic Sistan Basin....
near the town of Tor Nasser.
The TFU is under command of Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Kees Matthijssen and consists of a Provincial Reconstruction Team
Provincial reconstruction team
A Provincial Reconstruction Team is a unit introduced by the United States government, consisting of military officers, diplomats, and reconstruction subject matter experts, working to support reconstruction efforts in unstable states. PRTs were first established in Afghanistan in late 2001 or...
(PRT), a battlegroup
Battlegroup (army)
A battlegroup , or task force in modern military theory, is the basic building block of an army's fighting force. A battlegroup is formed around an infantry battalion or armoured regiment, which is usually commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel...
and an air detachment. The battlegroup consists of infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
with armored vehicles and artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
Howitzer
Howitzer
A howitzer is a type of artillery piece characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small propellant charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...
s, and is based around 13 Infanteriebataljon
Regiment Stoottroepen Prins Bernhard
The Regiment Stoottroepen Prins Bernhard is an infantry regiment of the Royal Netherlands Army.The Regiment Stoottroepen was founded on 21 September 1944 in Eindhoven, and composed of members of the Dutch resistance from those parts of the Netherlands that had been recently liberated from German...
. Elements of 42 en 43 Brigadeverkenningseskadron
Regiment Huzaren Van Boreel
The Regiment Huzaren van Boreel is an armoured regiment of the Royal Netherlands Army, named for Willem Francois Boreel. It currently serves in the armoured Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, Reconnaissance role; the regiment provides two armoured reconnaissance squadrons assigned to...
are also based as part of the battlegroup. If needed, they can rely on support of F-16 MLU's, six AH-64D Apache and five Eurocopter AS 532 helicopters of the Royal Netherlands Air Force
Royal Netherlands Air Force
The Royal Netherlands Air Force , Dutch Koninklijke Luchtmacht , is the military aviation branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Its ancestor, the Luchtvaartafdeling of the Dutch Army was founded on 1 July 1913, with four pilots...
.
The PRT is working together with Australian
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
troops and soldiers of the Afghan National Army
Afghan National Army
The Afghan National Army is a service branch of the military of Afghanistan, which is currently trained by the coalition forces to ultimately take the role in land-based military operations in Afghanistan. , the Afghan National Army is divided into seven regional Corps. The strength of the Afghan...
and Afghan police officers.
During June 2007 a Taliban offensive and a Dutch counterattack proved to be the heaviest fighting in Uruzgan province since ISAF extended its Area of Responsibility to the south of Afghanistan. A large part of Task Force Uruzgan's battlegroup took part in the Battle of Chora
Battle of Chora
The Battle of Chora took place in and around the town of Chora , in Afghanistan's Orūzgān Province, during June 15–19, 2007. The fighting was between ISAF and Afghan forces on one side and Taliban forces on the other for the control of the Chora District center, regarded by the Taliban as a...
.
A total of 24 Dutch Soldiers, Airmen and Marines have been killed so far, including the son of general Peter van Uhm
Peter van Uhm
General Petrus J.M. "Peter" van Uhm is a four-star general in the Royal Netherlands Army and the current Chief of the Netherlands Defence Staff...
, the current Chief of the Netherlands Defence Staff, who was killed in a roadside bombing just one day after his father assumed command. 140 Dutch were injured.
On May 29, 2009 Marco Kroon
Marco Kroon
Captain Marinus Johannes "Marco" Kroon, RMWO is a Dutch soldier serving with the Korps Commandotroepen. Kroon is a Knight of the Military William Order and the first new member of this very exclusive Order in over half a century...
, who fought in Afghanistan, was awarded the Militaire Willems-orde, the highest medal awarded by the Netherlands, which hadn't been given to anyone for over 50 years.
In December 2009, the relatives of 21 Dutch military who died on foreign missions were presented with official government documents honouring the deceased. At a ceremony in The Hague Defence Minister Van Middelkoop
Eimert van Middelkoop
Eimert van Middelkoop is a Dutch politician of the ChristianUnion party.From 2007 till 2010 he was Minister of Defence in the Cabinet Balkenende IV...
(ChristenUnie) personally handed the documents to their relatives, who also received a commemorative sculpture.
In The Netherlands, the tradition to decorate military killed in action had been abolished, but was reinstated by Minister Van Middelkoop. Among the recipients was the Netherlands' Commander in Chief, General Van Uhm
Peter van Uhm
General Petrus J.M. "Peter" van Uhm is a four-star general in the Royal Netherlands Army and the current Chief of the Netherlands Defence Staff...
, whose son Dennis was killed in action in Uruzgan in April 2008, one day after father Van Uhm took over the command.
All Dutch troops will withdraw from Uruzgan in 2010 as scheduled. The United States would take over from The Netherlands, stated Van Uhm during a television talk-show in May 2010. There was a proposal that the US would continue the Dutch military's work in collaboration with Australia and Singapore, two other ISAF-members that also have troops stationed in Uruzgan.
After August 2010, the Dutch will be replaced by an American-led coalition force including Australian, Slovak and Singaporean soldiers.
The departure of the Dutch troops started when the command was actually transferred to US and Australia on August 1, 2010. The Dutch Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement that the security situation in central Uruzgan province had improved "considerably" since the beginning of the Dutch operations. The province has 1,600 police officers of its own, a 100 % gain in four years. There were 1,900 Dutch soldiers operating in Afghanistan. With this withdrawal, the Netherlands became the first NATO country to end its combat mission in Afghanistan
Taliban spokesman Qari Yusuf Ahmadij congratulated the citizens and government of the Netherlands for this independent decision.