Visit by Her Majesty the Queen to the Danish forces in Helmand

The visit of the delegation to the Helmand Province included Patrol Baseline, Camp Price and Camp Bastion, where they were given a tour of the premises. Here Her Majesty had the opportunity to talk to the soldiers about their experiences and to get some idea of the operational and living conditions of the soldiers.

In relation to her visit, Her Majesty the Queen stated,
“In later years, I have been able to follow at a distance the effort of our troops in Afghanistan. In this connection I have been very pleased that their effort has been praised and appreciated both nationally and internationally. I have now had the opportunity to see and experience for myself the conditions of the Danish soldiers in Afghanistan. I am impressed by their effort and proud of it, too. Their drive, their determination, and their good spirits have made a great impression on me”.

Change of the military effort
Both Her Majesty and the minister got a positive impression of the concerted civilian-military effort in the Helmand Province by ISAF (International Security Assistance Force). They got an insight into the development of the training and education of the Afghan police officers and soldiers.

Minister of Defence Ms. Gitte Lillelund Bech stated after the visit: “It is incredibly positive for me to have had this opportunity to accompany Her Majesty the Queen to the Helmand Province on her visit to our deployed troops. To me the visit has demonstrated that we have come a long way, and that we are increasingly able to transfer ever more responsibility to the Afghans themselves. This is also the purpose of the Government’s newly introduced Helmand Plan for 2011-12”.

The Danish battle group in the Helmand Province consists of abt. 645 persons, who form part of the British lead Task Force Helmand. All in all there are abt. 750 Danish soldiers in Afghanistan.