Following an urgent request for assistance from the Afghan authorities, an RAF C-130 ferried almost 200 Afghan National Army troops and Afghan National Police personnel from Tarin Kot in Uruzgan province to Kandahar airfield in support of ongoing Afghan-led security operations in Kandahar province. The mission, which was flown at very short notice and involved operating from an unfamilar airfield at night, drew particular praise from Lieutenant General Rodriguez, the commander of the International Stabilisation Assistance Force Joint Command.

Photography: RAF/MOD Crown Copyright 2011.