Operation PITTING: A moving story, and one to learn from
- Assorted UK Defence Blog
- Feb 12, 2022
- 6 min read
In mid-August last year, one of the longest, and for veterans, most painful, conflicts in recent British military history came to a close as Afghanistan fell to a Taliban regime, undoing two decades of work to stabilize the country and bring democracy and rights to all in a war-torn country, leaving many shocked.
On the 13th of August 2021, the British Armed Forces undertook a dangerous, selfless mission to save lives. Operation Pitting, as it was known, was the operation undertaken to evacuate UK citizens and eligible Afghans to the UK. The planners in Northwood estimated no more than 5,000 people could be rescued, but thanks to the gargantuan efforts of the three services, more than triple that were successfully brought to the UK. This article is in thanks to these service personnel, and what they have done to save others.
This article will hopefully attempt to piece together what happened, and what can be learned from the operation as a whole.
(Any inaccuracies are my own and please correct me on them in the comments.)
Contents:
Securing the Airport
Securing the EHC and the Canal
Airlifts en-masse
Drawdown
Aftermath
Conclusions
Securing the Airport: (14th-16th August)
After the announcement of the operation on the 13th of August, Joint Force Headquarters (JFH) deployed the first UK military personnel to Kabul via a C-17 Globemaster III early on the 14th. This first group consisted of a skeleton headquarters of 16 Air Assault Brigade (as it was then known), members of the Home Office, and half of the 2 PARA Battlegroup, consisting of 'A' Company, 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment. This group established itself at the Airport's Passenger Handling Facility (PHF), the Casa Italia, and it's surrounding military complex. Here the HQ was set up whilst the initial 2 PARA Battlegroup was completed with the arrival of 'C' Company.
From the 14th to the 16th of August, the 2 PARA Battlegroup was primarily concerned with securing the Airport's perimeter, especially in the north where, on the 16th, a crowd of refugees blocked the runway for around 12 hours until they could be cleared. Soon after this, an air bridge was established between RAF Brize Norton and Hamid Karzai International Airport, with stopovers in the UAE. On the 16th, the British forces were reinforced by 'B' Company of 2 PARA, and it was decided that the force had sufficient mass to move onto the next stage of the operation.
Securing the EHC and the Canal: (17th-21st August)
On the 17th of August, the 2 PARA Battlegroup moved so the south of the Airport, to an area known as Route Leeds, which was a road surrounding the airstrip. The force concentrated around the Abbey Gate, which was the primary southern entrance to the Airport, and thus needed to be protected. However, at this time thousands of refugees could be seen to be heading for the Gate, and were held back by men of 2 PARA equipped with riot shields.
Seeing that the current force would not be sufficient to carry out the mission, the 3 PARA Battlegroup, on 24hr notice, was ordered to Kabul, arriving the same day. After securing the gate, a plan was drawn up to carry out mass evacuations. To do so, an Evacuation Centre (EHC), which would coordinate evacuation efforts as well as checks would need to be established, with the Baron Hotel being chosen as the location for this.
To achieve this, the area in front of the Abbey Gate and the route to the hotel would need to be cleared of the crowds of refugees, as well as acquiring vehicles to move equipment and personnel. This was achieved by the 18th, with the Baron Hotel manned soon after and a processing area for evacuees was created.
However, it was soon realised that the EHC was overflowing with non-eligible refugees, and that a block would have to be put in place. This became known as "The Chevron", owing to it's shape, and initially was just a basic barrier but was later upgraded using disused cars, and eventually with the help of USMC engineers, 23rd Parachute Engineer Regiment made the block with shipping containers, with paratroopers around it with riot shields, calling eligible evacuees forward.
The final issue to deal with during this stage was an area near Abbey Gate referred to as "The Canal", which was a large empty sewage canal which allowed refugees entry to the Airport via a different entrance. This was secured by 16 AAB by the 21st of August. A similar block to the one in place near the hotel was also established by the canal.
Airlifts en-masse: (22nd-26th August)
By now the situation on the ground was secure enough to allow the commencement of mass airlifts. The men of 16 Air Assault Brigade fell into a routine; 2 Companies securing the canal as well as 3 in and around the hotel on rotation, medics of 16 Medical Regiment dealt with those with heat exhaustion, 7th Regiment Royal Horse Artillery dealt with media coverage, 23 Para Engineers helped with engineering issues, 1st Military Working Dog Regiment assisting with crowd control, whilst 13 Regiment Royal Logistics Corps helped with the airbridge between RAF Brize Norton, Al Minhad Air Base in the UAE and Kabul. A dump of equipment was also created at the Airport to assist with logistics.
By this point RAF assets in theatre included 5 C-17 III Globemasters from 99 Sqdn, 2 A-400M Atlas' from LXX Sqdn, 2 C-130Js from 47 Sqdn, as well as 3 Voyager KC/3s from 10 and 101 Sqdns. In addition, elements of 1 and 7 Sqdns RAF Police, 2 and 15 Sqdns RAF Regiment as well as the Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, TMW were in theatre. By this point the RAF was flying out around 1,800 people a day.
On the 23rd, 'A' Company, 3rd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland (Black Watch) were placed on high readiness to deploy to Kabul, alongside elements of 1st Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment, but were not deployed.
On the 26th of August, an attack by ISIS-K on the American sector took place at around 5:30 local time, causing 183 deaths, including 13 US Soldiers, as well as injuries to over 150. Among the casualties were 2 British Nationals and a child, with 16 Medical Regiment providing medical assistance as well as other parts of 16 AAB securing the perimeter and assisting with bomb disposal. On the same day, a C-17 encountered a near miss with 3 vehicles, including a bus, which had ended up on the runway. In addition, Alma Company of 2nd Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment arrived in Kabul on the same day to reinforce 16 AAB.
Drawdown: (27th-28th August)
On the 27th of August the Baron Hotel was closed and attention was shifted to the evacuation of those already processed. The next day, on one of the final evacuation flights, an Afghan refugee gave birth to a baby girl. The final flight, consisting of military personnel, left late that same day. Around 800-1,100 eligible Afghans, 100-150 British Nationals as well as a small amount of military equipment were sadly left behind.
It was estimated that by the conclusion of the operation the RAF had carried out over 100 evacuation flights, with 31 being undertaken by A-400Ms, 46 via C-17 and 24 by C-130Js. One C-17 carried a load of 436 evacuees, the highest capacity flight in RAF history, as well as 3x the C-17's capacity on paper. By the end of the operation over 15,000 people had been evacuations, consisting of around 8,000 Afghans and 5,000 British Nationals, in the biggest airlift since the Berlin Airlift in 1947.
Aftermath:
Work to evacuate eligible Afghans and British Nationals continued after the airlift via third-party countries. On the 24th of November, 2021, 120 members of the forces deployed during Operation Pitting marched past Westminster and were met with a reception. On the 19th of January 2022, a new medal was made for those who served during Operation Pitting.
Conclusions:
Many lessons were drawn from the Operation. Firstly, for the ground troops it was important to improve Comms as well as Wi-Fi, as the limited internet caused significant communication issues, as well as the need for a presence within Northwood and training with Joint Force Headquarters (JFH), alongside training on crowd control. Engineers were also vital to the success of the operation. Finally, the incredible abilities of the C-17 Globemaster III were fully found out, and proved to be irreplaceable.
The success of Operation Pitting proves without a shadow of a doubt the will, determination and care with which the British Armed Forces continue to carry out that which is asked of them. Whilst we may continue to debate and ridicule the state or funding of the Armed Forces, it is undeniable that they continue to be the best Armed Forces in the world.
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