Thank you for your concern for British Sevicemen and women serving on current operations abroad. This web site aims to give you some insight so that you can pray effectively.

Please also join with us as we pray for our Armed Forces on the Day Of Prayer - Thursday 6 November 2008. Click here for more details

All information given here is in the public domain and available to the media from official sources.

It will be periodically updated to reflect changes in operational conditions.

According to the latest published official figures (1st April 2008) from the Defence Analytical Services Agency (DASA), the UK has a total of 192,670 serving personnel in the Armed Forces. As of 1st April 2007 there were a total of 18,310 UK servicemen and women serving overseas. By June 2008, there were some 12,500 UK personnel serving in Iraq and Afghanistan but many of these are not counted in the 'serving overseas' figure because they are regarded as being temporarily deployed from the UK.

However, it's the price of fuel, commodities and the turbulence in the world's financial sector that are among the stories that dominate the media headlines today and not the ongoing military situation in Iraq and Afghanistan. But the issue is never far from peoples own thoughts and continues to concern us all, especially when we see reports of lives that are sadly lost.

The fact remains that the deployment of British servicemen and women into these regions will be with us for some time to come. If asked, our Forces personnel will tell you that 'we are just doing our job' and approach their deployment in a professional and committed way. Although it was hoped that the total numbers of troops in operational theatres could be reduced, the truth is that more personnel are needed to train and equip local forces, provide security and aid reconstruction work.

Many serving Christians are among those deployed, and are involved across the whole spectrum of operations, from field medical services to ships' operations rooms. This includes chaplains who carry out an important role in providing spiritual and moral support to the troops. We would like you to join us in praying for our deployed servicemen and women who are doing their job in difficult political and diplomatic and increasingly hostile circumstances.

From the BBC Web Site:
Where are British troops and why? The UK's armed forces are deployed across the world in a range of roles.

If you would like further information, or feel your church would benefit from a visit by someone with first hand knowledge and experience, please contact us via the Armed Forces Christian Union website, www.afcu.org.uk/contact.htm.

© AFCU. Material on this page is subject to copyright restrictions - see our copyright statement. Information on this web page relating to military operations has been derived from unclassified public sources. The content of this web site does not necessarily reflect the views of the Ministry of Defence or the British Government.