16 Air Assault Brigade
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Search complete. 3 mentions across 3 episodes found for "16 Air Assault Brigade".
Oct 11, 2026
Chris PleasanceHOST
Can you start by setting the context of it? Why were the SAS in Afghanistan in the first place? What were they sent there to do and how did they go about it? Sure.
Mark NicolGUEST
Well, as you know, and we'll remember, Chris, in 2006, the UK launched Task Force Hellman, and that involved initially the deployment of 16th Air Assault Brigade and then subsequent rollovers of brigades on a six-monthly basis.
Mark NicolGUEST
And it soon became apparent that we had taken on a far tougher challenge and defence planners had... thought they were going to, or perhaps they'd had their heads in the sand.
Mark NicolGUEST
Certainly there are people I've spoken to as part of the book suggested that we knew this was going to be a crisis, but we just walked into it anyway.
Rosie WildGUEST
It's my little superpower.
Rosie WildGUEST
So I can go into a brigade planning conference or I can go on exercise with all of 16 Air Assault Brigade and I walk into this massive rock drill and every single person in there is a male.
Rosie WildGUEST
and I'm the only woman, I don't walk in there and think, I'm the only woman.
Rosie WildGUEST
This is so intimidating.
Herman PoppleberryHOST
On the 9th of May, a UK military team parachuted in.
Herman PoppleberryHOST
Six paratroopers from the Pathfinder platoon, 16 Air Assault Brigade, plus a doctor and an ICU nurse.
Herman PoppleberryHOST
Of course it has.
Herman PoppleberryHOST
An RAF A400M flew 6,788 kilometers from RAF Breeze Norton via Ascension Island with mid-air refueling and airdropped 3.3 tons of medical cargo.