British troops are to serve longer tours of duty in Afghanistan, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has announced.
Forces deploying to Afghanistan this October will serve an eight-month tour of duty before coming home, rather than six months, as was previously the norm.
And as the British Army prepares to withdraw the bulk of its deployment by the end of 2014, some troops sent to Afghanistan next year will stay for as long as nine months, Mr Hammond said in a statement to the House of Commons.
He said that between 2,200 and 3,700 UK military personnel were expected to serve for more than six and a half months in Afghanistan on the mission Operation Herrick as a result of this announcement.
Those serving more than seven and a half months and enduring the “relatively more austere conditions” expected towards the end of the campaign as bases close and assets are removed will receive a “Herrick drawdown allowance” worth £50 a day before tax on top of standard operational allowances, Mr Hammond said.
Prime Minister David Cameron has announced that the size of the UK force in Afghanistan will be reduced from its peak of 9,500 military personnel to about 5,200 by the end of this year.