Regiment returns to Wiltshire

Soldiers from 8 Armoured Engineer Squadron (8 AES), 26 Engineer Regiment, returned to Perham Down, after the Regiment’s deployment as part of 12th Mechanized Brigade (12 Mech Bde) in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

The Regiment has been fulfilling the role of Task Force Helmand Engineer Group on Operation Herrick 16, operating across the Helmand area of operations providing infrastructure support including road repairs, Patrol Base Upgrades and permanent bridge emplacement.


26 Engineer Regiment return to Perham Down


80 members of 8 Armoured Engineer Squadron were welcomed home at Swinton Barracks, Perham Down, by their families, friends and colleagues. 

Major Jamie Stuart Officer Commanding 8 AES was greeted by his wife Felicity and their 15-month-old daughter Isla:

“It was a great welcome and wonderful to see my family and the other families. All the guys have been waiting to see them and they are in high spirits to be home. They deserve a drink as they have done a hard job really well. It has been a very busy tour with a mixture of construction and deconstruction, as well as some operational taskings which would create more security for example at forward operating bases. It was a mixture of developed and rural environments which had their challenges but my soldiers coped well. It was a good tour and keeping moral up when your busy is much easier.”

C/O of 26 Engineer Regiment returns to Perham Down

During the tour 8 Armoured Engineer Squadron were involved in some high profile tasks, including the upgrade of a road into Bost airfield, which housed a US mentoring compound. The task which saw the use of civilian contactors proved to be hugely successful and provided a road that could be used not only by ISAF but by US Marine Corps Mentors, the Afghan Uniformed Police and local nationals. The Squadron was also involved in a number of Patrol Base and Check Point Closures and handovers in Nahr e Saraj (South).  

During the tour the Regiment lost one soldier, Lance Corporal Matthew David Smith, from 30 Armoured Engineer Squadron, who was killed in the Nad ‘Ali district of Helmand province when he was hit by small arms fire on Friday, 10 August 2012.

26 Engineer Regiment will hold its Afghanistan Medals Parade at Perham Down on Friday 5th October, before taking a well earned period of leave.