Forward Operating Base Budwan, or more simply, FOB Budwan, was a military base located near

Gereshk Grishk (; ), also spelled Gereshk, is the new name of Zamindawar which is named after the invasion of the region by Nader Afshar army and given to Ghilji tribe in 18th century. Grishk a town in Grishk District of Helmand province, geograph ...

, in the

Helmand province Helmand (Pashto language, Pashto/Dari language, Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. It was occupied by

International Security Assistance Force The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386, Resolution 1386 ac ...

(ISAF) forces from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

as part of Task Force Helmand during

Operation Herrick Operation Herrick was the codename under which all British operations in the War in Afghanistan were conducted from 2002 to the end of combat operations in 2014. It consisted of the British contribution to the NATO-led International Security Assi ...

(OP H). The base was originally named FOB Armadillo after the mascot of a Danish company commander, Major Anders Stæhr Storrud, who was killed three months before the base was established. The base was then renamed to FOB Budwan in 2010.

History

It was one of three smaller forward operating bases (FOBs) used by British and Danish forces around Gereshk (the others being FOB Sandford and FOB Keenan) in addition to their headquarters at FOB Price.

FOB Armadillo

* Created by 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards and the Danish. *

Guard Hussar Regiment The Guard Hussar Regiment () is a cavalry unit of the Royal Danish Army, whose primary task is to train the Guard Hussars for various functions in the mobilisation force. The Guard Hussar Regiment is one of two active cavalry regiments of the Da ...

, Charlie Company Feb - Jul 2009 *

with

AeroVironment RQ-11 Raven The AeroVironment RQ-11 Raven is a small hand-launched remote-controlled unmanned aerial vehicle (or SUAV) developed for the United States military, but now adopted by the military forces of many other countries. The RQ-11 Raven was originally ...

Unmanned aerial vehicles and

Piranha A piranha (, or ; ) is any of a number of freshwater fish species in the subfamily Serrasalminae, of the family Serrasalmidae, in the order Characiformes. These fish inhabit South American rivers, floodplains, lakes and reservoirs. Although ...

's ** Charlie Company during May 2010 It has been used by: * OP H IX - 3 Commando Brigade (October 2008 - April 2009): * OP H X - 19th Light Brigade (April 2009 - October 2009): * OP H XI -

11 Light Brigade The 11th Brigade is a brigade of the British Army which is transitioning to the tactical recce-strike role. The brigade was formerly the 11th Security Force Assistance Brigade, providing training and guidance for foreign militaries. Originally ...

(October 2009 - April 2010): The base was renamed in 2010 to Budwan

Film

A Danish

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

of the same name released in 2010, followed a group of Danish soldiers from the

Guard Hussars The Guard Hussar Regiment () is a cavalry unit of the Royal Danish Army, whose primary task is to train the Guard Hussars for various functions in the mobilisation force. The Guard Hussar Regiment is one of two active cavalry regiments of the Da ...

stationed at the base.

FOB Budwan

It has been used by: * OP H XII - 4th Mechanized Brigade (April 2010 - October 2010): **

4th Regiment Royal Artillery The 4th Regiment Royal Artillery is a regiment of the Royal Artillery in the British Army. It was formed in 1939 as 4th Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, before being redesignated in 1961. It is currently based at Alanbrooke Barracks in Topcl ...

with members of 4th Field Regiment,

Royal Australian Artillery The Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery, normally referred to as the Royal Australian Artillery (RAA), is a Regiment of the Australian Army descended from the original colonial artillery units prior to Australia's federation. Australia's f ...

***Cutler Troop * OP H XIII - 16 Air Assault Brigade (October 2010 - April 2011): **

7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery 7th Parachute Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery (7 HAT) is a regiment of the Royal Artillery in the British Army. It serves in the field artillery role with 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team, and is equipped with the L118 Light Gun. The regi ...

(for the tour only) ***J (Sidi Rezegh) Battery RHA with gunners from the 1st Field Regiment,

. The closing and disassembling of Budwan started in December 2010. The last troops and equipment left in late January 2011. The units stationed there were relocated to other bases around Gereshk.

Notes

References