Moving outside the wire in Mali

British peacekeepers deployed to Mali got to feel the African Sahara beneath their feet as they patrolled deep into the desert for the first time

Punching out into the desert, travelling long distances isn't for everyone but for the British soldiers of the UK Task Group in Mali, it’s exactly what they’ve trained for. In their first operational patrol since deploying to West Africa, the task group took roughly 200 people and 60 vehicles out of camp into the vast desert.

Since arriving in December, the task group have been busy setting up their new home. Taking over camp and setting up has been quite the task, ensuring all their equipment and vehicles are mission-ready and kitting out their ISO containers with all their creature comforts.

• The British Army has arrived in Mali: Here’s what you need to know about the deployment

A solider from the UK Task Group interacting with some local children in Mali.

Led by the Light Dragoons, but with personnel drawn from across the Armed Forces, The task group were more than ready as they ventured into the Sahara.

They did so just as in their Mission Rehearsal Exercise in the UK, but this time the locals weren’t played by actors. For some Malian civilians, this may have been the first time they were able to meet with UN forces.

The UK Task Group have conducted operations outside the wire for the first time in Mali to recce the local area.

Better understanding the situation through these long-range reconnaissance patrols helps the UN to bring peace and security to the country and region. The glaring threat of violence from extremists is a concern to local people, but other challenges are not to be forgotten. Access to water, food, resources, the ability to get goods to market and to travel freely on the road are all a daily struggle for many.

A Major from the Royal Anglians completed a Local Leader Engagement (LLE) with the local town council.

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Lieutenant Colonel Tom Robinson pauses during the UK Task Group’s integration training on Salisbury Plain.

“There is nothing like driving out of camp for the first time. Testing your vehicles on familiar kind of African scrub. Meeting Malian people and really getting that proper feel for what this country is all about and how we can help.”

— Lieutenant Colonel Robinson, the Commanding Officer of the Long Range Reconnaissance Group (Mali)

The task group have a lot of work ahead as they begin to manoeuvre complexities in this troubled country.

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