"'Clear the Way!' Imjin Company on patrol from Forward Operating Base Keenan"

by David Rowlands

Size 58 x 38 cm

Forward Operating Base (FOB) Keenan was established in the village of Zumbelay in the upper Gereshk Valley, Helmand Province, Afghanistan after the area had been cleared of Taliban fighters in September 2007.

Imjin Company of 2nd Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment deployed on Operation HERRICK 8, from March to September 2008. A platoon was tasked to be the Patrols Platoon of the UK Composite Company in FOB Keenan.

When I was in Helmand that summer, I met members of the Company who invited me to do a painting of FOB Keenan. The picture shows the Bridgehead, which consisted of the bridge over the canal and two defensive sangars. A soldier mans the Grenade Machine Gun. The base is in the left distance. The patrol consists of soldiers of Imjin Company and the Afghan National Army.

Over 110 reservists from the Battalion mobilised and deployed to Afghanistan in support of the British operation, and fought alongside the Afghan National Army against the Taliban.