REMEMBRANCE 
AROUND THE WORLD

Remembrance Sunday is just weeks away, and will be marked by members of the UK Armed Forces around the world. Here's what they're doing now.


Helping the fight against ISIL

UK Armed Forces are training and equipping Iraqi and Kurdish ground forces to help in their fight against ISIL terrorists.

The RAF are also playing a leading role in the international air campaign with air strike activity and highly advanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.


Migrant rescue operations

HMS Bulwark and Royal Navy Merlin rescued thousands of people from small gang-operated boats earlier this summer.

The Royal Navy is now helping tackle the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean by working to disrupt the criminal gangs who are smuggling refugees between North Africa and Europe. HMS Enterprise and HMS Richmond are now moving the mission onto the next stage, working to board and seize criminal vessels in the southern Mediterranean.

Fighting Ebola in Sierra Leone

The UK armed forces played a pivotal role in delivering the British support in response to the Ebola crisis in Sierra Leone. Over 1,000 Armed Forces personnel were deployed on the operation, with 27 still in country supporting the ongoing efforts by government workers and NGOs to get to zeros new cases of Ebola as quickly as possible.

The UK military's contribution was made up of logisticians, planners and engineers, who oversaw the construction of the UK facilities across Sierra Leone and medics who manned the 12 bed facility reserved to treat healthcare workers with Ebola.



Military personnel in Sierra Leone also included the crew of RFA Argus which provided aviation support, transporting supplies to isolated areas of Sierra Leone.

Support for Ukraine

The UK provides a training programme in Ukraine, which includes medical, infantry and survival skills. This non-lethal assistance comes at the request of the Ukrainian Government to enhance the capability of their armed forces to defend themselves.

19 UK teams have trained nearly 1,600 members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces so far, and are on track to train more than 2,000 troops by the end of the financial year.

Securing the Skies

RAF pilots and jets are on call 24 hours a day to police and protect airspace over around the world. The British Quick Reaction Alert team are able to be in the air within minutes.

They watch for planes not communicating, not following their agreed flight paths, or sending distress signals.

Narcotic patrols and disaster relief in the Caribbean

Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Lyme Bay is currently on patrol for drug traffickers in the Caribbean. 

She recently broke off this work to help with disaster relief in Dominica and the Bahamas following the devastation left behind by Tropical Storm Erika and Hurricaine Joaquin. This included evacuation of personnel and providing immediate medical and emergency aid to those affected by the storms.