BUB: British Kicking Bum in the 'Stan

Today's Battle Update brief gives you a great update on the Brits from Afghanistan

The Brits are pushing back the Taliban near the Kajaki Dam, but the progress seems to come and go.

Troops from C Company, 3rd Battalion The Rifles, are based at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Zeebrugge in an isolated and mountainous part of northern Helmand.
The soldiers often come into contact with the enemy and are under threat from gunfire, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and suicide bombers.
Major Mike Lynch, Officer Commanding C Company, said the unit had recently killed a Taliban commander, adding: "We've had a lot of success and we've pushed them back a long way. I think we have the upper hand up here at the moment."
But he said the majority of troops were understandably concentrated in other areas, such as Sangin, where there was more of a local population to protect.
Villages around the dam have been deserted since fierce fighting began in 2006 and there are not enough soldiers to provide a more complete security presence and allow locals to return.
There is also not enough security for the third turbine to be put in place at the dam.
A daring mission saw British troops transport the massive turbine from Kandahar in the summer of 2008.
The operation was hailed a great success and the extra electricity was supposed to help win Afghan hearts and minds.
Two turbines at the dam are already producing more electricity than the pylons are capable of carrying.

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Why are they succeeding? Heroes like this.

The incident came after a hours of intense fighting in which his platoon had already been surrounded and pinned down by the Taliban.
The 30-year-old, from Rothwell in Leeds, said "Luck was on our side today".
''Some of the rounds that were coming in were very close," he said.
''The only thing that was going through my head was getting the blokes out of the killing area.
''You don't really think about yourself, you just think about the men you command and making sure you get them all back in one piece.''
Sjt Greenwood and his platoon were on operation north of Forward Operating Base (FOB) Zeebrugge at Kajaki dam in the north of Helmand province.
The men were giving support to an IED (improvised explosive device) disposal team when they came under attack from multiple locations.

So what's coming up in the Spring? The next iteration of Panther's Claw...

The Spring offensive is aimed at occupying parts of Helmand Province where coalition forces have previously not had a significant presence, and forms part of Nato General Stanley McChrystal's new strategy of protecting population centres from insurgents.
It will involve around 1,000 British troops - likely to involve a combination of Grenadier Guards and members of the Welsh Guards who recently accounted for the 500-strong Christmas surge - and will focus on the area to the west of Nad-e-Ali.
An additional 2,500 US troops will take part in the operation, along with some 3,000 members of the Afghan National Army.
According to Lieutenant General Sir Nick Parker, the deputy Nato commander in Afghanistan, the mission will demonstrate the new strategy of "shape, clear, hold, build" - filling the spaces won with a considerable space presence to prevent the return of insurgents.
"The key to this approach is having adequate force density in terms of coalition forces but more importantly, in terms of Afghan forces," he said.
Ahead of the operation, there will be a charm offensive spearheaded by Gulab Mangal, the Governor of Helmand and a key British ally in tackling the drug trade in the province.
"It will very much be demonstrated to the people in these ungoverned spaces that they will get improved security, government and development," he said.

By: Brant