THE former Devon and Dorsets will be deployed to Afghanistan next April.

The unit is now called the 1st Battalion The Rifles and last sent to the country over the winter of 2008/09.

The men will go out as part of 3 Commando Brigade for six months in Helmand province.

The regulars will be joined by 45 TA soldiers from 6 Rifles, which has a detachment on Wallisdown Road on the Bournemouth and Poole border.

Each Rifles battalion is around 650 men strong and has around 25 men from Dorset. 1 Rifles, in Chepstow, has more because it is close to home and also because of its county legacy before the 2007 amalgamation.

During the previous deployment, the battalion’s role was to train the Afghan National Army, Major Jonny Kitson, second in command, told the Daily Echo: “There’s a lot of experience in the regiment.

“But we’re under no illusions that things have moved on, the equipment has changed, the tactics have changed, and most importantly the enemy’s tactics have changed.

“Now we are also focusing on the Afghan population and assisting them to take control of their own country.

“We are assisting them in dealing with weakening and unpopular insurgency in what is a small part of the country.”

The battalion has been training with Afghanistan in mind since the summer but defence minister Dr Liam Fox made the formal announcement yesterday.

During January, the men will train at a mock Afghan village in Norfolk, and later take part in brigade scale manoeuvres on Salisbury Plain.

The Rifles were usually deployed to Sangin province, the most dangerous part of Helmand, but American troops now have responsibility for the town.

Major Kitson asked people to visit the regiment’s wristband appeal at swiftandbold.org.