British group formed for Afghanistan veterans and local staff

British Royal Marines scramble out of a Chinook helicopter in south-eastern Afghanistan in 2002. All photos: Getty Images

Royal Marines from Arbroath, Scotland patrol south-eastern Afghanistan in 2002

British and US forces fire 105mm artillery rounds at Bagram Airbase in 2002

British Royal Marine Commandos at Bagram Airbase in 2002

British soldiers rest while arriving for their deployment to Camp Bastion in Helmand province in 2006

British troops look for explosives with a sniffer dog in Musa Qala in the southern Afghan province of Helmand in 2006

Cpt Alex Corbet Burcher patrols with Afghan National Army soldiers in 2007 in Sangin Valley, Helmand

A British Army soldier secures a helicopter landing strip during operation Southern Beast in Maywand District in Kandahar in 2008

British soldiers and the Afghan National Police secure the site of a suicide bomb blast in 2009 in Kabul

A sea of crosses bearing pictures of soldiers killed in Afghanistan is placed in the Royal British Legion Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey, London in 2012

Then-prime minister David Cameron talks to British soldiers during a visit to Camp Bastion in 2013

The UK national flag is displayed as British troops gather for a Remembrance Sunday service at Kandahar airfield in 2014

British troops attend a sunset flag-lowering and end-of-mission ceremony at Kandahar airfield in 2014

A serving lieutenant colonel and a recently retired former staff sergeant in the British Army have established an organisation to provide support to personnel who served in Afghanistan.

About 150,000 served in Afghanistan during the 20-year conflict – the largest number of UK armed forces personnel since the end of the Second World War.

Combat operations in the country ended a decade ago, with the 10th anniversary of that moment approaching soon.

The UK Afghanistan Veterans Community will be the largest military association in the country, as everyone who served will become automatic members, and the first to be formed since the Gulf War.

The inspiration for the community came from a meeting at a social event during the time of Operation Pitting, where Lt Col Matthew Mallett and Invictus Games athlete Jonny Ball shared their thoughts and feelings associated with Afghanistan and how it was distinct from other stations.

Lt Col Mallett said the association would "seek to establish a charitable community for the 150,000 UK Afghan veterans who served in Afghanistan over the course of the 20-year campaign".

"The fact we have two Chelsea pensioners that are Afghan veterans is signalling quite clearly that this next generation of veterans is coming through," he told BFBS Forces News.

Mr Ball, who was until recently a staff sergeant in the Intelligence Corps, told th same news service: "There are a bit of a mix of narratives in the community.

"It ranges from a sense of shame in the way in which we withdrew – completely out of the control of the Afghan veterans themselves – to a sense of pride in the amazing work we did out there during our time.

"I, for one, am very proud of rebuilding a school in Afghanistan and furthering the opportunities and life chances of ordinary Afghan children.

"It might surprise people to see another rank like myself, recently discharged from the Army Reserve, and a lieutenant colonel in the regular army that are mates. But we are mates. We're brothers. We have that shared experience of Afghanistan."

The group has already formed partnerships with major organisations such as the Royal British Legion and the National Memorial Arboretum. Gen Sir Patrick Sanders, a former chief of the general staff, has accepted an invitation to become the association's patron.