Preparations are under way in Afghanistan ahead of the arrival of 150 Royal Marines Commandos, marking the start of an enlarged UK deployment. Chinook helicopters have been unloaded at Kandahar air base and reassembled to transport the 42 Commando troops, whose home base is at Bickleigh, in Devon. The Ministry of Defence announced last month an extra 3,300 troops would be sent to southern Afghanistan. Full Story