Soldiers from 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (1 SCOTS) set off for Helmand province in the early hours of this morning, 10 March 2010,  to begin their six-month operational tour of Afghanistan.

The troops from C Company will be based in the south of the country where they will take on a variety of roles including training and mentoring the Afghan security forces.

C Company will form part of the Catterick-based 4 Mechanised Brigade, who will take command of Task Force Helmand from 11 Light Brigade in April.

The battalion already has B Company (about 110 personnel) in Afghanistan, which has been attached to their neighbours 3rd Battalion The Rifles, from Edinburgh's Redford Barracks, for the past five months.

B Company troops are due to start returning home over the next few weeks.

Ahead of this morning's journey the troops were inspected at the battalion's base at Dreghorn Barracks in Edinburgh, where they carried out the final preparations and checks before their departure.

1 SCOTS recruits traditionally from Edinburgh, the Lothians, Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders.