After Afghanistan: Resilience, Recovery and Renewal

Historian Chloe Storer explores narratives of Operation Herrick as told by British servicemen.

Herrick was the codename for British operations in Afghanistan between 2002 and 2014. Spanning over a decade, this conflict marked a pivotal chapter in modern British military history, testing adaptability in counterinsurgency, coalition warfare and nation-building in a complex overseas environment.

While there has been significant research documenting the nature of counterinsurgency warfare, troop welfare and the complex nature of Afghanistan itself, there has been little that considers the conflict from the soldiers' perspectives and how their narratives may change over time. Indeed, the full effects of the conflict remain unknown, having only formally concluded in 2021.

In this talk, Chloe Storer shares findings from her PhD comparing interviews at two points in time to explain how and why narratives of Operation Herrick have evolved, not least in the wake of the withdrawal and a formal military defeat.

About the speaker

Chloe Storer recently submitted her PhD at King’s College London in partnership with the Imperial War Museums, where she examined how narratives of Operation Herrick have changed over time. Her historical interests span social and cultural history, public history and oral history, with a specialisation in warfare.

Chloe holds a bachelor's degree in History (2020) and a master's degree in Public History (2021) from Royal Holloway, University of London.