I opened this thread months ago, as the issue of presence patrolling appeared on another thread and as an "armchair" observer have kept out of the debate.

I am mindful that non-military posters, even those with historical experience are hampered in commenting upon practical presence patrolling for such reasons as OPSEC and relying on open sources.

This thread has once again focussed on the UK campaign in Afghanistan, when there is a separate thread. IMHO as a patient moderator that is where many of the recent posts belong. I have not moved these recent posts.