7th Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom) Armored Brigade deployed to Afghanistan's Helmand Province, Kandahar, and Kabul. On 5 March 2013, the British Secretary of State for Defence, Philip Hammond, announced that the 7th Armoured Brigade would have its Challenger 2 tanks and heavy armoured battalions removed over the next decade. The Brigade itself was re-designated as the 7th Infantry Brigade, but retains its famed 'Desert Rats' insignia. It will form part of the Adaptable Force under Army 2020. The decision was met with regret by former 7th Armoured Brigade commander Patrick Cordingley, who said that the "changes would still dismay veterans and the general public". On
7th Division (Australia) of this belief appears to be censorship of the part played by the 7th Division in the fierce fighting in the 1941 Syria-Lebanon campaign. The 7th Division along with the 6th and 9th Australian Divisions were the only divisions to serve in both the Middle East and the South West Pacific Area. It was disbanded in 1946, following the end of the war. The 7th Division was the second division raised as part of the 2nd AIF following the outbreak of World War II. Approval for the formation of the new division was granted on 28 February 1940 and on