Tasked with protecting Kandahar Airport, 10 miles south-east of the country's second largest city, the force was expected to arrive in ice-cold temperatures of -8C.
They spent their first night in Afghanistan under canvas before moving into accommodation on the airfield.
Once acclimatised, their job will be to protect the airfield from mortar and rocket attack, while also undertaking regular patrols outside the airport's perimeter in the ongoing battle for "hearts and minds".
As they made final checks at RAF Wittering on Tuesday prior to flying out to Kandahar, spirits were high.
The force includes the 130-strong 3 Squadron RAF Regiment, 15 members of 1 Force Protection Wing and 18 reservists hailing from five different regiments, posed for photographs.
For Wittering resident Errol Robinson, one of five reservists attached to 504 (County of Nottingham) Regiment, it will be the first time he leaves his 14-month-old son Tobias Joshua.
He said: "It's hard, but all I can do is come back safely. My wife Nicola is a sergeant in the RAF so she understands how I feel, and I realise how she feels too."
Meanwhile, Gary Thompson is leaving behind his day job as managing director of Nottingham-based Sherwood Ducting Limited to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan.
He said: "I have five daughters, three of whom are at university.
"I want women in Afghanistan to be given the same opportunity that my daughters have had. It means I can come back and say I have played my part in trying to make that happen."
Stamford reservist Andy Ham added: "There's an element of frustration because we want to get on with the job. Everybody is up for it."
Jo Craven, from Halifax, in West Yorkshire, was one of three women to be deployed from RAF Wittering for the current tour of duty.
She said: "I am a clerk and my job is to look after any concerns the men might have.
"I will also help out with female searches if need be. The biggest fear is always losing one of the lads."
The force only arrived back at RAF Wittering earlier this week following two weeks of leave which allowed the men and women to say goodbye to friends and family.
Corporal Lee Nickless, a veteran of campaigns in Afghanistan, Iraq and Northern Ireland, said: "On leave I was able to visit family in Scotland and Manchester. It was just a chance to see people, some who I haven't seen for a long time, before I go out to Afghanistan.
"Seven months is a long time, but it doesn't bother me. I'm used to it."