When was the last time Harriers actually deployed 'in the field' a'la rough strip,
We went in 2004 with 4 Sqn to live in tents and operate off strips around Macrahanish airfield. There also was an exercise off N Luffenham using strips etc annually around the same period. Other Sqns did the same in later years but I dont have the details.
As much as Kandahar was/is descriibed in the early days as being 'rough' comparitively speaking it was far more well found than the conditions the likes of the GR3s were used to operating under.
People will always go back to the why did we need VSTOL argument post cold war but Kandahar as a strip, although an established airfield, was inoperable by all the worlds modern strike aircraft when the Harrier force first went there in 2004. Quite useful to have a jet that could take off from a trashed runway in the height of the summer with a full fuel and weapon load at 3500 ft up.