Essential Harvest began on 22nd August 2001 on a thirty-day mission to voluntarily disarm ethnic Albanian groups and destroy their weapons. The Operation ended 26th September 2001 with a successful outcome with over 3,300 weapons collected.

Task Force Harvest, comprised 3,500 NATO personnel with logistic support, was tasked to collect arms and ammunition voluntarily from the National Liberation Army in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Major units of TFH were provided by Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

Additional forces were provided by Hungary, Italy, Norway, Portugal and the United States. These included explosive and ordnance disposal units, medical evacuation, air transport and military police.

The UK provided 16 Air Assault Brigade headquarters and one battle group and Canada provided an infantry company. The British Brigade was commanded by Brigadier Barney White-Spunner while Task Force Harvest was under the command of the Danish Major General Gunnar Lange.

On 27th August 2001, Sapper Collins of the 9th Parachute Squadron, Royal Engineers, died of injuries in hospital, following an incident in Macedonia. A group of Macedonian teenagers stopped a car with two British soldiers on the previous night, and started throwing stones at the car, breaking all the windows. The driver was heavily injured and died in the Hospital of Skopje
University.

British units deployed were:
16 Air Assault Brigade
Pathfinder Platoon, Parachute Regiment
216 Squadron, Royal Signals
7 Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery
156 Company, Royal Military Police
A, B & C (Gurkha) Companies, 2nd Parachute Battalion
Recce Troop, The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps
33 (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) Engineer Regiment
9 (Para) Squadron, Royal Engineers
65 Field Support Squadron, Royal Engineers
32 Engineer Regiment
36 Engineer Regiment
9 Regiment, Army Air Corps
13 Air Assault Support Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps
29 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps
7 Battalion, Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers
8 Close Support Company, Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers
5 Medical Regiment
16 Medical Regiment
Canadian units: Force Reconnaissance Squadron and an element of the National Command Element.