British Forces Brunei
British Forces Brunei is the name given to the British Armed Forces presence in Brunei. Since the handover ceremony of Hong Kong in 1997, the garrison in Brunei is the only remaining British military base in the Far East; the BFB garrison came about in 1963, when British troops were moved there from Singapore to quell a revolt against Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III in December 1962. From there, British forces have been involved in several conflicts, including helping to quell the Brunei Revolt of 1962 and the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation. Since Brunei's independence in 1984, forces have been stationed there at the request of the current Sultan, in a renewable agreement lasting five years at a time; the forces stationed in Brunei are available to assist the Sultan, but are available for deployment overseas with other elements of the British Armed Forces if needed. As recompense, the Sultan pays to help support the British presence. BFB is located at Seria and is centred on a light infantry battalion, which will be one of the two battalions of the Royal Gurkha Rifles.
The battalion stationed in Brunei operates as the British Army's acclimatised Far East reserve, is available for overseas deployment to the Far East and beyond—the Brunei-based battalion has been deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Herrick on several occasions, as well as to East Timor. In addition, Brunei serves as one of the British Army's major training areas, specialising in jungle warfare, with the Jungle Warfare Training School running the Jungle Warfare Advisor's Course. Stationed units HQ Brunei Garrison Resident infantry battalion 2nd Battalion, Royal Gurkha Rifles 7 Flight, Army Air Corps Jungle Warfare Training School Brunei Police Unit Brunei Signal Troop The British Forces Broadcasting Service broadcasts to the garrison, carrying programmes from both BFBS Radio 1 and BFBS Radio Gurkha; the Hornbill School, operated by Service Children's Education, is a primary school for children of services personnel. Camp Gonsalves – United States Marine Corps equivalent jungle warfare training site.
List of British Army installations The British Army in Brunei
Administrative structure of the field forces of the British Army
The field forces of the British Army after the Army 2020 Refine reforms are organised, in garrison, as: Reaction forces comprising a modified 16 Air Assault Brigade and an armoured division of two armoured infantry brigades, the 12th and 20th Armoured Infantry Brigades and two Strike brigades: 1st Strike Brigade and an as-yet-unnamed strike brigade. Adaptive forces comprising a division of seven infantry brigades. Force Troops Command comprising nine brigades of supporting units. For all units, operational direction is via Permanent Joint Headquarters. Elements within the nine regionally-aligned brigades may report to another chain of command; when not dealing with operational commitments or mission-specific training they may report through a Regional Point of Command to Headquarters Regional Command at Andover. Therefore, it may not always be apparent as to which Headquarters a given unit is working to, care should be taken to establish the correct chain of command for any engagement. 3rd Division in Bulford Royal Wessex Yeomanry in Bovington 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade in Tidworth.
Royal Tank Regiment in Tidworth with Challenger 2 main battle tanks 1st Battalion, Mercian Regiment in Bulford with Warrior tracked infantry fighting vehicles 4th Battalion, Mercian Regiment in Wolverhampton 1st Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers in Tidworth with Warrior tracked infantry fighting vehicles 5th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers in Newcastle 3rd Battalion, The Rifles in Edinburgh with Foxhound vehicles 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade in Bulford Royal Lancers in Catterick with FV107 Scimitar reconnaissance vehicles King's Royal Hussars in Tidworth with Challenger 2 main battle tanks 1st Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment in Warminster with Warrior tracked infantry fighting vehicles 1st Battalion, Royal Welsh in Tidworth with Warrior tracked infantry fighting vehicles 3rd Battalion, Royal Welsh in Cardiff 20th Armoured Infantry Brigade in Bulford Royal Dragoon Guards in Catterick with FV107 Scimitar reconnaissance vehicles Queen's Royal Hussars in Sennelager, with Challenger 2 main battle tanks 1st Battalion, Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment in Paderborn, with Warrior tracked infantry fighting vehicles 5th Battalion, The Rifles in Bulford with Warrior tracked infantry fighting vehicles 4th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland in Catterick with Mastiff protected patrol vehicles Strike Experimentation Group, in Warminster Household Cavalry Regiment in Windsor with FV107 Scimitar reconnaissance vehicles 1st Battalion, Scots Guards in Aldershot with Mastiff protected patrol vehicles 101 Logistic Brigade in Aldershot 156 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps in Liverpool Supporting 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade: 3 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps in Abingdon 10 Queen's Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment in Aldershot 151 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps in Croydon 1 Armoured Medical Regiment in Tidworth 6 Close Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in Tidworth Supporting 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade: 4 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps in Abingdon 27 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps in Aldershot 154 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps in Dunfermline 4 Armoured Medical Regiment in Aldershot 4 Close Support Battal
History of the British Army
The history of the British Army spans over three and a half centuries since its founding in 1660 and involves numerous European wars, colonial wars and world wars. From the late 17th century until the mid-20th century, the United Kingdom was the greatest economic and imperial power in the world, although this dominance was principally achieved through the strength of the Royal Navy, the British Army played a significant role; as of 2015, there were 92,000 professionals in 20,480 Volunteer Reserves. Britain has maintained only a small regular army during peacetime, expanding this as required in time of war, due to Britain's traditional role as a sea power. Since the suppression of Jacobitism in 1745, the British Army has played little role in British domestic politics, apart from Ireland, has been deployed against internal threats to authority; the British Army has been involved in many international conflicts, including the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimean War and both World War I and World War II.
It contributed to the expansion and retention of the British Empire. The British Army has long been at the forefront of new military developments, it was the first in the world to develop and deploy the tank, what is now the Royal Air Force had its origins within the British Army as the Royal Flying Corps. At the same time the British Army emphasises the continuity and longevity of several of its institutions and military tradition; the English Army was first established as a standing military force in 1660. In 1707 many regiments of the English and Scottish armies were combined under one operational command and stationed in the Netherlands fighting in the War of Spanish Succession. Although the regiments were now part of the new British military establishment, they remained under the same operational command, so not only were the regiments of the old armies transferred in situ to the new army so too was the institutional ethos and traditions, of the old standing armies, created shortly after the restoration of the monarchy 47 years earlier.
Stuart Asquith argues for roots before 1660: Many authorities quote the Restoration of 1660 as the birth date of our modern British Army. While this may be true as far as continuity of unit identity is concerned, it is untrue in a far more fundamental sense; the evidence of history shows that the creation of an efficient military machine and its proving on the battlefield, predates the Restoration by 15 years. It was on the fields of Naseby and Dunes that the foundations of the British professional army were laid; the New Model Army was the first full-time professional army raised within the three kingdoms of England and Scotland. It was created in 1645 by the English Long Parliament and it proved supreme in field. At the end of the First Civil War the New Model Army survived attempts by Parliament to disband it. Winston Churchill described its prowess thus: The Story of the Second English Civil War is short and simple. King and Commons, merchants, the City and the countryside and presbyters, the Scottish army, the Welsh people, the English Fleet, all now turned against the New Model Army.
The Army beat the lot! Having survived Parliament's attempts to disband it, the New Model Army prospered as an institution during the Interregnum, it was disbanded in 1660 with the restoration of the monarchy under Charles II. At his restoration Charles II sought to create a small standing army made up of some former Royalist and New Model Army regiments. On 26 January 1661, Charles II issued the Royal Warrant that created the first regiments of what would become the British Army, although Scotland and England maintained separate military establishments until the Acts of Union 1707. King Charles put into these regiments those cavaliers who had attached themselves to him during his exile on the European continent and had fought for him at the Battle of the Dunes against the Roundheads of the Protectorate and their French allies. For political expediency he included some elements of the New Model Army; the whole force consisted of five or six of infantry. It is, however, on this narrow and solid basis that the structure of the English army was erected.
The horse consisted of two regiments the Life Guards. The foot regiments were Grenadier Guards, the Coldstream Guards, the Royal Scots, the Second Queen's Royals. Many of Charles' subjects were uneasy at his creation of this small army. Pamphleteers wrote tracts voicing the fear of a people who within living memory had experienced the Rule of the Major-Generals and had liked neither the imposition of military rule, or the costs of keeping an army in being when the country was not at war with itself or others. People remembered the "Eleven Years' Tyranny" of Charles I and feared that a standing army under royal command would allow monarchs in the future to ignore the wishes of Parliament; the English were not reconciled to the need for a standing army until the reign of William III when the near perpetual wars with other European states made a modest standing army a necessity to defend England and to maintain her prestige in the world. But public opinion, always anxious of the bad old days, was resolved to allow itself no r
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. Infantry divisions during the World Wars ranged between 30,000 in nominal strength. In most armies, a division is composed of several brigades; the division has been the default combined arms unit capable of independent operations. Smaller combined arms units, such as the American regimental combat team during World War II, were used when conditions favored them. In recent times, modern Western militaries have begun adopting the smaller brigade combat team as the default combined arms unit, with the division they belong to being less important. While the focus of this article is on army divisions, in naval usage division has a different meaning, referring to either an administrative/functional sub-unit of a department aboard naval and coast guard ships, shore commands, in naval aviation units, to a sub-unit of several ships within a flotilla or squadron, or to two or three sections of aircraft operating under a designated division leader.
Some languages, like Russian, Serbo-Croatian and Polish, use a similar word divizion/dywizjon for a battalion-size artillery or cavalry unit. In administrative/functional sub-unit usage, unit size varies though divisions number far fewer than 100 people and are equivalent in function and organizational hierarchy/command relationship to a platoon or flight. In the West, the first general to think of organising an army into smaller combined-arms units was Maurice de Saxe, Marshal General of France, in his book Mes Rêveries, he died without having implemented his idea. Victor-François de Broglie put the ideas into practice, he conducted successful practical experiments of the divisional system in the Seven Years' War. The first war in which the divisional system was used systematically was the French Revolutionary War. Lazare Carnot of the Committee of Public Safety, in charge of military affairs, came to the same conclusion about it as the previous royal government, the army was organised into divisions.
It made the armies more flexible and easy to maneuver, it made the large army of the revolution manageable. Under Napoleon, the divisions were grouped together because of their increasing size. Napoleon's military success spread the corps system all over Europe; the divisional system reached its numerical height during the Second World War. The Soviet Union's Red Army consisted of more than a thousand divisional-size units at any one time, the total number of rifle divisions raised during the Great Patriotic War is estimated at 2,000. Nazi Germany had hundreds of numbered and/or named divisions, while the United States employed 91 divisions, two of which were disbanded during the war. A notable change to divisional structures during the war was completion of the shift from square divisions to triangular divisions that many European nations started using in World War I; this was done to pare down chain of command overhead. The triangular division allowed the tactic of "two forward, one back", where two of the division's regiments would be engaging the enemy with one regiment in reserve.
All divisions in World War II were expected to have their own artillery formations the size of a regiment depending upon the nation. Divisional artillery was seconded by corps level command to increase firepower in larger engagements. Regimental combat teams were used by the US during the war as well, whereby attached and/or organic divisional units were parceled out to infantry regiments, creating smaller combined-arms units with their own armor and artillery and support units; these combat teams would still be under divisional command but have some level of autonomy on the battlefield. Organic units within divisions were units which operated directly under Divisional command and were not controlled by the Regiments; these units were support units in nature, include signal companies, medical battalions, supply trains and administration. Attached units were smaller units that were placed under Divisional command temporarily for the purpose of completing a particular mission; these units were combat units such as tank battalions, tank destroyer battalions and cavalry reconnaissance squadrons.
In modern times, most military forces have standardized their divisional structures. This does not mean that divisions are equal in size or structure from country to country, but divisions have, in most cases, come to be units of 10,000 to 20,000 troops with enough organic support to be capable of independent operations; the direct organization of the division consists of one to four brigades or battle groups of its primary combat arm, along with a brigade or regiment of combat support and a number of direct-reporting battalions for necessary specialized support tasks, such as intelligence, logistics and combat engineers. Most militaries standardize ideal organization strength for each type of division, encapsulated in a Table of Organization and Equipment which specifies exact assignments of units and equipment for a division; the modern division became the primary identifiable combat unit in many militaries during the second half of the 20th century, supplanting the brigade.
Colonel (United Kingdom)
Colonel is a rank of the British Army and Royal Marines, ranking below brigadier, above lieutenant colonel. British colonels are not field commanders; the insignia is two diamond-shaped pips below a crown. The crown has varied in the past with different monarchs; the rank is equivalent to group captain in the Royal Air Force. The rank of colonel was popularized by the tercios that were employed in the Spanish Army during the 16th and 17th centuries. General Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba divided his troops in to coronelías; these units were led by a coronel. This command structure and its titles were soon adopted as colonello in early modern Italian and in Middle French as coronel; the rank title entered the English language from French in the mid-16th century and so the modern English pronunciation of the word is derived from the French variant. The use of the rank of colonel pre-dates the establishment of the United Kingdom. In the mid-17th century, the regiments of the New Model Army were commanded by colonels.
The British Army has been organized around the regiment, with each regiment being raised and equipped either directly by the crown or by a nobleman. The colonels nominally commanding these regiments had little to do with the regiment's actual activities, either because they contemporaneously served as general officers or because they were mere financiers. By the end of 17th century in Great Britain, the "colonel of a regiment" was a titled person, given Royal Assent to raise it for service and command it in battle; as such, he was required to cover all costs of the regiment's equipment and wages as well select its officers. Until the late 18th century most British regiments were known by the name of the colonelcy, for example Lord Churchill's Dragoons or Elliot's Light Horse. By the start of the American Revolutionary War most English and Welsh regiments in the standing army of Great Britain were named numerically, although some independent Highland regiments — such as MacLeod's Highlanders — were raised in the name of their colonel for service in West Africa and India.
The change from a colonelcy based on patronage was because the British Army's administration had been reformed into three administrative bodies: The War Office was that responsible for day-to-day administration of the army, for the cavalry and infantry. It raised its own fighting units, such as "battoemen"; the reforms meant that the British government was now financially responsible for the pay and equipment of the troops in the service of the British Crown. Colonels were no longer permitted to profit directly from the sale of officer commissions in their regiments. A lieutenant-colonel commanded the regiment in battle. By the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars, the title "colonel of the regiment" had become a sinecure appointment for distinguished generals and members of the royal family or British nobility. Despite an individual only being permitted to hold one colonelcy, it was a profitable position as they were in financial charge of their regiment's allowance from the government; this meant they could hope to make a profit on the funds allocated for equipment and uniforms.
As generals were on half-pay, a colonelcy was a method of providing them with extra income. Many colonels spent large sums of their own money on their regiments. By the end of the 19th century, the reorganisation of the British Army through the Cardwell and Childers Reforms had established a colonel as a professional rank with senior administrative responsibilities in regiment or brigade. Another title employed by the British Army is "Colonel-in-Chief", distinct from the ceremonial title "Colonel of the Regiment"; the position is held by a member of the Royal Family who acts as a patron to the unit, as Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, did for the Bermuda Regiment. Although they do not have an operational role, they are kept informed of all important activities undertaken by the regiment and pay occasional visits to its operational units; the chief purpose of a colonel-in-chief is to maintain a direct link between a given regiment and the British Royal Family. Some of the historic duties associated with the title Colonel of the Regiment continue to be used in the modern British Army.
The ceremonial position is conferred on retired general officers, brigadiers or colonels who have a close link to a particular regiment. Non-military personnel for positions within the Army Reserve, may be appointed to the ceremonial position; when attending functions as "Colonel of the Regiment", the titleholder wears the regimental uniform with rank insignia of colonel, regardless of their official rank. A member of the Royal Family is known as a Royal Colonel. A Colonel of the Regiment is expected to work with a regiment and its regimental association. Regiments or units may have a Honorary Colonel, these would be referred to as a Royal Honorary Colonel if the appointment is held by a member of the Royal Family. Certain units may have one or more Deputy Colonels; the Royal Navy once conveyed the honorific title "Colonel of Marines" to post-captains a
Squadron (army)
A squadron was a cavalry subunit, a company-sized military formation. The term is still used to refer to modern cavalry units but can be used as a designation for other arms and services. In some countries, like Italy, the battalion-level cavalry unit is called "Squadron Group". In the modern United States Army, a squadron is an armored cavalry, air cavalry, or other reconnaissance unit whose organizational role parallels that of a battalion and is commanded by a lieutenant colonel. Prior to the revisions in the US Army structure in the 1880s, US Cavalry regiments were divided into companies, the battalion was an administrative designation used only in garrison; the reorganizations converted companies to troops and battalions to squadrons, made squadrons tactical formations as well as administrative ones. In the British Army and many other Commonwealth armies, a squadron is the Royal Armoured Corps counterpart of an infantry company or artillery battery. A squadron is a sub-unit of a battalion-sized formation, is made up of two or more troops.
The designation is used for company-sized units in the Special Air Service, Special Reconnaissance Regiment, Honourable Artillery Company, Royal Engineers, Royal Corps of Signals, Royal Army Medical Corps, Royal Marine Commandos and Royal Logistic Corps and in the defunct Royal Corps of Transport. Squadrons are designated using letters or numbers. In some British Army units it is a tradition for squadrons to be named after an important historical battle in which the regiment has taken part. For example, the Royal Armoured Corps Training Regiment assigns trainees to "Waterloo" Squadron, named in honour of the significance the cavalry played in the Allied forces' victory over Napoleon. In some special cases, squadrons can be named after a unique honour, bestowed on the unit; the modern French Army is composed of troupes à cheval. Nowadays, the term escadron is used to describe a company of mounted soldiers but, for a long time, a cavalry escadron corresponded to an infantry battalion, both units grouping several companies.
The term compagnie has been discontinued and replaced by escadron in cavalry units since 1815 and in transportation units since 1968. In the "mounted arms" a captain in charge of an escadron is thus called a chef d'escadron. However, his superior in the hierarchy has the rank of chef d'escadrons. After 1815, the army began to write chef d'escadrons with an s in cavalry units to reflect the fact that this officer who used to be in charge of one squadron was now in charge of several squadrons. In other mounted branches, chef d'escadron is still spelled without s; the Norwegian army operates with units called eskadroner a company-equivalent unit in armoured cavalry units although not always. The 2nd Battalion, Brigade Nord, has a company-equivalent unit called kavalerieskadronen, or "the cavalry squadron", it serves as the main reconnaissance unit in the battalion. Like the mechanized infantry units, it wears the distinct khaki-coloured beret of the battalion instead of the normal black for cavalry units.
The Armoured Battalion has the majority of its constituents labeled eskadroner. Including the Cavalry Squadron, the Armoured Squadron and the Assault Squadrons, it includes the battalion's Support element, the Combat Support Squadron. Its members are referred to as dragoons, reflecting the nature of the unit; the Telemark Battalion has a number of units labelled eskadroner. This includes the Cavalry Squadron and the Combat Support Squadron. Kampeskadronen, a Squadron consisting of two Mechanized Infantry Platoons, mounted on CV90's, one Armoured Platoon with Leopard 2's and a Combat Service Support Unit, its soldiers were referred to as dragoons and consisted of conscripted troops. Used as OPFOR in exercise operations with other parts of the Norwegian Army. Squadron was used for companies of cavalry and armoured cavalry before 1948. After 1948, the name has been used for the armored formations of varying sizes. In Russian cavalry a squadron was a company-size unit, with 120-150 horses. In the Swedish cavalry a skvadron means a unit with the same size as a kompani in the rest of the army.
Jäger and military police units may have squadrons
Recruitment in the British Army
The British Army came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had existed in England and Scotland; the Army has traditionally relied on volunteer recruits, the only exceptions to this being during the latter part of the First World War until 1919, again during the Second World War when conscription was brought in during the war and stayed until 1960. At the beginning of the 18th century, the standing strength of the British Army was reduced after the Treaty of Ryswick, stood at 7,000 troops at home and 14,000 based overseas, with recruits ranging from 17 to 50 years of age; the army was kept small by the government during peacetime due to the fear that the army would be unduly influenced by the Crown or used to depose the government. The Bill of Rights of 1689 specifies that Parliamentary authority is needed to maintain a standing army in peacetime. For much of the 18th century, the army was recruited in a wide variety of places, many of its recruits were mercenaries from continental Europe, including Danes and Hanoverians.
These mercenaries were hired out by other rulers on contracted terms. Other regiments were formed of volunteers such as French Huguenots. By 1709, during the War of the Spanish Succession, the British Army totalled 150,000 men, of whom 81,000 were foreign mercenaries; the rest of the army consisted of natives of the British Isles who, apart from the officers, were recruited from the poorest sections of society. Each regiment was responsible for the recruitment of its own troops, individual colonels would lead recruiting parties on tours of the towns and villages; this was emphasized by a popular play of the time called The Recruiting Officer. Other powers were given by the British government to allow the forcible enlistment of vagrants and vagabonds; some of these powers were abused by recruiting officers desperate to fill their quotas, although a legalized Royal Navy press-gang system would not be implemented yet though normal recruiting methods failed to supply the required annual influx of troops, as the army was not a popular profession, with low pay and other barbarous disciplinary measures.
The army's recruiting methods and treatment of its soldiers would remain the same for the rest of the 18th century. During the American Revolutionary War, a policy similar to the Royal Navy's Press Gangs was introduced. Two acts were passed, the Recruiting Act 1778 and the Recruiting Act 1779, for the impressment of individuals. For some men this would have been for being disorderly; the chief advantages of these acts was in the number of volunteers brought in under the apprehension of impressment. To avoid impressment, some recruits incapacitated themselves by cutting off the thumb and forefinger of the right hand. Both acts were repealed in 1780; the British Government released criminals and debtors from prison on the condition they joined the army. Three entire regiments during the American Revolution were raised from this early release programme. Of the Volunteer recruits, some would find they had been enticed to take the King's shilling under false pretenses and many men would find they had signed to a lifetime in the army.
After the defeat of Great Britain by the American revolutionaries, the British Army fell into dereliction and discipline were low, troops levels fell. The Army was neglected as never before and its total strength in 1793 stood at 40,000 men; the United Kingdom's struggle with France during the Napoleonic wars required the British Army to expand rapidly. Ordinary recruiting methods failed to supply the number of men required to fill the Army ranks; the main methods used for recruiting were: private individuals were recruited for their own interests, volunteers from the militia and placing obligations on communities to enlist. Generals called for conscription for the first time in British History, although this was never enacted for the regular army. During this period, Great Britain was at a disadvantage to her enemy, as due to the Industrial Revolution potential recruits were instead drawn to the cities to earn more money in the many factories now being built in the country, while France was still an agrarian society.
Competition from civilian occupations was intense and highlighted in the disparity in pay. However soldiers would expect to loot on campaign. During the early phases of the war, joining the Army could still mean joining for life, brutally cut short. For instance, a posting to the Caribbean in 1790 was seen as a near death sentence, as thousands of men died or were disabled by disease there; the Army still struggled to raise the troops required to replace the discharged and dead as the war against France continued. As early as 1794, 18,596 soldiers died on active service and another 40,639 men were discharged; this would remain a constant theme during the Napoleonic wars, the British Army used foreign volunteers, such as French Royalists, Germans and Corsicans to supplement its forces. In 1813 one fifth of the army, 52,000 men, were such volunteers; the British Army in 1813 contained over 250,000 men, though this was much larger in comparison to the army at the beginning of the war, the all volunteer British army was still much smaller than that of France, which with conscription had an army over 2.6 million.
From 1798 onwards, structural and logistical reforms implemented or authorised by the Duke of York sl
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