21 Engineer Regiment RE is a regiment of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

's Royal Engineers. It is based at Claro Barracks, Ripon,

Catterick Garrison Catterick Garrison is a major garrison and military town south of Richmond, North Yorkshire, England. It is the largest British Army garrison in the world, with a population of around 13,000 in 2017 and covering over 2,400 acres (about 10 ...

in Yorkshire.

History

21 Engineer Regiment was first formed in 1949 at Holzminden to fulfill 7th Armoured Division engineer support requirements as the 21st Field Regiment. In 1958, the regiment was split as the 7th Armoured Division was disbanded and became the new 5th Infantry Division. As a result of the change the regiment was broken up and became the new 21st Engineer Regiment and the divisional engineer regiment for the 1st Armoured Division. In 1969 the regiment was reformed as 21 Engineer Regiment. In 1978 the regiment was renamed to 1st Armoured Division Engineer Regiment. In 1992 as a result of the

Options for Change Options for Change was a restructuring of the British Armed Forces in summer 1990 after the end of the Cold War. Until this point, UK military strategy had been almost entirely focused on defending Western Europe against the Soviet Armed Forces, ...

the division along with the regiment were disbanded, but later reformed in 1993 and the regiment remained in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

until 2008 when it moved to

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city ...

. 15 Field Support Squadron of 21 Engineer Regiment were the first troops to use the Talisman suite of counter-IED tools operationally, in Afghanistan in 2010. As of 25 October 2013, the British Army had 18 Honeywell RQ-16 T-Hawk UAVs in service as part of the Talisman C-IED suite. Under

Army 2020 Army 2020, was the name given to the restructuring of the British Army, in light of the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review. Background The British Government gave an indication of its proposals for the future structure of the Army in ea ...

the regiment joins the 12 (Force Support) Engineer Group and becomes responsible for

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

operations. As a result of the

Army 2020 Refine Army 2020 Refine was the name given to the restructuring of the British Army, in light of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015. Army 2020 Refine The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 announced that the structure of the Reac ...

, the regiment will move to Catterick and gain a

Mechanised Infantry Vehicle The Mechanised Infantry Vehicle (MIV) is the British Army's concept of an 8 × 8 wheeled vehicle. On 31 March 2018 the United Kingdom rejoined the Boxer (armoured fighting vehicle) programme in order to move to an assessment phase, which may see ...

variant.

Structure

Reportedly after the

reforms: * 21 Engineer Regiment, in

** 7 Headquarters and Support Squadron ** 1 Field Squadron ** 4 Field Squadron ** 29 Field Squadron * 23 Amphibious Engineer Squadron, Royal Engineers, based at Talbot Barracks Sennelager, Germany{{Cite web, title= a sub unit from @75EngrRegt , 23 Amph Engr Sqn provide a Wide Wet Gap Crossing capability for @DefenceHQ . *REME Light Aid Detachment

References

{{Reflist

External links

{{official, https://www.army.mod.uk/who-we-are/corps-regiments-and-units/corps-of-royal-engineers/21-engineer-regiment/ Regiments of the Royal Engineers Military units and formations established in 1949