Army 2020, was the name given to the restructuring 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 ...
, 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 early 2008, in a press report stating that it was considering restructuring the Army into a force of three deployable divisional headquarters and eight 'homogenous or identical' brigades, each with a spread of heavy, medium and light capabilities. This report indicated that the existing
16 Air Assault Brigade would be retained as a high-readiness rapid reaction force.
Subsequently, it was reported that the former
Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff.
List
* Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( United States)
* Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia)
* Chief of General Staff (Af ...
, General Sir
Richard Dannatt
General Francis Richard Dannatt, Baron Dannatt, (born 23 December 1950) is a retired senior British Army officer and member of the House of Lords. He was Chief of the General Staff (head of the Army) from 2006 to 2009.
Dannatt was commissioned ...
, wanted to see the Army structured so as to extend the interval between operational tours from two to two-and-a-half years.
In 2010, the
Strategic Defence and Security Review was published. As part of the plans, the British Army will be reduced by 23 regular units, and by 2020 will number 117,000 soldiers, of whom 82,000 would be regulars and 30,000 will be
reservists
A reservist is a person who is a member of a military reserve force. They are otherwise civilians, and in peacetime have careers outside the military. Reservists usually go for training on an annual basis to refresh their skills. This person is ...
.
The
Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 increased the planned number of reservists from 30,000 to 35,000.
Structure prior to Army 2020
The structure of the army prior to the reforms, was as follows:
Originally envisaged structure
The originally envisaged future structure was announced on 19 July 2011 in a briefing paper entitled ''Defence Basing Review: Headline Decisions''.
This structure had five identical multi-role brigades, each of around 6,500 personnel. However, in June 2012 a significantly different structure known as "Army 2020" was announced.
The divisional headquarters of
2nd
A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI).
Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to:
Mathematics
* 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'')
* Second of arc, an angular measurement unit, ...
, 4th and 5th Divisions were disbanded in 2012 and replaced by a single formation known as
Support Command, based at
Aldershot
Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alder ...
.
[
The five multi-role brigades envisaged in 2011 would have comprised:
* One armoured regiment of ]Challenger 2
The FV4034 Challenger 2 (MOD designation "CR2") is a third generation British main battle tank (MBT) in service with the armies of the United Kingdom and Oman. It was designed and built by the British company Vickers Defence Systems (now known ...
tanks
* One armoured reconnaissance regiment
* One armoured infantry battalion in Warrior
A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste.
History
Warriors seem to have be ...
armoured fighting vehicles
* One mechanised infantry battalion in FV432
The FV432 is the armoured personnel carrier variant in the British Army's FV430 series of armoured fighting vehicles. Since its introduction in the 1960s, it has been the most common variant, being used for transporting infantry on the battlefie ...
"Bulldog" armoured vehicles
* Two light role infantry battalions
Combat Support and Logistics would have been retained at divisional level. It was envisaged that 19th Light Brigade then part of 3rd Mechanised Division, would be disbanded.
Structure
The Reaction Force
The 16 Air Assault Brigade, comprising two battalions of the Parachute Regiment and two Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps:
* Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army
* Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941)
* United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...
regiments of attack helicopters. This will deliver a very high readiness Lead Air Assault Task Force, with the rest of the brigade ready to move at longer notice.
The 3rd (UK) Mechanised Division, renamed the 3rd (United Kingdom) Division
The 3rd (United Kingdom) Division is a regular army division of the British Army. It was created in 1809 by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, as part of the Anglo-Portuguese Army, for service in the Peninsular War, and was known as th ...
, comprising three armoured infantry brigades: 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade, 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade and 20th Armoured Infantry Brigade. These three brigades will rotate, with one being the lead brigade, a second undergoing training and the third involved in other tasks. The lead brigade will deliver a Lead Battlegroup at very high readiness, with the rest of the brigade at longer notice.
The complete air assault brigade and a full mechanised brigade will be available for deployment within three months. All three brigade's HQs are to be based in the Salisbury Plain Training Area
Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wi ...
.
The Adaptable Force
The 1st Armoured Division, renamed as the 1st (United Kingdom) Division
The 1st (United Kingdom) Division, formerly known as the 1st (United Kingdom) Armoured Division and the 1st Division, is a division of the British Army.
Divisional history (1809–1959)
The 1st Division was formed following the disbandment of ...
, along with Support Command. Comprises seven infantry brigades ( 4th, 7th, 11th
11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables.
Name
"Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first atteste ...
, 38th, 42nd
4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures.
In mathematics
Four is the smallest c ...
, 51st and 160th) of various sizes, each made up of paired regular and Territorial Army forces, drawn from an Adaptable Force pool of units. These infantry brigades will be suited to domestic operations or overseas commitments (such as the Falkland Islands, Brunei and Cyprus) or, with sufficient notice, as a brigade level contribution to enduring stabilisation operations.
Force Troops Command
The boxes above provides the general structure of the British Army once Army 2020 is completed. It excludes units under Regional Command, Recruiting and Training Command, or units under other commands such as the air defence regiments.
The term "Regional Point of Command," encompassing organisations such as Headquarters North East, also appears to have been introduced under the Army 2020 series of reorganisations.
Changes to units
Royal Armoured Corps
Four of the Royal Armoured Corps
The Royal Armoured Corps is the component of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Scimitar Reconnaissance Vehicle. It includes most of the ...
' Regiments will merged into two regiments:
* 9th/12th Royal Lancers and Queen's Royal Lancers
The Queen's Royal Lancers (QRL) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1993 and amalgamated with the 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) on 2 May 2015 to form the Royal Lancers.
History
The regiment was formed in ...
will merge to become The Royal Lancers
* 1st Royal Tank Regiment
The 1st Royal Tank Regiment (1 RTR) was an armoured regiment of the British Army. It is part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps and operationally under 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade.
History Formation
The regime ...
and 2nd Royal Tank Regiment will merge to form the Royal Tank Regiment.
Royal Artillery
39 Regiment Royal Artillery disbanded, with its Multiple Launch Rocket Systems being transferred to the rest of the Royal Artillery and Territorial Army.
In accordance with the Strategic Defence and Security Review, the number of AS-90
The AS-90 ("Artillery System for the 1990s"), known officially as Gun Equipment 155 mm L131, is an armoured self-propelled artillery weapon used by the British Army.
It can fire standard charges up to using 39 calibre long barrel (com ...
self-propelled guns was reduced by 35%. The number of active Challenger 2
The FV4034 Challenger 2 (MOD designation "CR2") is a third generation British main battle tank (MBT) in service with the armies of the United Kingdom and Oman. It was designed and built by the British company Vickers Defence Systems (now known ...
tanks was cut by around forty per cent, and by 2014 had been reduced to 227.
12th and 16th Royal Artillery would continue to be placed under a joint Army-RAF unit: Joint Ground-Based Air Defence Command
The Joint Ground Based Air Defence Headquarters or JtGBAD HQ was a joint (non-deployable), force-generating British military formation under the operational command of RAF Air Command, sitting under No.1 Group. It was formed circa 2000 and disba ...
.
Infantry
Four of the British Army's 36 regular infantry battalions were disbanded or merged with sister units in their regiments:
* 2nd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (often referred to as the Royal Fusiliers or, simply, the Fusiliers) is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division. Currently, the regiment has two battalions: the 1st battalion, part o ...
(light role)
* 3rd Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment
The Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot) (abbreviated YORKS) is an infantry regiment of the British Army, created by the amalgamation of three historic regiments in 2006. It lost one battalion as part of the Army 2020 defence ...
(Green Howards
The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment), frequently known as the Yorkshire Regiment until the 1920s, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, in the King's Division. Raised in 1688, it served under vario ...
) (light role)
* 2nd Battalion, Royal Welsh
The Royal Welsh (R WELSH) ( cy, Y Cymry Brenhinol) is an armoured infantry regiment of the British Army. It was established in 2006 from the Royal Welch Fusiliers (23rd Foot) and the Royal Regiment of Wales (24th/41st Foot).
History
The ...
(Royal Regiment of Wales
The Royal Regiment of Wales (24th/41st Foot) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. It was formed in 1969 by the amalgamation of the South Wales Borderers and the Welch Regiment. The 1st Battalion, ...
) (armoured infantry)
* 3rd Battalion, Mercian Regiment
The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire, Worcesters and Foresters, and Staffords) is an infantry regiment of the British Army, which is recruited from five of the counties that formed the ancient kingdom of Mercia. Known as 'The Heart of England's Infant ...
( Staffords) (armoured infantry)
A fifth battalion, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland
The Royal Regiment of Scotland is the senior and only Scottish line infantry regiment of the British Army Infantry. It consists of three regular (formerly five) and two reserve battalions, plus an incremental company, each formerly an indiv ...
, was reduced to a single company to carry out public duties in Scotland.
However, through the 2020 reforms, 3 new battalions of infantry (1 regular, 2 reserve) were created including:
* 3rd Battalion, Royal Gurkha Rifles
The Royal Gurkha Rifles (RGR) is a rifle regiment of the British Army, forming part of the Brigade of Gurkhas. Unlike other regiments in the British Army, RGR soldiers are recruited from Nepal, which is neither a dependent territory of the Unite ...
(specialist infantry)
* 4th Battalion, Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment
The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (or PWRR, also known as 'The Tigers') is the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, second in the line infantry order of precedence to the Royal Regiment of Scotland and part of the Q ...
(Army Reserve)
* 8th Battalion, The Rifles
The Rifles is an infantry regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of four Regular battalions and three Reserve battalions, plus a number of companies in other Army Reserve battalions. Each battalion of The Rifles was formerl ...
(Army Reserve)
Joint Helicopter Command/Army Air Corps
The Joint Helicopter Command
Joint Helicopter Command (JHC) is a tri-service organisation uniting battlefield military helicopters of the British Armed Forces for command and coordination purposes.
History Background
Over the years, the grouping of all battlefield suppo ...
remained an integral part of the land force. The Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps:
* Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army
* Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941)
* United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...
was reduced by one regular regiment. 1 and 9 Regt AAC merged, operating the new Wildcat helicopter. One Regiment will be at high readiness annually, with one Apache Squadron committed towards the Lead Armoured Battlegroup. 653 AAC to be an Operational Training Squadron from 2015, leaving the Apache Regiments with four active squadrons altogether. The government pledged to upgrade 50 AgustaWestland Apache
The AgustaWestland Apache is a licence-built version of the Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter for the British Army Air Corps. The first eight helicopters were built by Boeing; the remaining 59 were assembled by Westland Helic ...
to AH-64E standard, however, an 11 May 2017 US government contract list states that only 38 will be re-manufactured.
Army Reserve
The Territorial Army was renamed the Army Reserve
A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...
, and expanded from 19,000 to 30,000 personnel. Its military equipment was to be upgraded to meet the standards of the regular army[ and its units will realigned. The 2015 review increased the intended strength of the Reserves to 35,000.
]
Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
The regular component of the REME
The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is a corps of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's Professional Engineers".
History
Prior to REME's for ...
structure was reduced by one battalion to seven regular battalions.
Royal Military Police
As part of the drawdown from Germany, the Royal Military Police
The Royal Military Police (RMP) is the corps of the British Army responsible for the policing of army service personnel, and for providing a military police presence both in the UK and while service personnel are deployed overseas on operations ...
lost one regiment: 4 Regiment RMP, with all provost companies re-subordinating. The three remaining regiments were re-organised.
Other
British Forces Royal Logistic Corps
The Royal Logistic Corps provides logistic support functions to the British Army. It is the largest Corps in the Army.
History
The Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) was formed on 5 April 1993, by the union of five British Army corps:
* Royal Engine ...
in Germany will be withdrawn back to the UK by 2015:
* 8 Regiment RLC disbanded (formerly at BFG Munster and late York Barracks) on 31 March 2012.
* 24 Regiment RLC (part of 104th Logistic Support Brigade) will disband in Bielefeld
Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Detmold and the ...
, Germany in August 2013.
* 23 Pioneer Regiment RLC (part of 104th Logistic Support Brigade) at Bicester
Bicester ( ) is a historical market towngarden town and civil parish in the Cherwell district of northeastern Oxfordshire in Southern England that also comprises an eco town at North-East Bicester and self-build village aGraven Hill Its loca ...
disbands in 2013/14.
Basing
An initial basing plan located infantry brigades throughout the United Kingdom, with the three reaction force brigades situated in the Salisbury Plain Training Area
Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wi ...
. On 5 March 2013, a future basing plan of units in the UK was released. As noted above, all Germany-based units will be relocated to the UK, with the Salisbury Plain area holding the largest concentration of troops.
References
External links
Army 2020 Brochure
Army 2020 July 2013 update
Regular British Army basing plan March 2013
Major British Army sites
Structure of regular British Army as given by AFF
Army Reserve changes and future basing
{{The British Army
Programmes of the Government of the United Kingdom
2012 in British politics
21st-century military history of the United Kingdom