The Standby High-Readiness Brigade (SHIRBRIG) was a Danish-led initiative associated with the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

that aimed to create a standby force ready for peacekeeping. It was formed largely as a result of the genocide in Rwanda and other atrocities. Its permanent headquarters were in Garderkasernen (Garder barracks), Høvelte 30 kilometres north of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. It was declared ready for operations on January 1, 2000, and deployed to the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

in November 2000 to form the core of the UN Mission in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

and

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

(

UNMEE The United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) was established by the United Nations Security Council in July 2000 to monitor a ceasefire in the border war that began in 1998 between Ethiopia and Eritrea. First military troops Nethe ...

) under the command of

Royal Netherlands Marine Corps The Royal Netherlands Marine Corps () is the elite naval infantry corps of the Royal Netherlands Navy, one of the four Armed Forces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The marines trace their origins to the establishment of the on 10 Decembe ...

Major General

Patrick Cammaert Major General Patrick Cammaert (; born April 11, 1950 in Nijmegen) is a retired

. The Brigade returned from that mission six months later and began a training cycle. It announced that it would again be ready for action as of January 1, 2002. Cammaert's appointment expired in November, 2002, but was extended at least once. Later commanders included Brig. Gen. Sten Edholm (Sweden), and Brig Gen Greg Mitchell (Canada).Robin Hughes, 'New commander for SHIRBRIG,' Jane's Defence Weekly, 7 January 2004, p.7 The Brigade comprised a number of troops varying between four and five thousand, drawn from units pledged by eleven countries:

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. The nations that contributed to SHIRBRIG had the right to opt out of any operation. For example, when the UNMEE was formed,

and

opted out for financial reasons. The Brigade expected to operate independently at a considerable distance from support for up to 60 days. It stood ready for deployment from point of embarkation at 15 to 30 days' notice. Its deployment will be limited to six months duration, after which the mission will either be terminated or other forces will replace the Brigade. Other operations the Brigade took part in were planning ECOWAS's operation in

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...

, and forming the Interim Headquarters of the

United Nations Mission in Liberia The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) was a United Nations peacekeeping operation established in September 2003 to monitor a ceasefire agreement in Liberia following the resignation of President Charles Taylor and the conclusion of the ...

. The Brigade ceased all operational activities on June 30, 2009 and closed down the organization. The Brigade's files were given to the U.S. Army's Peacekeeping & Stability Operations Institute (PKSOI) at Carlisle Barracks, PA and are located at the adjacent Army Heritage Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, USA. Interview, Dr. Karen Finkenbinder, PKSOI, Director of Research in 2009.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official websiteTen Years of SHIRBRIG-Research PaperSHIRBRIG: The Future of Canada's Contribution to UN Peace Operations?
Canadian Forces Journal, 8, 2.

Multinational army units and formations Military units and formations established in the 2000s Military units and formations disestablished in 2009 Military units involved in UN peacekeeping missions