The 2003 Defence

White Paper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. A white paper ...

, titled ''Delivering Security in a Changing World'', set out the future structure of the

British military The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, su ...

, and was preceded by the 1998 Strategic Defence Review (SDR) and the 2002 SDR New Chapter, which responded to the immediate challenges to security in the aftermath of the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

in 2001. Published under the then

Secretary of State for Defence The secretary of state for defence, also referred to as the defence secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the business of the Ministry of Defence. The incumbent is a membe ...

, Geoff Hoon, the report effectively introduced a series of cutbacks to core equipment and manpower and the scaling back of a series of future capital procurement projects. This was justified due to the implementation of a policy termed

Network Enabled Capability Network-enabled capability, or NEC, is the name given to the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence long-term intent to achieve enhanced military effect through the better use of information systems towards the goal of "right information, right place ...

. The review also outlined a major restructuring and consolidation of

British Army Infantry The Infantry of the British Army comprises 49 infantry battalions, from 19 regiments. Of these, 33 battalions are part of the Regular army and the remaining 16 a part of the Army Reserve. The British Army's Infantry takes on a variety of roles, i ...

regiments.

Key points

The White Paper, scaling back to an extent from the previous Strategic Defence Review, outlined the following posture for the UK armed forces: * The ability to support three simultaneous small (e.g. Operation Palliser in

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

) to medium scale (e.g.

Operation Veritas Operation Veritas was the codename used for British military operations against the Taliban government of Afghanistan in 2001. British forces played a supporting role to the American Operation Enduring Freedom. In addition, the British contributi ...

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, where at least one is an enduring peace-keeping mission (e.g. Kosovo). These forces must be capable of acting as lead nation in any coalition operations. * The ability, at longer notice, to deploy forces in a large scale operation (e.g.

Operation Telic Operation Telic (Op TELIC) was the codename under which all of the United Kingdom's military operations in Iraq were conducted between the start of the invasion of Iraq on 19 March 2003 and the withdrawal of the last remaining British forces on ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

or Operation Herrick in

) while running a concurrent small scale operation. Most of the reforms listed below were announced as part of the ''Delivering Security in a Changing World: Future Capabilities'' review, published on 21 July 2004.

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 ...

Manpower Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include ...

reduced by 1,000. *Restructuring will cut 4 infantry

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

s otherwise tasked to

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, and the manpower redistributed elsewhere. *Army

High Velocity Missile Starstreak is a British short-range surface to air missile that can be used as a man-portable air-defence system (MANPADS) or in heavier systems, manufactured by Thales Air Defence (formerly Shorts Missile Systems), in Belfast, Northern Ireland. ...

fire units to be halved, which would lead to the re-role of 2 TA

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

s ->

100th (Yeomanry) Regiment Royal Artillery 100 (Yeomanry) Regiment Royal Artillery was part of the Territorial Army and had sub-units throughout the South of England. It had three gun batteries all equipped with the L118 Light Gun. The regiment's original role was British Army of the Rhi ...

, re-equipped with L118 light guns and

104th Regiment Royal Artillery 104 Regiment Royal Artillery is part of the British Army Reserve and has sub-units throughout Wales and the West Midlands of England. It is equipped with the 105mm Light Gun. History The regiment was formed as 104 Light Air Defence Regiment Royal ...

, re-equipped with L118 light guns and later light UAVs In addition, 22nd Regiment Royal Artillery was disbanded. *The re-role of a Challenger 2 regiment into an armoured

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

regiment -> Queen's Royal Lancers and several

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 (comp ...

batteries Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

to a light gun regiment ->

40th Regiment Royal Artillery 40th Regiment Royal Artillery – The Lowland Gunners – was a regiment of the Royal Artillery in the British Army. It supported 19 Light Brigade in the field artillery role. It was structured into Fire Support Teams equipped with MSTAR, and th ...

, into what would become 19 Light Brigade (see Future Army Structure). *Withdrawal of 7 Challenger 2

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, de ...

s and 6

self-propelled gun Self-propelled artillery (also called locomotive artillery) is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled mo ...

batteries (approx. 84

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...

s and 48 AS90s). -> 4 of these from the Queen's Royal Lancers, three others from

Royal Wessex Yeomanry The Royal Wessex Yeomanry (RWxY) is a Reserve armoured regiment of the British Army Reserve consisting of five squadrons. Formerly part of 43 (Wessex) Brigade, the regiment joined 3rd (UK) Division in July 2014, to provide armoured (main battle ...

(4 tank replacement squadrons dissolved to just 1 replacement squadron; A (Dorset Yeomanry) Armour Replacement Squadron) *

Infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

battalions to be incorporated into new, large, multi-battalion regiments. *Creation of 3 light armoured squadrons that will support development of the next generation of armoured vehicles, the Future Rapid Effect System (FRES).

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

*Manpower reduced by 7,000. *Early withdrawal of the 41-strong

SEPECAT Jaguar The SEPECAT Jaguar is an Anglo-French jet attack aircraft originally used by the British Royal Air Force and the French Air Force in the close air support and nuclear strike role. It is still in service with the Indian Air Force. Originall ...

force by 2007 and closure of Jaguar's operating base, RAF Coltishall,

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

. *Current Nimrod MR2 maritime patrol

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...

fleet to be reduced from 21 to 16. *Reduction in the purchase of re-manufactured Nimrod MRA.4s from 18 to 16 (eventually 9 and then later cancelled) aircraft. *Reduction in the

Tornado F3 The Panavia Tornado Air Defence Variant (ADV) was a long-range, twin-engine interceptor version of the swing-wing Panavia Tornado. The aircraft's first flight was on 27 October 1979, and it entered service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1986 ...

force by one

(16 aircraft) in preparation for replacement with

Typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

. *Reduction of 6

Puma Puma or PUMA may refer to: Animals * ''Puma'' (genus), a genus in the family Felidae ** Puma (species) or cougar, a large cat Businesses and organisations * Puma (brand), a multinational shoe and sportswear company * Puma Energy, a mid- and d ...

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

s of

No. 230 Squadron RAF No. 230 Squadron is an RAF squadron, currently based at RAF Benson. The squadron was part of Royal Air Force Germany, operating the Puma HC.1 there from 1980. Following the drawdown at the end of the Cold War, the squadron disbanded on 30 April ...

based in Northern Ireland. *Reduction in

Rapier missile Rapier is a surface-to-air missile developed for the British Army to replace their towed Bofors 40/L70 anti-aircraft guns. The system is unusual as it uses a manual optical guidance system, sending guidance commands to the missile in flight over ...

launchers from 48 to 24, coupled with the transfer of the launchers to the

, and the disbandment of four

RAF Regiment The Royal Air Force Regiment (RAF Regiment) is part of the Royal Air Force and functions as a specialist corps. Founded by royal warrant in 1942, the Corps carries out soldiering tasks relating to the delivery of air power. Examples of such ta ...

squadrons that operated Rapier. *Additional

procurement Procurement is the method of discovering and agreeing to terms and purchasing goods, Service (economics), services, or other works from an external source, often with the use of a tendering or competitive bidding process. When a government agenc ...

numbers of Hawk 128 training aircraft above an initial batch of 20 to be decided upon in 2005. *Typhoon purchase confirmed, Tranche 2

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

delayed until December 2004 when cost/capability issues were resolved. *Purchase of 4

Boeing C-17 The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft that was developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of two ...

s operated by the RAF at the end of their lease period including one additional aircraft for a total fleet of 5.

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

*Manpower reduced by 1,500. *Reduced purchase of Type 45

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

s from 12 to 8 (eventually 6)

vessels Vessel(s) or The Vessel may refer to: Biology *Blood vessel, a part of the circulatory system and function to transport blood throughout the body *Lymphatic vessel, a thin walled, valved structure that carries lymph *Vessel element, a narrow wat ...

. *Reduced force of Type 23

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

s from 16 to 13 vessels by March 2006. *Reduced force of nuclear attack

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

fleet (SSNs) from 12 to 8

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...

s by December 2008. *Reduced force of mine countermeasure vessels from 19 to 16 by April 2005. *Northern Ireland patrol fleet of 3 reconfigured Hunt class mine hunters to be decommissioned by April 2007. *Early retirement of the 3 oldest Type 42 destroyers. *Royal Navy Future Carrier (CVF) purchase confirmed. *A summary of

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster a ...

s to be paid off, as planned or early, without replacement as detailed in the review: ** HMS ''Cardiff'', Type 42 destroyer. ** HMS ''Newcastle'', Type 42 destroyer. ** HMS ''Glasgow'', Type 42 destroyer. ** HMS ''Norfolk'', Type 23 frigate. ** HMS ''Marlborough'', Type 23 frigate. ** HMS ''Grafton'', Type 23 frigate. ** HMS ''Superb'', ''Swiftsure'' class nuclear attack submarine. ** HMS ''Trafalgar'', ''Trafalgar'' class nuclear attack submarine. ** HMS ''Bridport'', ''Sandown'' class minehunter. ** HMS ''Inverness'', ''Sandown'' class minehunter. ** HMS ''Sandown'', ''Sandown'' class minehunter. ** HMS ''Brecon'', Northern Ireland patrol vessel, former Hunt class minehunter. ** HMS ''Cottesmore'', Northern Ireland patrol vessel, former Hunt class minehunter. ** HMS ''Dulverton'', Northern Ireland patrol vessel, former Hunt class minehunter. The review also mentioned "significant" classified enhancements of

British special forces The United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF) is a directorate comprising the Special Air Service, the Special Boat Service, the Special Reconnaissance Regiment, the Special Forces Support Group, 18 (UKSF) Signal Regiment and the Joint Special Force ...

, including strength increases and investment in new equipment. Financially, in a

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or in p ...

spending review announced the week before, the

budget A budget is a calculation play, usually but not always financial, for a defined period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including time, costs and expenses, environmenta ...

would rise by £3.7bn from £29.7bn in 2004/2005 to £33.4bn in 2007/2008. The review also mentions £3bn to be invested into procuring new helicopters over the next ten years.

Future army structure

The future regimental structure, after changes were outlined in the review was announced in December 2004. Significant changes included: *Creation of new 'Combat Service Support Formations', including: ** 1st Military Intelligence Brigade ** 12th Signal Group -> reformed in 2004 to administer three reserve signals regiment part of

2nd (National Communications) Signal Brigade The 2nd Signal Brigade (later 2nd Signal Group), was a military formation of the British Army composed of Royal Corps of Signals units. The brigade was first formed following the reorganisation of the old Territorial Army in 1967, and was disban ...

-> later disbanded in 2008 following budget cuts to the equipment of the regiments **

8th Engineer Brigade 8th Engineer Brigade (8 Eng Bde) is an engineering support formation of the British Army, which forms part of 1st (United Kingdom) Division. History In August 2001, Headquarters Royal Engineers, Theatre Troops was established as a subdivision o ...

** 2nd Medical Brigade *Conversion of an armoured regiment to the formation reconnaissance role ->

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 1 ...

was selected, and subsequently joined 19th Light Brigade (see below) and retired its Challengers *All single-battalion infantry regiments to be merged into existing or new regiments. This measure met with some opposition, especially in Scotland, amongst former soldiers and nationalist groups. **

Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment) The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland. The regimen ...

, King's Own Scottish Borderers, Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's Own Glasgow and Ayrshire Regiment),

The Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons) The Highlanders, 4th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (4 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. Prior to 28 March 2006, the Highlanders was an infantry regiment in its own right; The Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons ...

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's) The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until amalgamation into the Royal Regiment of Scotland on 28 March 2006. The regiment was created under the Child ...

and TA elements amalgamated into the Royal Regiment of Scotland -> Royal Scots (1 SCOTS) and King's Own Scottish Borderers (2 SCOTS) amalgamated shortly thereafter into the

Royal Scots Borderers The Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Scotland (1 SCOTS) was an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The battalion formed on 1 August 2006 when its antecedent regiments - the Royal Scots and the King's O ...

(new 1 SCOTS) ** King's Own Royal Border Regiment, King's Regiment, and

Queen's Lancashire Regiment The Queen's Lancashire Regiment (30th, 40th, 47th, 59th, 81st and 82nd Regiments of Foot) (QLR) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the King's Division. It was formed on 25 March 1970 at Connaught Barracks in Dover through ...

and TA elements amalgamated into the

Duke of Lancaster's Regiment The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's, Lancashire and Border) (LANCS) is an infantry regiment of the line within the British Army, part of the King's Division. Headquartered in Preston, it recruits throughout the North West of England. The Du ...

-> 3rd Bn shortly thereafter disbanded **

Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire The Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the King's Division. It was created in 1958 by the amalgamation of the West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) and the Ea ...

The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment) 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 ...

, Duke of Wellington's Regiment, and TA elements amalgamated into the Yorkshire Regiment ** Cheshire Regiment, Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters, Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales'), and TA elements amalgamated into the

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 ...

** Royal Welch Fusiliers, Royal Regiment of Wales, and TA elements amalgamated into the Royal Welsh ** Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry, Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment, two battalions each of the Royal Green Jackets and The Light Infantry all amalgamated into

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 formerly ...

-> first two units forming the 1st Battalion, all other redesignation *Conversion of 4th Armoured Brigade to a mechanised brigade *Conversion of 19th Mechanised Brigade to a light brigade (19 Light Brigade) *Conversion of 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Brigade into a holding infantry brigade under 3rd (UK) Mechanised Division for battalions preparing to deploy on Operation Herrick (this change occurred in 2006/07) *Conversion of a single battalion of the Parachute Regiment to a tri-service specialist special forces support battalion (''see

Special Forces Support Group The Special Forces Support Group (SFSG) is a unit of the British Armed Forces. The SFSG is the newest addition to the United Kingdom Special Forces. It was formed officially on 3 April 2006 to provide specialist infantry and other support to th ...

'') *Reorganisation of the Territorial Army infantry into 14 battalions that are attached to regular infantry regiments of the British Army (below is the main mergers, however company sized changes did occur) **52nd Lowland Volunteers -> 52nd Lowland Volunteers, 6th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland **51st Highland Volunteers -> 51st Highland Volunteers, 7th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland **

Lancastrian and Cumbrian Volunteers The Lancastrian and Cumbrian Volunteers was a Territorial Army unit of the British Army. It was formed on 1 July 1999 following the Strategic Defence Review by the amalgamation of the 4th (Volunteer) Battalion, Queen's Lancashire Regiment and the ...

-> 4th (Volunteer) Battalion,

** Tyne-Tees Regiment -> 5th (Volunteer) 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 of ...

** East of England Regiment -> 3rd (Volunteer) Battalion,

Royal Anglian Regiment The Royal Anglian Regiment (R ANGLIAN) is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It consists of two Regular battalions and one Reserve battalion. The modern regiment was formed in 1964, making it the oldest of the Line Regiments now operating i ...

** East and West Riding Regiment -> 4th (Volunteer) Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment ** West Midlands Regiment -> 4th (Volunteer) Battalion,

Royal Welsh Regiment The Royal Welsh Regiment was an infantry regiment of the Territorial Army in the United Kingdom. It existed from 1999, until it was re-designated as the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Welsh in 2006. History The regiment was formed in 1999 as part of th ...

-> 3rd (Volunteer) Battalion, Royal Welsh **

Rifle Volunteers The Rifle Volunteers was a regiment of the British Territorial Army. In 2007, it was re-designated as 6th Battalion, The Rifles. History The ''Rifle Volunteers'' were formed in 1999 by the amalgamation of the 6th (Volunteer) Battalion, The Ligh ...

-> 6th Battalion,

** Royal Rifle Volunteers -> 7th Battalion, The Rifles *Reduction in the number of British infantry battalions from 40 to 36 -> reductions occurring in the Royal Irish Regiment following the end to Operation Banner **2nd Battalion (Home Service) -> disbanded in 2007 **3rd Battalion (Home Service) -> disbanded in 2007 **4th Battalion (Home Service) -> disbanded in 2007 ** King's and Cheshire Regiment -> disbanded in 2006 with companies going to 4 LANCS and 4 MERCIAN *Reduction in the number and size of regular military bands in the Corps of Army Music from 29 to 23: **Band of the Royal Irish Regiment disbanded **Band of the Hussars and Light Dragoons and Band of the Royal Lancers amalgamated -> Band of the Light Cavalry **Band of the Dragoon Guards and Cambrai Band of the Royal Tank Regiment -> Heavy Cavalry (Cambrai) Band **Lowland Band of the Scottish Division and Highland Band of the Scottish Division amalgamated ->

Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland The Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland is one of the three official military bands of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, and is based at Dreghorn Barracks, Edinburgh. The bandsmen wear the feather bonnet with a red over white hackle and scarlet ...

**Normandy Band of the Queen's Division merged with Minden Band of the Queen's Division **Normandy Band of the King's Division and Waterloo Band of the King's Division amalgamated ->

Band of the King's Division Band or BAND may refer to: Places * Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran *Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

**Clive Band of the Prince of Wales's Division and Lucknow Band of the Prince of Wales's Division amalgamated ->

Band of the Prince of Wales's Division Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran *Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, Ir ...

**Band of the Light Division -> Band and Bugles of The Rifles *Reduction in the number of Army Air Corps helicopters based in Northern Ireland *Creation of the Defence HUMINT Unit *Creation of a new commando engineer regiment, later 24 Commando Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers *Creation of a new signals regiment, later

10th Signal Regiment 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

References

External links

UK MoD: ''Delivering Security in a Changing World'' (PDF)UK MoD: ''Delivering Security in a Changing World: Future Capabilities'' House of Commons Hansard: Future CapabilitiesHouse of Lords Hansard: Future Capabilities
{{DEFAULTSORT:Delivering Security In A Changing World 2003 documents Defence white papers 2003 in the United Kingdom 2003 in military history 2003 in politics 21st-century military history of the United Kingdom

Key points

Future army structure

See also

References

External links