The Army has announced the launch of its first Reserve Military Working Dog Squadron as part of the major restructure under Future Reserves 2020. The new 101 Military Working Dog Squadron will form part of 1st Military Working Dog Regiment and will be based at St George’s Barracks, North Luffenham. This is the first time that reservists can train to become dog handlers, and men and women aged between 18 and 50 are invited to […]
Army trainers are heading to Northern Iraq, along with 1,000 bomb detectors. The specialists drawn from across the Army, will be based in the Kurdish capital Erbil. So far more than 1000 Kurdish Peshmerga have completed training and the UK will lead the Coalition’s counter-IED training programme, which is due to start this month. Troops will train Kurdish Peshmergas to use Vallon metal detectors, which were central to counter-IED efforts in Afghanistan. “playing to […]
The punch packed by The Light Dragoons, a light cavalry regiment tasked to provide the Army’s eyes and ears on the battlefield, has been tested. Exercise WESSEX STORM has seen the unit carrying out live fire training on the rain-lashed STANTA ranges near Thetford, close to their base at Swanton Morley in Norfolk. Deploying on Jackal 2 and Coyote armoured vehicles, the soldiers are training alongside 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, 21 Engineer Regiment and […]
A new flag is flying high above the Army’s newest Brigade – 7 Infantry Brigade and Headquarters East. The Brigade has been formed by the merger of 7th Armoured Brigade ‘The Desert Rats’ and 49 (East) Brigade and marks a return to the UK for the ‘Desert Rat’ insignia. Members of the new Brigade will easily be identifiable by the insignia that has been transferred from 7th Armoured Brigade. The Brigade had been based in […]
Hundreds of teenagers were put through their paces during a passing-out parade in Harrogate today. More than 400 Junior Soldiers marched off to a new career with their chosen regiments after graduating from the Army Foundation College in Penny Pot Lane. Some 22 Junior Soldiers were presented with prestigious trophies by the Army’s Adjutant-General, Lieutenant General Sir Gerald Berragan, while the remaining 435 held their heads high after gaining educational qualifications to set them off […]
Major Tim Peake, a former Apache pilot with the Army Air Corps, is the first Briton to be appointed by the European Space Agency (ESA) Astronaut Corps and begins his mission on the International Space Station (ISS) in November. Tim, aged 42, who maintains his flying in the Army Reserve, will be conducting a range of scientific experiments and maintenance work, including using the robotic arm and spacewalking, if the opportunity arises. Married father-of-two Tim, who […]
Regular and Reserve soldiers marked the 63rd anniversary of Her Majesty The Queen’s Accession to the Throne on Friday 6th February in London with two visually spectacular events. The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, wearing immaculately presented full dress uniform, provided a colourful sight when they rode their horses and gun carriages out of Wellington Barracks just after 11am. They rode past Buckingham Palace and Wellington Arch and Hyde Park en route to their firing […]
Soldiers from 16 Air Assault Brigade, the British Army’s rapid reaction force, have practised the skills needed to seize an airfield as they prepare for a major training exercise in America. Exercise Red Prepare saw the paratroopers of 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment assault an airfield on the Stanford Training Area in Norfolk, with close air support from two Apache attack helicopters from 3 Regiment Army Air Corps. Once it was secured, 23 Engineer Regiment […]
The British Army is to work more closely with the Bundeswehr (German army) in future following discussions between the two nations’ armies this week at the Headquarters of 3rd (United Kingdom) Division on Salisbury Plain. MajorGeneral Johann Langenegger, Commander of Hanover-based 1. Panzerdivision, visited southern England to cement the official ‘Patenschaft’ (partnership) with the British Army’s 3rd (United Kingdom) Division The two-day visit saw the German officer explore how the Bundeswehr may develop ties with the […]
In early May 2015, during the 200th year of Gurkha service to the British Crown, an eight-man team of serving Gurkha soldiers aims to summit the world’s highest peak in their homeland of Nepal. In conquering the 8,848m mountain, which is an icon for Nepal and the Brigade of Gurkhas, they will be the first serving Gurkha soldiers to reach the peak, climbing in temperatures of -25°C, with the threat of frostbite, altitude sickness and […]
Around 130 Army medics, both Regular and Reserve, have been training together in freezing Cumbrian temperatures; assessing and treating casualties in conditions designed to look and feel like a real-life conflict zone. Exercise Burton Fell was the first time 3 Medical Regiment’s Regular and Reserve soldiers had worked together on such a scale. The arrangement is an example of the Army’s new integration concept – where full time and Reserve soldiers train together and then […]
The Prime Minister has announced that a service of commemoration will take place at St Paul’s Cathedral on 13 March, followed by a parade. A service of commemoration, attended by Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, will be held to mark the end of combat operations in Afghanistan, and to honour the contribution of all those in the UK who worked from 2001 to 2014 to make the country […]
Personnel from the armed forces marched through Westminster to mark their return from the last British combat tour of Afghanistan. Troops from 20 Armoured Infantry Brigade and from 102 Logistic Brigade marched from Wellington Barracks to the Palace of Westminster. The last troops to serve on Operation Herrick line-up outside the Palace of Westminster.Personnel who took part served as part of Joint Force Support (Afghanistan) as well as ISAF Regional Command (Southwest) during the last […]
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has today awarded a £50m contract to BAE Systems to support the British Army’s armoured tracked vehicle fleet, safeguarding 100 jobs. The five-year contract covers an array of design services including safety advice and elements of operational effectiveness for light, medium and heavy armoured vehicles. It also combines a number of existing support contracts into a more efficient and effective contracting agreement saving taxpayers money. Philip Dunne MP, Minister for […]
From chefs to mechanics, troops who support the British Army’s rapid reaction force have polished their soldiering skills. The logistic and maintenance troops of 16 Air Assault Brigade provide the power behind the punch delivered by the Brigade’s Apache attack helicopters and airborne infantry and artillery. Exercise Eagles Prey has put the supporting soldiers through their paces to ensure they are ready to deploy as part of the Air Assault Task Force (AATF). The week-long […]
