FUTURE ARMY STRUCTURE

Infantry: The main changes THE restructuring of the Army as a whole and the Infantry in particular was signalled last summer. Much was revealed then about the Army's intention to add medium forces to its current mix of heavy and light assets and to refine combat and logistic support to fighting units. These are the main features of that restructuring. Detail, including locations, roles, uniforms, badges and regimental headquarters, will emerge over coming months. Scottish Division To reduce by one battalion from six to five by amalgamating 1st Battalion, The Royal Scots and 1st Battalion, The King's Own Scottish Borderers. The resulting five Scottish battalions will form one large, single cap-badge regiment to be called provisionally The Royal Regiment of Scotland. Battalions will take their antecedent name as their new title, with the regiment in brackets. Thus: The Royal Scots and King's Own Scottish Borderers (1st Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland). The Royal Highland Fusiliers (2nd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland). The Black Watch (3rd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland). The Highlanders (4th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland). The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (5th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland). Abbreviated titles will be 1 SCOTS, 2 SCOTS and so on. The regiment will have one common base dress and tartan, and a single cap badge. Titles are provisional at this stage. King's Division The King's Division will reduce by one battalion from six to five by merging those from west of the Pennines, 1st Battalion, The King's Own Royal Border Regiment, 1st Battalion, The King's Regiment and 1st Battalion, The Queen's Lancashire Regiment to form a two-battalion regiment called The King's Lancashire and Border Regiment. Abbreviated titles will be 1 Lancs and 2 Lancs. The remaining three battalions east of the Pennines, 1st Battalion, The Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire, 1st Battalion, The Green Howards, and 1st Battalion, The Duke of Wellington's Regiment will merge to form a three-battalion regiment called The Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot). Antecedent regimental names will be held in brackets at battalion level. Prince of Wales's Division The Prince of Wales's Division will reduce by one battalion by merging the prior Glosters element of 1st Battalion, The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment with 1st Battalion, The Devonshire and Dorset Regiment and The Light Infantry simultaneously within the Light Division, and the prior Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment element of 1 RGBW merging into The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment within the Queen's Division. 1st Battalion, The Royal Welch Fusiliers and 1st Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Wales will form a two-battalion regiment, The Royal Welsh. Antecedent names will be maintained in brackets at battalion level. 1st Battalion, The Cheshire Regiment, 1st Battalion, The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment and 1st Battalion, The Staffordshire Regiment will form a three-battalion regiment, The Mercian Regiment. Antecedent names will be maintained in brackets at battalion level. Queen's Division is unchanged Light Division The Light Division will receive an additional battalion based on the merger of D and D and the Glosters element of RGBW with the LI and will be called 1st Battalion, The Light Infantry, with current LI battalions renumbering as the 2nd and 3rd in accordance with seniority. Guards Division is unchanged The Royal Gurkha Rifles and The Royal Irish Regiment are unchanged is unchanged The Parachute Regiment A battalion dedicated to direct support of Special Forces will be formed. The fourth battalion reduction will be allocated to the 1st Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, removing it from the line Infantry and using its highly-trained manpower and structure as the core of the new ⌠ranger?¡ battalion. Future Army Structure: The main changes Size of the Army: To reduce by 1,500 to 102,000 trained soldiers. Shift from heavy/light mix to heavy/medium/light mix to make the Army more expeditionary in nature, with 19 Mechanized Brigade re-roling to become the new light brigade. Infantry Arms Plot to stop. Limited relocation to continue. TA Infantry to be integrated at battalion level into the new regimental structure. Royal Armoured Corps QRL to re-role to be 19 Light Brigade?fs formation reconnaissance regiment. Three Challenger 2 squadrons to convert to three interim medium armoured squadrons. Command and support squadron (to include a ground surveillance troop) to be established for each formation recce regiment. Additional posts to be created. Military bands Reduce by two RAC and four Infantry bands. Royal Artillery 40 Regiment RA (now AS90) to re-role as a light gun regiment in support of 19 Light Bde. Gun groups of three AS90 batteries to be cut. v Additional unmanned air vehicle battery, a rocket battery and a surveillance and target acquisition battery to be established. Overall reduction in ground-based air defence, but all Rapier and high-velocity missile capability will be owned and operated by the RA. Royal Engineers 24 Commando Engineer Regiment to be established. Air Support RHQ and HQ and Support Squadron to be established by re-roling 25 Engr Regt?fs RHQ and HQ and Support Sqn following normalisation in Northern Ireland. Additional EOD squadron to be formed. Two more close-support squadrons to be formed to support armoured and mechanized brigade battle-groups. Geographic capability to be enhanced. Engineer recce to be embedded into formation recce regiments. Military Work Force to be enhanced. Royal Signals New regiment (22 Signal Regiment) to be established, with Ptarmigan and then Falcon. Army Air Corps Reductions to Lynx and Gazelle fleets in Northern Ireland. 5 Regt to provide deployable manned airborne surveillance capability. 651 Sqn to disband in April 2006 once its fielding unit role with Apache is completed. Air manoeuvre planning team to be created. Royal Logistic Corps New brigade logistic support regiments to be established. 19 Light Brigade to be supported by new combat service support battalion. Enhancements to medical supply, logistic brigade support squadron, port and maritime, movements and postal and courier capability. Two additional close-support ammunition troops to be established. Two heavy improvised explosive device disposal troops to be created. Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers 5 Battalion REME to convert to a combat service support battalion to support 19 Light Brigade. Each armoured and mechanized brigade will be supported by a REME battalion. Power-pack platoons to be enhanced. Army Medical Services More modular structure for field units. Enhancements to close-support regiments. 5 General Support Med Regt to re-role and provide support to 2nd LoC (102 Log Bde). Enhancements to Special Forces Medical Tp. Royal Military Police The basic structure of the RMP will be retained. An infrastructure provost company will be drawn down to allow for the formation of an additional, deployable provost company. Intelligence Corps 1 Military Intelligence Brigade to be enhanced. 4 MI Bn to become permanent Regular unit. Defence HUMINT unit (DHU) to be formed.