British Armed Forces

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British Armed Forces
File:Triserv-600.jpg
The tri-service badge: Royal Navy, British Army
and Royal Air Force.
Personnel
Availability (2005 est.) 14,607,724
(males 16-49)
14,028,738
(females 16-49)
Fit for military service
(2005 est.) 		12,046,268
(males 16-49)
11,555,893
(females 16-49)
Regular personnel strength
(non-civilians) 		180,690
(July 2006)
(Ranked 28th)
Regular personnel per thousand citizens 3.14
Expenditure
Sterling figure
(FY2007-8) 		£40,618,000,000
US Dollar figure
(FY2007-8) 		$80,651,100,800 (Ranked 2nd)
Percent of GDP
(2007) 		2.7%[1]

The armed forces of the United Kingdom, commonly known as the British Armed Forces or Her Majesty's Armed Forces, and sometimes legally the Armed Forces of the Crown, [1], encompasses a navy, army, and air force. With a reported personnel strength of 236,190 in 2006 (195,900 regular and 40,290 volunteer reserve), the British Armed Forces constitutes one of the largest and most advanced militaries in Europe.[2][3] Their Commander-in-Chief is the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II and they are managed by the Defence Council of the Ministry of Defence.

The British Armed Forces are charged with protecting the United Kingdom and its overseas territories, promoting Britain's wider security interests, and supporting international peacekeeping efforts.[4] They are active and regular participants in NATO and other coalition operations.

Recent operations have included wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (2001 and 2003 respectively), intervention in Sierra Leone (2000), and ongoing peacekeeping responsibilities in the Balkans and Cyprus. Overseas garrisons and facilities are maintained at Ascension Island, Belize, Brunei, Canada, Diego Garcia, the Falkland Islands, Germany, Gibraltar, Kenya, and the Sovereign Base Areas (Cyprus). [5][6]

History

British military history is long, complex and greatly influential in world history, especially since the 17th Century. Important conflicts in which the British took part include the Seven Years' War and the Napoleonic Wars of the 18th Century/early 19th Century, the Crimean War of the mid 19th Century, and the First and Second World Wars of the 20th Century. The British Empire, which reached its apogee in the 1920s, was the largest empire in history; a third of the world's population were subjects of the British Crown and it controlled a quarter of the world's total land area. Since the end of the Second World War, British forces have continued to be very active and bases remain spread out across the globe in places such as Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Germany, Gibraltar, Brunei and the Falkland Islands.

The current structure of defence management in the United Kingdom was set in place in 1964 when the modern day Ministry of Defence (MoD) was created (an earlier form had existed since 1940). The MoD assumed the roles of the Admiralty, the War Office and the Air Ministry.

Current strength

The United Kingdom fields one of the most powerful, technologically advanced, and comprehensive armed forces in the world. According to the British Ministry of Defence, the UK has the second highest military expenditure in the world[2] despite only having the 28th highest number of troops. It is also the second largest spender on military science, engineering and technology[3] Despite Britain's wide ranging capabilities, recent defence policy has a stated assumption that any large operation would be undertaken as part of a coalition. Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq (Granby, Desert Fox and Telic) may all be taken as precedent - indeed the last large scale military action in which the British armed forces fought alone was the Falklands War of 1982.

The Royal Navy is the second largest navy in the world in terms of gross tonnage, with 91 commissioned ships. The Naval Service (which comprises the Royal Navy and Royal Marines) had a strength of 35,470 in July 2006 [4] and is charged with custody of the United Kingdom's independent strategic nuclear deterrent consisting of four Trident missile submarines, while the Royal Marines provide commando units for amphibious assault and for specialist reinforcement forces in and beyond the NATO area. According to the same source, the British Army had a strength of 100,010, while the Royal Air Force had a strength of 45,210. This puts the total number of regular Armed Forces personnel at 180,690 (not including civilians), nine percent of whom were women. This number is supported by reserve forces, including over 35,000 from the Territorial Army. The total number of serving personnel, including reserve forces, is therefore in the region of 225,000 (taking into account Navy, Marines and Air Force reserves).

Structure

Naval Service

HMS Portland, a Type 23 frigate operating in the Persian Gulf, 2002.

The Naval Service comprises the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Royal Fleet Auxiliary, Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service, and their respective reserves.[7] As of 1 February 2007, a fleet of 88 vessels (including an aircraft carrier in reserve) is maintained by the Royal Navy, supported by 23 vessels of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. [8] [9][10]

Referred to as the "Senior Service" by virtue of it being the oldest service within the British Armed Forces, the Royal Navy had a strength of 34,900 in April 2006.[11] Responsibility for the United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent is delegated to the navy's Vanguard-class of four nuclear ballistic-missile submarines. The surface fleet consists of carriers, destroyers, frigates, amphibious assault ships, patrol ships, mine-countermeasure, and miscellaneous vessels. A submarine service has existed within the Royal Navy for over 100-years. The service possessed a combined fleet of diesel-electric and nuclear-powered submarines in the early 1990s. Following the Options for Change defence review, diesel-electric submarines were withdrawn and the "hunter-killer" fleet is now exclusively nuclear-powered.

British Army

Main article: Structure of the British Army
The FV510 Warrior is the primary vehicle of armoured infantry battalions.

The regular British Army had a strength of 107,700 (trained and untrained) in 2006, while its reserve component, the Territorial Army, numbered 38,500.[12][13] The British Army is undergoing a restructuring programme envisaged in the 2003 defence white paper, Delivering Security in a Changing World, and the subsequent announcement of the Future Army Structure (FAS). [14]

The army consists of three TLBs (Top Level Budget): United Kingdom Land Command, HQ Adjutant-General, and HQ Northern Ireland.[15] Deployable combat formations consist of two divisions (1st Armoured and 3rd Mechanised) and eight brigades.[16][17] Within the United Kingdom, operational and non-deployable units are administered by three reegionally-defined "regenerative"" divisions (2nd, 4th, and 5th) and London District.[18]

The core element of the Army is the 50 battalions of regular and territorial infantry, organised into 17 regiments.[19] The majority of infantry regiments contains multiple regular and territorial battalions. Modern infantry have diverse capabilities and this is reflected in the varied roles assigned to them. There are four operational roles that infantry battalions can fulfil: air assault, armoured infantry, mechanised infantry, and light role infanry.

There are 11 armoured regiments within the regular army, of which five are designated as "Armoured" and five as "Formation Reconnaissance". The 1st Royal Tank Regiment uniquely forms a component of the Joint Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Regiment. With the exception of the Household Cavalry, armoured regiments and their Territorial counterparts are grouped under the Royal Armoured Corps. Arms and Ssupport units are also formed into similar collectives organised around specific purposes, such as the Corps of Royal Engineers and Royal Army Medical Corps. [20]

Royal Air Force

File:DF-SD-07-05791 GR4 Tornado.jpg
A Panavia Tornado GRV of No. 14 Squadron operating over Iraq, 2004.

Consisting of both fixed-wing and rotary aircraft, the Royal Air Force has a large operational fleet that fulfills various roles. According to a House of Commons written answer made by Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram, the RAF had in its inventory an estimated 1,046 aircraft of all types in March 2006.[21]

Personnel

Size

Service 1975 1985 1993 1997 2006
Overall 338,400 [22] 326,200[22] 274,800[22] 210,800[22] 195,900
Naval 76,200[22] 70,400[22] 59,400[22] 45,100[22] 39,400
Army 167,100[22] 162,400[22] 134,600[22] 108,800[22] 107,700
Royal Air Force 95,000[22] 93,400[22] 80,900[22] 56,900[22] 48,700

Recruitment

Soldiers of the Brigade of Gurkhas exercising with the United States Marine Corps, 1996.

The Armed Forces mainly recruits within the United Kingdom, and normally has an annual recruitment target of around 24,000.[23] The minimum recruitment age is 16½ years (although personnel may not serve on operations below 18 years); the maximum recruitment age is 33-years. The normal term of engagement is 22 years. [24] Low unemployment in Britain has resulted in the Army having difficulty in meeting its target, and in the early years of the 21st century there has been a marked increase in the number of recruits from other (predominantly Commonwealth) countries[25][26]

Citizens of Commonwealth countries, the Republic of Ireland, and dual-nationals are eligible to join the British Armed Forces.[25] In 2005, the proportion of foreign nationals in the Armed Forces rose from a 2004 figure of 7.5 to almost 10 percent. While the Army has been the destination for the majority of recruits, large contingents exist in the Navy and Air Force.[27] Excluding the Brigade of Gurkhas and Royal Irish Regiment, 7,155 personnel were recorded as being of foreign nationality in 2005.[27] The largest tri-service national groups recorded in 2005 were Fijian (2,040), Jamaican (1,030), South African (710), Zimbabwean (590), Ghanaian (590), and Irish (335).[27] Smaller contingents were drawn from countries such as Australia (110) and Canada (105), and islands nations with relatively small populations.[27] A Grenadian, Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry, was awarded the Victoria Cross in 2005 for actions in Iraq.[25]

A female Tornado navigator of No. 12 Squadron, 1998.

Specific initiatives to develop female and ethnic minority representation in the Armed Forces has yielded percentage increases of 3.4 and 4.5 since 1997.[28][29][30][22] In 1997, there were 14,830 (5.7%) women and 2.184 (1.0%) personnel who identified as an ethnic minority.[22] This had increased to 17,870 (9.1%) and 10,180 (5.55) in 2006. A higher percentage of personnel have attained higher-rank since 2000. Notably included among these officers are Rear-Admiral Amjad Hussain, Air Commodore David Case, Commodore Carolyn Stait, and Squadron Leader Nicky Smith.[31][32] Women have been fully integrated into the British Armed Forces since the early 1990s; however, they remain excluded from primarily combat units in the Army, Royal Marines, Royal Air Force Regiment, and the submarine service.[33]

Recent Defence Reviews

See also

Notes

  1. ^ http://www.raf.mod.uk/legalservices/p3chp29.htm]
  2. ^ Strength of UK Regular Forces by Service and whether trained or untrained at 1 April each year, dasa.mod.uk
  3. ^ House of Commons Hansard, publications.parliament.uk
  4. ^ The Mission of the Armed Forces, armedforces.co.uk
  5. ^ Permanent Joint Operating Bases, northwood.mod.uk
  6. ^ House of Commons Hansard, publications.parliament.uk
  7. ^ Personnel Support Brief - Summer 2006, .rncom.mod.uk>/u>
  8. ^ Fleet Today, royal-navy.mod.uk
  9. ^ http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/server/show/nav.5435 RFA Fleet Today], royal-navy.mod.uk
  10. ^ Number of vessels in the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, and squadrons in the Fleet Air Arm at 1 April each year, dasa.mod.uk
  11. ^ Strength of UK Regular Forces by Service and whether trained or untrained at 1 April, dasa.mod.uk
  12. ^ Strength of UK Regular Forces by Service and whether trained or untrained at 1 April each year, dasa.mod.uk
  13. ^ Strength of the Reserve Forces at 1 April each year, dasa.mod.uk
  14. ^ Future Army Structure, armedforces.co.uk/
  15. ^ Defence Organisation, mod.uk
  16. ^ Divisions and Brigades, army.mod.uk
  17. ^ Number of Regiments, Infantry battalions & Major Headquarters, in the Regular & Territorial Army at 1 April each year, dasa.mod.uk
  18. ^ HQ Land Command, armedforces.co.uk/
  19. ^ The Mercian Regiment is to be formed in August 2007, to become the final regiment created a result of the infantry amalgamations under FAS
  20. ^ Arms and Services, army.mod.uk
  21. ^ Hansard House of Commons, publications.parliament.uk
  22. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r 1998 Publication, dasa.mod.uk
  23. ^ Hansard House of Commons, publications.parliament.uk
  24. ^ BBC News (2007), Recruitment Age for Army Raised, news.bbc.co.u
  25. ^ a b c Evans (2005), How British Army is fast becoming foreign legion, timesonline.co.uk
  26. ^ Wilson (2006), One in 10 soldiers is recruited overseas, telegraph.co.uk
  27. ^ a b c d Hansard House of Commons, publications.parliament.uk/
  28. ^ Hansard House of Commons, publications.parliament.uk
  29. ^ Strength of UK Regular Forces by sex and Service at 1 April each year, dasa.mod.uk
  30. ^ Strength of UK Regular Forces by ethnic origin and rank at 1 April each year, dasa.mod.uk
  31. ^ Naval base appoints female chief, news.bbc.co.uk
  32. ^ Honour for high-flying woman, news.bbc.co.uk
  33. ^ Women in the Armed Forces, .mod.uk

References

External links
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