British Forces Brunei

The British Military Garrison Brunei (BGB) is the name given to the British armed forces presence in Brunei. Since the handover ceremony of Hong Kong in 1997, the garrison in Brunei is the only remaining British military base in the Far East, and along with Diego Garcia one of only two East of Suez. The garrison has been in existence since 1959, when British troops were moved there from Singapore to quell a revolt against the Sultan. From there, British forces have been involved in several conflicts, including helping to quell the Brunei Revolt of 1962 and the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation. Since Brunei's independence in 1984, forces have been stationed there at the request of the current Sultan, in a renewable agreement lasting five years at a time. The forces stationed in Brunei are available to assist the Sultan as and when required, but are also available for deployment overseas with other elements of the British armed forces if needed. As recompense, the Sultan pays up to £40 million per year to help support the British presence.

Structure

BGB is located at Seria and is centred around a light infantry battalion, which will be one of the two battalions of the Royal Gurkha Rifles. The battalion stationed in Brunei operates as the British Army's acclimatised Far East reserve, and is available for overseas deployment in the Far East region and beyond - the Brunei based battalion has been deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Herrick on several occasions, and has also been deployed to East Timor and Sierra Leone.

The infantry battalion is supported by a small number of garrison troops that are permanently stationed in Brunei.

In addition, Brunei serves as one of the British Army's major training areas, specialising in jungle warfare, with the Jungle Warfare Training School (also known as Training Team Brunei) running the Jungle Warfare Advisor's Course and the Military Tracking Instructors Course in conjunction with the infantry battalion. The garrison totals approximately 900 personnel.

• Stationed Units
  • HQ Brunei Garrison
  • Resident infantry battalion - the resident battalion is rotated every three years.
    • 1st Battalion, Royal Gurkha Rifles
  • 7 Flight, Army Air Corps
  • Brunei Police Unit
  • Jungle Warfare Training School

The British Forces Broadcasting Service broadcasts to the garrison, carrying programmes from both BFBS Radio 1 and BFBS Radio Gurkha

See also

• Camp Gonsalves - United States Marine Corps equivalent

External links

• British Garrison Brunei