British Forces Germany

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

British Army

Components
Image:Army flag.svg
British Army
Territorial Army
List of current regiments
Structure of the British Army
Administration
Land Command
British Forces Germany
British Forces Cyprus
Equipment
Modern Equipment
History
History of the British Army
Timeline of the British Army
Personnel
List of senior officers
Officer rank insignia
Enlisted rank insignia

The British Forces Germany (BFG) is the successor of the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) and Royal Air Force Germany (RAFG), which were disbanded in 1994 after the end of the Cold War. The BFG is concentrated in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony.

The BFG is a considerably reduced entity compared to the BAOR, which had consisted of I Corps and its three divisions. British Forces Germany is now comprised of three main armoured brigades under the control of 1st (UK) Armoured Division, whose HQ is based at Herford near Bielefeld. In addition, there are garrison units located at Gütersloh, Hohne, Osnabrück, and Paderborn.

The United Kingdom Support Command (Germany) has responsibility for all units, of all three services, on the continent which are not part of 1 (UK) Division. The British Forces Liaison Organisation (Germany) is responsible for negotiations and relations with German authorities. Since the closure of RAF Brüggen in 2002, the RAF's presence has consisted of RAF Nordhorn, a bombing and gunnery range.

Currently, British Forces Germany numbers about 55,000 people, although only 25,000 are actual serving personnel. The 1st Armoured Division is currently equipped with 300 Challenger 2 MBTs, 275 Warrior IFVs, 96 AS-90 Braveheart howitzers, 18 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, over 1,000 other armoured personnel carriers, and 11 Gazelle and Lynx helicopters.

During the height of "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland, the IRA targeted the BFG and its personnel between 1988 and 1990. The attacks resulted in the deaths of 9 people, including three civilians, and many more wounded.

According to the BBC, the BFG presence contributes 1.5 billion Euros annually to the German economy.