December 16, 2004
Ancient regiments lost in Army reorganisation
By Times Online and agencies
Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, announced a major reorganisation of the Army today that will see the number of infantry battalions cut from 40 to 36 and the downgrading of certain ancient regiments to battalion-status within much larger and more resilient "super-regiments".
But in a bid to overcome public anger at the loss of treasured local regiments, Mr Hoon said that both the name and the "golden threads of identity" of those regiments will be kept. So soldiers of The Black Watch, for example, will still fight under the Black Watch name and wear the distinctive "hackle" on their bonnets.
Among the four infantry battalions lost is one from the Parachute Regiment. Those soldiers will be redeployed to form part of a new tri-service Ranger unit which will provide direct support for the SAS.
Mr Hoon told the Commons that two single battalion regiments in Scotland - the Royal Scots and The King's Own Scottish Borderers - would merge to form the new Royal Regiment of Scotland, together with the four other Scottish regiments, including the Black Watch, all downgraded to battalion status.
In England, the King's Own Royal Border Regiment, the King's Regiment and the Queen's Lancashire Regiment will amalgamate to form two new battalions within the new King's and Lancashire Border Regiment.
One battalion will also go from the Prince of Wales's Division in the south of England through a merger of elements of the Royal Gloucester, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment with the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment, which will then merge with the Light Infantry, while the Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment will merge with the the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment.
The reorganisation sees the disappearance of some of the Army's best known regiments after army chiefs decided that it was no longer viable to have single-battalion regiments existing as autonomous fighting units.
The Royal Scots, for example, were formed under Charles 1 in 1633 and are the Army's oldest infantry regiment, while the King's Own Scottish Borderers - with whom they will merge in a new battalion - were formed in 1689.
The Black Watch, much in the news for its recent deployment to reinforce US forces near Fallujah in Iraq, is spared a merger but will fight on as a battalion in the new Scottish regiment, ending almost 300 years of regimental autonomy.
Mr Hoon said: "These plans will make the Army more robust and resilient, able to deploy, support and sustain the enduring expeditionary operations that are essential for a more complex and uncertain world.
"The move to larger, multi-battalion regiments that these changes bring about is the only sustainable way in which to structure the infantry for the long term."
Mr Hoon said reductions in heavy armour, heavy artillery and the infantry would be accompanied by an increase in specialists. The move was towards a "more balanced force organised around two armoured brigades, three mechanised brigades, a light and an air assault brigade".
The 19th Mechanised Brigade, based in Catterick, will start conversion to a light brigade in January. The 4th Armoured Brigade, based in Germany, will be converted to a Mechanised Brigade in 2006 and the "key foundations" of the new Army structure would be in place by 2008.
The overriding requirement was to boost key specialist capabilities, like engineers and logisticians, and make fighting units more robust "by ensuring they have adequate numbers," he said to Tory jeers.
Enhancements already decided on included a new commando engineer regiment and a new port and maritime unit - which would be backed up by an "impressive" re-equipment programme.
Turning to the cut in infantry battalions, Mr Hoon said he understood the importance of regimental traditions but the changes needed to be seen in the wider context of "re-balancing the Army".
The infantry could be reduced partly because of the cut in forces permanently committed to Northern Ireland as a result of the peace process.
But Shadow Foreign Secretary Michael Ancram condemned the "dismal statement", saying the changes were driven by a desire to cut costs.
He said: "It is a dark day for our Armed Forces and an even darker day for the proud regiments it seeks to scrap. They have given outstanding service to our country and we owe them much.
"It is a day of shame for this discredited and ineffective Defence Secretary - discredited because you seek to hide your own direct responsibility for today's decisions behind the coat-tails of the generals, ineffective because you have abdicated your historic responsibility to defend our armed forces from the ravages of the Treasury."
Mr Ancram said that behind the spin the reality was stark: "Nineteen great regiments gone. Infantry battalions cut from 40 to 36. And the army trained establishment cut from its current target of 108,500 to a target of 102,000 by 2008. Today's announcements are dangerous for our country."
And Annette Ewing, the SNP member for Perth, home of the Black Watch, was ordered out of the Commons chamber after describing Mr Hoon as "a backstabbing coward" and refusing to withdraw the comment.
"I am amazed at the gall of the Defence Secretary as the Black Watch have just returned home from the front line in Iraq where they were sent because they were indispensable to the Army," she said.
"Why then are the Black Watch not indispensable to this Government? Surely it's a massive betrayal of our brave soldiers whose bravery can be contrasted with the Defence Secretary who is nothing but a backstabbing coward."
"The degenerative and loony should never be denigrated but, rather, thanked. In their absence, the rest of you would be obliged to fill congressional seats... positions naturally unsavory to the sane and honorable."
Thorax