4°36′31″N 114°18′51″E / 4.6087090°N 114.3140907°E / 4.6087090; 114.3140907

British Forces Brunei
The British Tri-Service badge
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army Royal Air Force
Part of	UK Ministry of Defence
Garrison/HQ	Seria
Commanders
Commander of the British Forces Brunei	Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Todd

British Forces Brunei (BFB) 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 one of the remaining British military bases in the Far East along with Singapore (and one of six East of Suez, along with Diego Garcia, HMS Juffair, UKJLSB, Sembawang Base in Singapore and the Omani-British Joint Training Area).

History

The BFB garrison came about in 1963, when British troops were moved there from Singapore to quell the 1962 Brunei revolt against Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III in December 1962.^[1]

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,^[2] but are also available for deployment overseas with other elements of the British Armed Forces if needed. As recompense, the Sultan pays to help support the British presence.^[3][4]

On 1 August 2021, No. 7 Flight AAC was redesignated as No. 667 Squadron.^[5] In 2022 the Bell 212 was replaced in Brunei with the RAF Puma HC2, operated by No. 1563 Flight RAF.^[6] A year later on 27 May, the 1563 Flight was replaced by Pumas from No. 230 Squadron RAF.^[7][8]

Structure

BFB is located at Medicina Lines and Tuker Lines in Seria and is centred on 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,^[9] and is available for overseas deployment to the Far East and beyond—the Brunei-based battalion has been deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Herrick on several occasions, as well as to East Timor.^[10]

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 or Jungle Warfare Division (JWD)) running the Jungle Warfare Advisor's Course.^[11] The three locations that make up Brunei Garrison are Sittang Camp, which is located in the middle of the nation just outside of Tutong, Medicina Lines, which is home to the Jungle Warfare Division and 230 Sqn RAF. The Garrison Headquarters and the resident Gurkha Battalion are housed in Tuker Lines, which is also home to the Garrison Support Services.^[12]

Stationed units

• • HQ Brunei Garrison
  • Resident infantry battalion (rotated every three years)
    • 2nd Battalion, Royal Gurkha Rifles^[13]
  • No. 230 Squadron RAF with Puma HC Mk.2^[14]
  • Jungle Warfare Division, Infantry Battle School^[11]
  • Brunei Police Unit
  • Brunei Signal Troop

Off-duty life

The British Forces Broadcasting Service broadcasts to the garrison, carrying programmes from both BFBS Radio 1 and BFBS Radio Gurkha. The Hornbill School, operated by Service Children's Education, is a primary school for children of services personnel.^[15][16]