Force Troops Command
Active1 April 2014 – 1 August 2019
Branch British Army
RoleCombat Service Support
Size8 brigades and 1 group
Part ofField Army
Garrison/HQTrenchard Lines, Upavon
Commanders
Current
commander		Major General James Bowder[1]

Force Troops Command was a combat support and combat service support command of the British Army. Its headquarters was at Upavon, Wiltshire. It was formed in 2013 as a re-designation of the previous Headquarters Theatre Troops. Force Troops Command was renamed as 6th (United Kingdom) Division in August 2019.

History

Previously, General Officer Commanding, Theatre Troops was a senior British Army officer responsible for the provision of Combat Support and Combat Service Support operations worldwide in support of the UK's Defence Strategy.[2] On formation in 2003 it included 1st Artillery Brigade; 7th Air Defence Brigade; Commander Royal Engineers (CRE) HQ RE Theatre Troops with 12th and 29th Engineer Brigades; 1st, 2nd, and 11th Signal Brigades; and two logistic brigades 102 Logistic Brigade in Germany and 101 Logistic Brigade in the United Kingdom which contained logistic units to support the two deployable divisions (1st Armoured Division in Germany and 3rd Mechanised Division in the United Kingdom). 104th Logistic Support Brigade with the specialist units needed to deploy a force overseas such as pioneers, movements and port units[3] was also part of Theatre Troops. The final two components were 2 Medical Brigade and Commander, Equipment Support.[4]

Theatre Troops became Force Troops Command under Army 2020 in 2013[5] and reached Full Operating Capability (FOC) on 1 April 2014. 101 or 102 Logistic Brigades subsequently left Force Troops Command.[6]

The Joint Ground-Based Air Defence Command, which was jointly controlled by RAF Air Command, was replaced by 7 Air Defence Group on 1 April 2019.[7]

Force Troops Command was renamed as 6th (United Kingdom) Division on 1 August 2019, with sub-units consisting of 1st Signal Brigade, 11th Signal Brigade, 1st Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Brigade, 77th Brigade and the Specialised Infantry Group.[8] It will sit alongside restructured 1st UK Division and 3rd UK Division.[9][10]

Structure

Formation

Largest

Force Troops Command comprised nine ‘functional’ brigades. The various units included: The Intelligence and Surveillance Brigade which provided integrated intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, drawing specifically on lessons from Afghanistan. 1st Artillery Brigade delivered both close support artillery and precision fires, as well as leading Air-Land Integration. 8 Engineer Brigade commanded the close support engineer units, as well as Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Search, Force Support and Infrastructure Groups. The 77th Brigade was involved in conflict prevention and stabilisation through the projection of soft power.[89]

Structure of the Force Troops Command 2018 (click image to enlarge)

Commanders

Commanders have included:[90]
General Officer Commanding, Theatre Troops

General Officer Commanding, Force Troops Command

Footnotes

  1. ^ "No. 62720". The London Gazette. 23 July 2019. p. 13064.
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  4. ^ Lt Col Richard Quinlan, R Signals, HQ Theatre Troops, in News From Formations, The Wire, April 2003, p.127
  5. ^ Tanner, James (2014). The British Army since 2000. Osprey Publishing. p. 15. ISBN 978-1782005933.
  6. ^ Force Troops Command
  7. ^ "Force Troops Command Handbook". British Army. p. 7. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
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References

External links

Divisions of the British Army
Categories