British Armed Forces
Combined military forces of the United Kingdom
Follow British Armed Forces on Notably News to receive short updates to your email — rarely!
| September 5 2024 | Royal British Legion expands to Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, Wales |
| April 2024 | 4th Battalion, Parachute Regiment was assigned to British Forces Cyprus for the standard six-month rotation. |
| 2023 | Humanitarian Medal introduced as a general medal for humanitarian service from 9 September 2023. |
| 2023 | The UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) indicated intentions to reopen the long-unused King's Lines Oil Fuel Depot facility. |
| September 9 2023 | Royal British Legion establishes Market Drayton branch in Shropshire, England |
| June 24 2023 | Newport will host the annual Wales National Armed Forces Day, a partnership between the Welsh Government, local councils, and the navy, army, and air force. |
| May 27 2023 | No. 1563 Flight was replaced by Pumas from No. 230 Squadron RAF. |
| May 6 2023 | King Charles III Coronation Medal established. |
| 2022 | Bell 212 helicopter replaced by RAF Puma HC2, operated by No. 1563 Flight RAF in Brunei. |
| November 21 2022 | Nuclear Test Medal established, honoring service during the UK's nuclear weapons testing programmes from 1952-1967. |
| August 2022 | Air Vice-Marshal P J M Squires becomes the latest Commander of British Forces Cyprus |
| August 14 2022 | Royal British Legion opens Liskeard branch in Cornwall, England |
| June 2022 | Commodore Tom Guy was appointed as the commander of British Forces Gibraltar, representing a new leadership appointment for the strategic military presence in the territory. |
| June 2022 | Commodore Tom Guy takes over command from Commodore Steve Dainton |
| April 1 2022 | Royal British Legion establishes RBL Scotland branch |
| March 2022 | A second Cutlass-class patrol vessel arrived in Gibraltar, further strengthening the naval capabilities of the Gibraltar Squadron. |
| March 25 2022 | Royal British Legion expands to Caerphilly, Wales |
| March 24 2022 | Royal British Legion establishes Gloucester branch in England |
| February 6 2022 | Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal established. Awarded to people in public service, including Armed Forces, emergency services, and prison services, following government announcement on 12 November 2020. |
| 2021 | Wales National Armed Forces Day began travelling across all Welsh regions annually. |
| 2021 | Census reveals around 115,000 people in Wales reported previous military service, representing 4.5% of residents aged 16 or older. This veteran population includes 88,000 from regular forces, 22,000 from reserve forces, and 5,000 who served in both. |
| 2021 | British Army further reduced to approximately 72,000 personnel thereafter. |
| 2021 | The British Army maintained its size at 82,000 personnel. |
| December 9 2021 | Announcement made that the Welsh Cavalry will relocate to a renovated Barracks in Caerwent, near Newport, Wales in 2028. |
| November 2021 | UK government reversed its decision, announcing that Brecon Barracks will remain the main Army headquarters in Wales. Additionally, a reserves base in Wrexham would be expanded as part of the £8.6bn Future Soldier programme. |
| November 2021 | HMS Cutlass arrived in Gibraltar, replacing previous Archer-class patrol boats as part of the Gibraltar Squadron's modernization. |
| November 25 2021 | Royal British Legion opens Stafford branch in England |
| November 17 2021 | Royal British Legion establishes Lowestoft and District branch in England |
| November 4 2021 | Royal British Legion sets up branch in Blaenau Gwent, Wales |
| October 2021 | First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford highlighted Wales' disproportionate contribution to armed services, noting that while Wales has 5% of UK population, it provides 9% of service personnel, with only 2.5% of Welsh personnel based in Wales. |
| October 28 2021 | Royal British Legion extends to Newport, Wales |
| August 1 2021 | No. 7 Flight AAC was re-designated as No. 667 Squadron AAC. |
| July 28 2021 | Royal British Legion establishes branch in Peterborough, England |
| June 28 2021 | Royal British Legion expands to Torfaen, Wales |
| April 2021 | HMS Trent permanently deployed to Gibraltar, establishing a continuous naval presence in the region. |
| February 2021 | Andrew Dawes, commander of Joint Military Command Wales, highlighted the brigade's support to NHS Wales during the Covid-19 pandemic, with several hundred service personnel crewing ambulances and delivering vaccines across Wales. |
| July 2020 | Commodore Steve Dainton assumes command from Commodore Timothy Henry |
| April 2020 | Multiple regiments including 7th Battalion, The Rifles, 5th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, and 3rd Battalion, Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment were simultaneously deployed to British Forces Cyprus. |
| 2019 | The RBLWS continued to exist with a central committee of seven members, and its chairman maintained a seat on the RBL Board of Trustees. Its funds were fully integrated into the RBL accounts. |
| 2019 | British Army planned to open applications for Commonwealth citizens in early 2019. |
| 2019 | A new official order of wear was established for British Armed Forces awards and decorations, standardizing the sequence of wearing various honors across all services. |
| November 2019 | Welsh Affairs Committee criticized UK government's planned closure of Cawdor Barracks (to close in 2024) and Brecon Barracks (to close in 2027), highlighting potential negative impacts on local Welsh communities. |
| 2018 | Commences first of two tours of Operation Cabrit in Poland, continuing into 2019. |
| 2018 | 3,280 military and civilian personnel were based in Wales, including 2,210 military personnel and 1,080 civilian staff, with the Army having the largest presence of over 1,400 personnel. |
| 2018 | Welsh government cabinet secretary Alun Davies expressed concerns about potential Ministry of Defence plans for army base closures in Wales, emphasizing the importance of Welsh identity within the Armed Forces. |
| 2018 | Significant restructuring of the Special Forces Support Group (SFSG) resulted in the creation of R Company (R Coy), a dedicated ISTAR (intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, reconnaissance) and communications specialist unit. |
| November 7 2018 | Royal British Legion establishes 6 local branches in High Peak, Derbyshire, England |
| November 5 2018 | Ministry of Defence removed the five-year residency requirement, allowing Commonwealth citizens to join the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy. |
| September 2018 | Commodore Timothy Henry succeeds Commodore Mike Walliker as Commander British Forces, Gibraltar |
| September 12 2018 | Paul James Mason installed as Bishop of the Forces. |
|
We are only showing the most recent entries for this topic. |
|
This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles Special Forces Support Group, British Forces Gibraltar, British Forces Brunei, Bishopric of the Forces in Great Britain, Armed forces in Wales, Recruitment in the British Army, Awards and decorations of the British Armed Forces, Royal British Legion & British Forces Cyprus, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.