Force Troops Command

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 redesignation of the previous Headquarters Theatre Troops. Force Troops Command was renamed as 6th (United Kingdom) Division in August 2019.

Force Troops Command
Active1 April 2014 – 1 August 2019
Allegiance United Kingdom
Branch British Army
RoleAsymmetric warfare , Orchestrating Intelligence, Counter-Intelligence, Information Operations, Electronic Warfare, Cyber and unconventional warfare
Size4 brigades and 1 group
Part ofField Army
Garrison/HQTrenchard Lines, Upavon
Commanders
Current
commander		Major General James Bowder[1]

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] There were 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). Additionally 104 Logistic Support Brigade operates the specialist units needed to deploy a force overseas such as pioneers, movements and port units.[3]

Theatre Troops became Force Troops Command under Army 2020 in September 2013 and reached Full Operating Capability (FOC) on 1 April 2014. 101 or 102 Logistic Brigades subsequently left Force Troops Command.[4]

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.[5]

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.[6] It will sit alongside restructured 1st UK Division and 3rd UK Division.[7][8]

Structure

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.[9]

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

Former Subordinate formations

Commanders

Commanders have included:[10]
General Officer Commanding, Theatre Troops

General Officer Commanding, Force Troops Command

References
  1. "No. 62720". The London Gazette. 23 July 2019. p. 13064.
  2. UK Government Archived February 4, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  3. "104 Logistic Support Brigade". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  4. Force Troops Command
  5. "Force Troops Command Handbook". British Army. p. 7. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  6. "Army sixth division focuses on cyber, electronic warfare, intelligence, information operations". The Cyber Security Source. Twickenham. 31 July 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  7. Burgess, Sally (1 August 2019). "British Army to train cyber spies to combat hackers and digital propaganda". Sky News. London. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  8. Nicholls, Dominic (1 August 2019). "British Army to engage in social media warfare as new cyber division unveiled". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  9. Major-General Tim Radford, 'Troops at the ready,' The British Army 2014, p.118-119
  10. Army Commands Archived July 5, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
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