British Army Training Unit Kenya facts for kids

Quick facts for kids British Army Training Unit Kenya
Branch	British Army
Role	Training support
Size	300 (permanent) 550 (local civilians) up to 10,000 (training, per year)
Garrison/HQ	Nyati Barracks, Nanyuki

The British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) is a training support unit of the British Army located in Kenya.

On 3 June 1964, Duncan Sandys, Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations, signed a post-independence defence agreement with the new Kenyan government. Among its other provisions, it specified that British troops could exercise in Kenya twice a year.

Today, BATUK administers and facilitates British Army access to the large number of training areas made available by the Kenyan authorities. These training areas make possible combined arms light and mechanised role infantry battlegroup and brigade exercises, as well as civil engineering and medical projects for the local population, funded by the British Army.

Under an agreement with the Kenyan Government, up to six infantry battalions per year carry out eight-week exercises in Kenya. There are also three Royal Engineers squadron exercises which carry out civil engineering projects, as well as two Army Medical Services medical company group deployments.

British Army troops also help prevent poaching of endangered species such as rhinos and elephants, and are said to contribute £58 million to the Kenyan economy each year.

BATUK has three installations: Nyati Barracks at Laikipia Air Base in Nanyuki contains the headquarters, accommodation, mess, stores and offices; Kifaru Barracks is a rear base and logistical hub in Nairobi; Kahawa Barracks, hosted by the Kenya Army, is a similar rear base in Nairobi.

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Current status

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) maintains a longstanding Defence Cooperation Agreement with the Kenyan Government whereby up to six British infantry battalions (10,000 service personnel) per year may carry out eight-week exercises on Kenya Ministry of Defence land at Archer's Post and in Laikipia County.

The exercises are run by BATUK from its base at Nyati Barracks in Nanyuki, 200 km north of the capital.

Britain offers training opportunities in the UK to the Kenyan military and conducts joint exercises with the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF). From 2019 to 2021, the British Army and the Kenyan Defence Forces conducted five joint training exercises from BATUK, involving around 600 Kenyan troops and 4,500 British troops.

The 4th Battalion The Rifles in Kenya undergoing intensive training to be the British Army's next Spearhead Lead Element - a rapid response force.

Exercise Askari Storm

Soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment fix bayonets, fire and advance on Ex Askari Storm in Kenya.

Troops from 3 PARA Battle Group in an RWMIK during Exercise Askari Storm, Kenya.

Units such as 2nd Battalion The Rifles, 1st Battalion Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, 2nd Battalion & 3rd Battalion Parachute Regiment have all taken part in the exercise in recent years.

As part of Exercise Askari Storm in 2020, troops from 16 Air Assault Brigade practised moving 400 people away from danger. During the exercise, troops rehearsed the vital skills needed to move endangered people out of the way of disease, a natural disaster or conflict. An assault force from 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment parachuted in to secure an airfield, with additional troops and vehicles following on. Soldiers fanned out across the countryside to protect citizens from the UK and allied countries, bringing them back to the airstrip for food, shelter and medical care, before being flown out to safety.

Anti poaching

The British Army is taking a key role against the illegal wildlife trade killing rhinos and elephants in Africa.

Since 2013, British soldiers have joined forces with Kenyan anti-poaching groups in an effort to crack down on illegal wildlife crime. British Army paratroopers have previously provided patrolling and field training to members of the Kenyan Wildlife Service (KWS), Kenyan Forestry Service (KFS), and Mount Kenya Trust (MKT).

In 2013, the British Secretary of State for the Environment, Owen Paterson, announced that the British High Commission, through its Criminal Justice Advisor, had been working with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and others, leading to the setting up of Kenya's Wildlife Crime Taskforce.

Infrastructure improvements

For a number of years, HQ BATUK was located on land leased from the Nanyuki Agricultural Society, which had to be vacated every year to make way for an agricultural show.

In November 2012, 77 Armoured Engineer Squadron, Royal Engineers (RE) and 66 Works Group, RE were working together to build a new headquarters for BATUK and other British Army elements at the former Second World War RAF Station Nanyuki (renamed Laikipia circa 1982). Over 700 local Kenyan workers and supply chains were employed. The new installation was built on Laikipia Air Base (East), and then later named Nyati Barracks.

In 2015, the BATUK Infrastructure Development Programme began to improve the infrastructure of BATUK.

As part of the programme, the new Nyati Barracks was opened in January 2021, located in Nanyuki, to replace previous infrastructure and provide a training headquarters, welfare facilities, accommodation, mess, offices, stores, and exercise buildings.

The programme provided approximately 400 jobs for Locally Employed Civilians (LECs) and local contractors and included around 30 women working in traditionally male dominated trades, including electrical and plastering work.

British Army installations in Kenya

The International Peace Support Training Centre (IPSTC) is an associated multinational organisation located in Nairobi County, with inputs from numerous allies. Britain funds around 30% of the training courses that run at the IPSTC, including improvised explosive device disposal.