Options for Change facts for kids

"Options for Change" was a major plan to change the British Armed Forces in the summer of 1990. This happened right after the Cold War ended.

Before this, the UK military mainly focused on defending Western Europe from the Soviet Armed Forces. The Royal Marines were in Scandinavia, the Royal Air Force (RAF) was in West Germany and over the North Sea, and the Royal Navy was in the Norwegian Sea and North Atlantic. The British Army in Germany was also a key part of this defence.

But then, the Soviet Union collapsed and the Warsaw Pact ended between 1989 and 1991. This meant a Soviet invasion of Western Europe was no longer a threat. Many British politicians didn't like the changes, but other Western countries also reduced their military forces. This was often called the "peace dividend."

Overall, the total number of military personnel was cut by about 18%. This meant the forces went down to around 255,000 people. This included 120,000 in the army, 60,000 in the navy, and 75,000 in the air force.

Some other groups that were affected were the UK's nuclear civil defence organisations. The United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation and the Royal Observer Corps (a volunteer part of the RAF) were both closed down between 1991 and 1995.

Changes in the British Army

The British Army saw many changes, including reducing troops and merging different regiments.

Reducing Troops in Germany

The number of British troops in Germany was cut in half. The British Army of the Rhine was replaced by British Forces Germany in 1994.

Merging Army Regiments

Many British Army regiments joined together to form new, larger units. Here are some examples of these changes:

Gurkha Regiments Merge

The Brigade of Gurkhas saw some changes. Their engineering headquarters was closed. The The Royal Gurkha Rifles was formed by combining four different Gurkha rifle regiments. Also, the Queen's Own Gurkha Transport Regiment was created by grouping together different transport squadrons.

Royal Corps of Signals Changes

The Royal Corps of Signals also had many units changed or combined. For example, the 1st Armoured Division Headquarters and Signal Regiment was reformed. The 4th Armoured Division Headquarters and Signal Regiment was closed to help reform another unit. The 15th Signal Regiment and Headquarters Northern Ireland was formed to manage signal squadrons in Northern Ireland.

Royal Armoured Corps Mergers

The Royal Armoured Corps had a big reorganization. Eighteen regiments were merged to create ten new ones.

• The Household Cavalry Regiment was formed by joining The Life Guards and The Blues and Royals.
• The The Royal Dragoon Guards was created by combining the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards and the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards.
• The Queen's Royal Hussars (The Queen's Own and Royal Irish) was formed from The Queen's Own Hussars and The Queen's Royal Irish Hussars.
• The The King's Royal Hussars was created by merging The Royal Hussars and the 14th/20th King's Hussars.
• The Light Dragoons was formed from the 13th/18th Royal Hussars and the 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars.
• The The Queen's Royal Lancers was created by combining the 16th/5th The Queen's Royal Lancers and the 17th/21st Lancers.
• For the Royal Tank Regiment, the 1st Royal Tank Regiment and 2nd Royal Tank Regiment were formed by merging existing regiments without changing their main names.

Infantry Regiment Changes

Many infantry regiments were also reorganized:

• In the Guards Division, some battalions (like the 2nd Battalions of the Grenadier Guards and Coldstream Guards) were reduced in size.
• In the Scottish Division, regimental bands were combined to form The Lowland Band and The Highland Band. The Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons) was formed by merging the Queen's Own Highlanders and the Gordon Highlanders.
• The The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment was formed by combining The Queen's Regiment and The Royal Hampshire Regiment.
• The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment was created by merging the Gloucestershire Regiment and the Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment.
• The Royal Irish Regiment was formed by combining the Ulster Defence Regiment and the Royal Irish Rangers.
• The Parachute Regiment also saw some changes, with one battalion being reduced to a company.

Royal Artillery Adjustments

Some units in the Royal Artillery were put on hold or had their batteries transferred to other regiments. For example, the 2nd Field Regiment Royal Artillery was suspended.

Royal Engineers Restructure

The Corps of Royal Engineers also saw changes:

• A new unit called Commander Royal Engineers (Airfields) was formed to manage airfield elements at RAF bases.
• Some engineer brigades were disbanded.
• New Royal School of Military Engineering Regiments were formed by combining existing training regiments.
• In the Territorial Army, new engineer regiments like the 76th Engineer Regiment and 77th Engineer Regiment were formed to manage airfield repair squadrons.

New Super Corps Formed

Several smaller corps were combined to create larger, more efficient "super corps":

• The Royal Logistic Corps was formed by combining the Royal Corps of Transport, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, Royal Pioneer Corps, Army Catering Corps, and the Postal and Courier Service from the Royal Engineers.
• The Adjutant General's Corps was created by merging the Royal Army Educational Corps, Royal Army Pay Corps, Women's Royal Army Corps, Army Legal Corps, Corps of Royal Military Police, and the Military Provost Staff Corps.
• The Army Medical Services was formed from the Royal Army Medical Corps, Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps, Royal Army Dental Corps, and the Royal Army Vetinerary Corps.

Changes in the Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force (RAF) also went through significant changes, including withdrawing aircraft and closing bases.

Strike Command Changes

• The Blackburn Buccaneer aircraft were removed from service, and several squadrons were disbanded.
• RAF Wattisham was closed and given to the British Army. The McDonnell Douglas Phantom aircraft were also removed from service, and their squadrons disbanded.
• RAF Honington stopped being a flying base and became the main depot for the RAF Regiment. Some Tornado aircraft moved to other bases.
• Remaining Handley Page Victor tanker aircraft were withdrawn, and their squadron disbanded.
• The number of Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft was reduced, and a squadron merged with another unit.
• The Bloodhound SAM missile was withdrawn, and its squadron disbanded.

RAF Germany Changes

• The number of RAF bases in Germany was cut in half, with RAF Wildenrath closing in 1992 and RAF Gutersloh closing in 1993.
• Air defence squadrons at Wildenrath were disbanded.
• Three RAF Laarbruch Tornado squadrons were disbanded, and another Tornado squadron moved to RAF Marham.
• Harrier and Chinook aircraft moved from Gutersloh to Laarbruch, and another squadron moved to RAF Aldergrove.

RAF Germany itself was officially closed on April 1, 1993. It became a smaller part of Strike Command.

Weapon Projects Cancelled

The project for the Brimstone air-to-surface missile was cancelled, though it was later restarted.

Changes in the Royal Navy

The Royal Navy also saw reductions.

• The number of frigates and destroyers was cut from about 50 to 40. This happened by taking older ships out of service. Some ships, like the Type 21 frigates, were sold to other countries.

"Options for Change" on Television

The TV series Soldier Soldier on ITV showed what "Options for Change" was like for the soldiers. The fictional King's Fusiliers regiment in the show was chosen to be merged. The series showed how different regiments had to negotiate their traditions and how soldiers felt unsure about their jobs when two battalions became one.

See also

• Front Line First (1994)
• Strategic Defence Review (1998)
• Delivering Security in a Changing World (2004)
• Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010