Soldiers from the Parachute Regiment guard Argentine prisoners of war during the Falklands War. Despite the decline of the British Empire, the Army was still deployed around the world, fighting colonial wars in Aden, Cyprus, Kenya and Malaya. In 1982 the British Army, alongside the Royal Marines, helped to recapture the Falkland Islands during the war against Argentina.

In the three decades following 1969, the Army was heavily deployed in Northern Ireland, to support the Royal Ulster Constabulary (later the Police Service of Northern Ireland) in their conflict with loyalist and republican paramilitary groups, called Operation Banner. The locally-recruited Ulster Defence Regiment was formed, later becoming the Royal Irish Regiment in 1992. Over 700 soldiers were killed during the Troubles. Following the IRA ceasefires between 1994 and 1996 and since 1997, demilitarization has taken place as part of the peace process, reducing the military presence from 30,000 to 5,000 troops. On 25 June 2007, the Second Battalion Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment vacated the Army complex at Bessbrook Mill in Armagh. This is part of the 'normalisation' programme in Northern Ireland in response to the IRA's declared end to its activities.

3. Recent and current conflicts

Gulf War

The ending of the Cold War saw a 40% cut in manpower, as outlined in the Options for Change review. Despite this, the Army has been deployed in an increasingly global role. In 1991, the United Kingdom was the second largest contributor to the coalition force that fought Iraq in the Gulf War. The nation supplied just under 50,000 personnel and was put in control of Kuwait after it was liberated. 47 British Military personnel died during the Gulf War.

Balkans conflicts

The British Army was deployed to Yugoslavia in 1992. Initially this force formed part of the United Nations Protection Force. In 1995 command was transferred to IFOR and then to SFOR. Currently troops are under the command of EUFOR. Over 10,000 troops were sent. In 1999 British forces under the command of SFOR were sent to Kosovo during the conflict there. Command was subsequently transferred to KFOR. From 1993-Present 72 British Military Personnel have died on operations in the former Yugoslavian Countries of Bosnia, Kosovo & Macedonia.

Afghanistan

In 2001 the United Kingdom, as a part of Operation Enduring Freedom with the United States, invaded Afghanistan to topple the Taliban. The 3rd Division Signal Regiment was deployed in Kabul, to assist in the liberation of the troubled capital. The Royal Marines' 3 Commando Brigade (part of the Royal Navy but including a number of Army units), also swept the mountains. The British Army is today concentrating on fighting Taliban forces and bringing security to Helmand province. Approximately 9,000 British troops (including marines, airmen and sailors) are currently in Afghanistan, making it the second largest force after the US. Around 500 extra British troops were deployed in 2009, bringing the British Army deployment total up to 9,500 (excluding Special Forces). From 2001 - 23rd Jan 2010 a total of 250 British military personnel have died on operations mainly in Helmand Province. 37 of these have died of causes other then direct contact from insurgents; in such ways as accidents or illness.

Iraq War

In 2003, the United Kingdom was a major contributor to the United States-led invasion of Iraq. There was major disagreement amongst the domestic populace but the House of Commons voted for the conflict, sending 46,000 army personnel to the region, the second largest force after the US. The British Army controlled the southern regions of Iraq and maintained a peace keeping presence in the city of Basra until their withdrawal on April 30, 2009. 179 British Military personnal have died on operations in Iraq.

Northern Ireland

The British Army was initially deployed in Northern Ireland in the wake of Catholic rioting in Derry and Belfast and to prevent Protestant Loyalist attacks on Catholic communities, under Operation Banner between 1969 and 2007 in support of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and its successor, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). There has been a steady reduction in the number of troops deployed in Northern Ireland since the Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998. In 2005, after the Provisional Irish Republican Army announced an end to its armed conflict in Northern Ireland, the British Army dismantled posts and withdrew many troops, and restored troop levels to that of a peace-time garrison.

Operation Banner ended at midnight on 31 July 2007, making it the longest continuous deployment in the British Army's history, lasting some thirty-eight years. An internal British Army document released in 2007 stated that the British Army had failed to defeat the IRA but had made it impossible for them to win through the use of violence. Operation Helvetica replaced Operation Banner in 2007 maintaining fewer servicemen in a much more benign environment. From 1971 to 1997 a total of 763 British Military personnel were killed during the troubles; 129 were killed in the year 1972 alone. A total of 303 RUC officers were killed in the same time period. Most recently, in March 2009, 2 soldiers and a Police Officer were killed in separate incidents in N. Ireland.

4. Tommy Atkins and other nicknames

A long established nickname for a British soldier has been Tommy Atkins or Tommy for short. The origins are obscure but most probably derive from a specimen army form circulated by the Adjutant-General Sir Harry Calvert to all units in 1815 where the blanks had been filled in with the particulars of a Private Thomas Atkins, No 6 Company, 23rd Regiment of Foot. German soldiers in both World Wars would usually refer to their British opponents as Tommy's. Present- day British soldiers are often referred to as Toms or just Tom. The British Army magazine Soldier has a regular cartoon strip, Tom, featuring the everyday life of a British soldier. Outside of the services, soldiers are generally known as squaddies by the British popular press, and the general public.Another nickname which applies only to soldiers in Scottish regiments is Jocks, derived from the fact that in Scotland the common Christian name John is often changed to Jock in the vernacular. Welsh soldiers are occasionally referred to as Taffy or just Taff. This may only apply to those from the Taff-Ely Valley in South Wales, where a large portion of men, left unemployed from the decline of the coal industry in the area, enlisted during WW I and WW II. Alternatively, it is derived from the supposed Welsh pronounciation of Dafydd - the vernacular form of Dave or Davey, the patron Saint of Wales being Saint David. Irish soldiers are referred to as Paddys or Micks; this from the days when many Irish recruits had the name Patrick or Michael.

Junior officers in the army are sometimes known as Ruperts by the Other ranks. This nickname is believed to be derived from the children's comic book character Rupert Bear who epitomizes traditional public school values.

The term Pongo, as in "where the army goes, the pong goes", or Perce is often used by Sailors and Royal Marines to refer to soldiers. It is not considered complimentary.

5. Today's Army

Statistics

Current deployments

High intensity operations

Low intensity operations

Страницы: 1, 2, 3, 4