Structure of the British Army
The structure of the British Army of the United Kingdom (UK) will be reorganised in 2022 with the Future Soldier reform. The British Army is commanded by the Chief of the General Staff (CGS), with Army Headquarters which is located in Andover, Hampshire. Subordinate to that post, there is a Commander Field Army, and a personnel and UK operations command, Home Command. Introduction. The command structure within the British Army is hierarchical; with divisions and brigades controlling groupings of units from an administrative perspective. Major units are battalion-sized, with minor units being company sized  sub-units. In some Regiments and Corps called squadrons or batteries, sub-divided into platoons or troops. All units within the British Army service are either Regular (full-time) or Army Reserve (full-time or part-time), or a combination with sub-units of each type. Naming conventions of units differ for traditional British historical reasons, creating a significant opportunity for confusion; an infantry battalion is equivalent to a cavalry regiment. An infantry regiment is an administrative and ceremonial organisation only, and may include several battalions. For operational tasks, a battle group will be formed around a combat unit, supported  by units or sub-units from other areas. An example would be a squadron of tanks attached to an armoured infantry battle group, together with a reconnaissance troop, artillery battery, and engineering support. Since the 1957 Defence White Paper which re-roled British forces in Germany in favour of nuclear weapons and the end of National Service, the size of the British Army has consistently shrunk. Since 1990, reductions have been almost constant, through succeeding defence reviews: Options for Change (1990), Front Line First (1994), the Strategic Defence Review of 1998, Delivering Security in a Changing World (2003), the Army  2020 Restructuring (2010), the Army 2020 Refine (2015), and Defence in a Competitive Age (2021). The British military (those parts of the British Armed Forces tasked with land warfare, as opposed to the naval forces) historically was divided into a number of 'forces', of which the British Army (also referred to historically as the 'Regular Army' and the 'Regular Force') was only one. The oldest of these organisations was the Militia Force (also referred to as the 'Constitutional Force'), whereby the Reserve Forces units mostly lost their own identities, and became numbered Territorial Force sub-units of regular British Army  corps or regiments (the Home Militia had followed this path, with the Militia Infantry units becoming numbered battalions of British Army regiments, and the Militia Artillery integrating within Royal Artillery territorial divisions in 1882 and 1889, and becoming parts of the Royal Field Artillery or Royal Garrison Artillery in 1902 (though retaining their traditional corps names), but was not merged into the Territorial Force when it was created in 1908 (by the merger of the Yeomanry and Volunteer Force). The Militia was instead renamed the 'Special Reserve', and was permanently suspended after the First World War (although a handful of  Militia units survived in the United Kingdom, its colonies, and the Crown Dependencies). Unlike the Home, Imperial Fortress, and Crown Dependency Militia and Volunteer units and forces that continued to exist after the First World War, although parts of the British military, most were not considered parts of the British Army unless they received Army Funds (as was the case for the Bermuda Militia Artillery and the Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps), which was generally only the case for those in the Channel Islands or the Imperial Fortress colonies: Nova Scotia (before Canadian confederation), Bermuda, Gibraltar, and Malta). Army Headquarters. Through  a major army reorganisation, effective 1 November 2011, the Chief of the General Staff took direct command of the Army through a new structure, based at Andover and known as 'Army Headquarters'. Reporting to the Chief of the General Staff are four lieutenant-generals: the Deputy Chief of the General Staff (DCGS), the Commander Field Army (CFA), the Commander Home Command (CHC), and Commander Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (CARRC). The CFA is responsible for generating and preparing forces for current and contingency operations; he commands 1st (United Kingdom) Division, 3rd (United Kingdom) Division, 6th (United Kingdom) Division, and Joint Helicopter  Command (JHC). CHC is responsible for commanding a wide variety of organisations that both contribute to the administrative running of the Army (i.e. the Army Personnel Centre (APC) in Glasgow), and focuses on the 'home base' (i.e. Regional Command). Field Army. The units under Field Army are: Field Army gained initial operating capability (IOC) on 30 November 2015, and was formed as a result of the 2015 Army Command Review. The Commander Field Army commands all the formations of the British Army's forces for operational tasks, its collective training, and tactical doctrine organisations, and includes the vast majority of  the Army’s fighting equipment. 3rd (United Kingdom) Division. Division referred to as the 'Reaction Force' Home Command. Home Command consists of: Commander Home Command, is also the Standing Joint Commander (UK) for responsible for the planning and execution of civil contingency operations within the UK landmass and territorial waters. Headquarters Regional Command. Headquarters Regional Command at Montgomery House, Aldershot is commanded by a Major-General. It is the Army's HQ for the UK, Nepal and Brunei, administering Army bases in the UK and providing civil engagement. . Headquarters Regional Command is also the operational command for the Army Cadets . Army Recruiting and Initial Training Command. Army Recruiting and Initial Training Command was established on 1 April 2018, and oversees the Army Recruiting Group, which includes the National Recruitment Centre (NRC) and local Army Careers Centres, and is staffed by a mixture of Capita staff and Army personnel. Army Training Units (ATU) are commanded and staffed by UK Army Reservists. Along with Regular Army Training Regiments (ATR), they provide Basic Training to Army Reserve recruits, except those joining 4 PARA. Reserves recruits are selected at an Army Recruit Selection Centre. They then undertake a short basic training course known as  ‘alpha', over four weekends or a residential week. The alpha course is followed by a 15.5-day residential 'bravo' course to achieve trained soldier status. These generic courses teach essential elements of the Regular Common Military Syllabus 2014 (CMS 14). Recruits will then attend Initial Trade Training courses as stipulated by their cap badge / Corps. The Honourable Artillery Company currently runs its own alpha course twice a year. The current ATUs include: Army Personnel Centre. The Centre is located in Glasgow. The APC's Chief Executive is the Military Secretary, who also holds the post of General Officer, Scotland. The  APC deals with personnel issues and contact with outside agencies. Sandhurst Group. Commandant Sandhurst is a Major-General. The day-to-day running of the Academy is, however, devolved to a brigadier, currently Brigadier James Carr-Smith who is titled Commander Sandhurst Group and responsible for: Order of precedence. The British Army parades according to the order of precedence, from right to left, with the unit at the extreme right being highest on the order. The Household Cavalry has the highest precedence, unless the Royal Horse Artillery parades with its guns.