The end of BAOR

[ORAC]

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/feb/22/british-army-hands-back-last-headquarters-germany

British army hands back last headquarters in Germany

The British army (https://www.theguardian.com/uk/british-army) has relinquished control of its last remaining military headquarters in Germany following 75 years in the country, ahead of the final withdrawal of serving personnel.

Following the second world war, the UK was among a number of allied nations to retain a military presence in Germany (https://www.theguardian.com/world/germany) but it halved the amount of soldiers after the fall of the iron curtain. About 20,000 British service personnel have been steadily withdrawn since 2010 during “Operation Owl” under cost-cutting measures announced by former prime minister David Cameron (https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/mar/05/uk-withdraw-troops-germany-2016).

On Saturday, the Ministry of Defence (https://www.theguardian.com/uk/ministry-of-defence) (MoD) confirmed the UK would continue to have a military presence in Germany beyond 2020 once the withdrawal of British army units to the UK has been completed. ..... around 185 British army personnel and 60 MoD civilians are set to remain.

[RAFEngO74to09]

BAOR ORBAT 1989 copied from ARRSE: https://www.orbat85.nl/documents/BAOR-July-1989.pdf

[mopardave]

I remember arriving in Germany.....Wildenrath I think, and then onto St Georges Barracks in Minden for Ex Lionheart Spearpoint. I was absolutely awestruck at the scale of the exercise and of course BAOR! Fantastic memories of a bygone era.....my word, how times change. I read the Order of battle and saw Peter Inge's name....my father remembered him as a second lieutenant in the Green Howards in Hong Kong in '58.

[Traffic_Is_Er_Was]

Why mention civilians when saying you will still have a military presence? Withdraw those 185 and you have no military presence, irrespective of the number of bureaucrats remaining.

[Asturias56]

30 years after the fall of the Wall......................... did someone just remember they were still there?

I know of a few operations in civvie street where far-flung operations "dropped off the radar" for a while - which suited those there enormously.............

[teeteringhead]

I was absolutely awestruck at the scale of the exercise and of course BAOR! ISTR that Corps level FTXs "budgeted" for up to six deaths amongst the troops. Mostly RTAs I think.

[mopardave]

ISTR that Corps level FTXs "budgeted" for up to six deaths amongst the troops. Mostly RTAs I think.
teeteringhead.....I think you're right. That's the number I remember.....infact, I "stumbled" upon one. I rounded a bend one dark night in an 8 ton Bedford TM, to be confronted by a scene that could have been from a movie! Lighting rigs everywhere....flashing strobes and a tanker of some description being lifted from a river.....but I think I'm right in saying you had some involvement or you just remember the event......apologies if I've got that wrong? Aside from terrible events like that, of which there were too many, they were in many respects heady days. Apologies also for drifting off a little.

[MPN11]

BAOR ORBAT 1989 copied from ARRSE: https://www.orbat85.nl/documents/BAOR-July-1989.pdf
What an amazing compilation! Thanks for that! :ok:

I won’t wax nostalgic about “what it was like back then” but some of those titles of Army units really speak to history and past greatness. I sympathise with the young subalterns who would have to know the Reginental history, chapter and verse! ;)

[Less Hair]

Are those 185 the final say or left over from peace dividend pre Crimea planning? Let's bring back some more punch.