168 Pioneer Regiment RLC

Last updated
168 Pioneer Regiment
Active1995-2014
DisbandedMarch 2014
CountryUnited Kingdom
BranchTerritorial Army
TypePioneer regiment
Size678 soldiers
Part of Royal Logistic Corps
Garrison/HQ Prince William of Gloucester Barracks, Grantham, Lincolnshire

168 Pioneer Regiment was a unit in the British Territorial Army. The regiment was nationally recruited and provided a reserve unit of pioneers. [1]

Contents

Formation

On 1 April 1995, the three operational pioneer TA squadrons (34, 68 and 79 Squadrons) were formed into 168 Pioneer Regiment, with the instructions that it was to become operational by 1 April 1998. These squadrons were formed into the tasking sub-units of the Regiment, which were to become 34, 102 and 103 Squadrons, with the Headquarters Squadron being named 101 Squadron. A Regimental Headquarters was also formed under its first Commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Rod Othen, who had served as a regular in the Royal Pioneer Corps (RPC) before retiring and joining the Royal Pioneer Corps in the Territorial Army. He established the Regiment before handing it over to Lt Col Ron Gatepain, who had seen service in the Royal Marines and TA service with the RPC.

The Strategic Defence Review of 1998 resulted in 168 Pioneer Regiment being tasked with forming two additional Squadrons, which were to be independent sub-units within the Specialist Regiment. These squadrons were to be formed in the North East of England. The Commanding Officer recruited many of the soldiers from disbanding units in the area and formed 100 Squadron at Cramlington, Berwick upon Tweed, Hexham and 104 Squadron based at Middlesbrough; between them, they had units at six locations in the Northeast. It also made 168 Regiment the largest unit in the British Army with 678 personnel and created a new concept of mixing Specialist and Independent TA.

On 3 July 2013, the Defence Secretary, Philip Hammond, announced in Parliament that as part of the restructuring of the Army, 168 Regiment would be one of nine major units that will be disbanded. [2] The four squadrons of 168 Regiment would be withdrawn from the British Army ORBAT no later than March 2014. [3]

The Regiment held its disbandment parade on 26 October 2013 [4]

Related Research Articles

Units of the British Army

The units of the British Army are commanded by the Chief of the General Staff. This is broadly similar to the structures of the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, in that the four-star (general-equivalent) commanders-in-chief have been eliminated since 2011 and service chiefs are given direct command of their respective services and are responsible as Top Level Budget (TLB) holders. Army Headquarters is located in Andover, Hampshire. There is a Commander Field Army and a personnel and UK operations command, Home Command.

Army Reserve (United Kingdom) Element of the British Army

The Army Reserve is the active-duty volunteer reserve force and integrated element of the British Army. It should not be confused with the Regular Reserve whose members have formerly served full-time. The Army Reserve was previously known as the Territorial Force from 1908 to 1921, the Territorial Army (TA) from 1921 to 1967, the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve (TAVR) from 1967 to 1979, and again the Territorial Army (TA) from 1979 to 2014.

Yeomanry Designation used by a number of units or sub-units of the British Army Reserve

Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units or sub-units of the British Army Reserve, descended from volunteer cavalry regiments. Today, Yeomanry units serve in a variety of different military roles.

Royal Logistic Corps British Army organisation

The Royal Logistic Corps provides logistic support functions to the British Army. It is the largest Corps in the Army.

Royal Yeomanry

The Royal Yeomanry (RY) is the senior reserve light cavalry regiment of the British Army. Equipped with Supacat Jackal variants their role is to conduct mounted and dismounted formation reconnaissance. The Regimental Headquarters is located in Leicester, with squadrons in Fulham, Nottingham, Dudley, Croydon, Telford, and Leicester.

33 (Lancashire and Cheshire) Signal Regiment

The 33rd Signal Regiment was a British Territorial Army regiment of the Royal Corps of Signals.

Rejimen Askar Wataniah

The Rejimen Askar Wataniah is the military reserve force of the Malaysian Army.

562 Parachute Squadron Royal Corps of Transport (Volunteers)

562 Parachute Squadron Royal Corps of Transport (Volunteers) was a minor unit that supported 44th Parachute Brigade (V).

31 (City of London) Signal Regiment Signals Regiment of the British Army

The 31st Signal Regiment was a territorial communications regiment of the British Army's Royal Corps of Signals. The regiment first formed following the creation of the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve in 1967 after the 1966 Defence White Paper. After seeing limited reserve support during the Cold War, the regiment was disbanded in 2010 following the initial Army 2020 reform.

The Royal Buckinghamshire Yeomanry is an Operational Hygiene Squadron of the Royal Logistic Corps, originally formed as cavalry in 1794, and has also served in artillery and signals roles. The lineage is continued by 710 Operational Hygiene Squadron, Royal Logistic Corps.

Northamptonshire Yeomanry

The Northamptonshire Yeomanry was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1794 as volunteer cavalry. It served in the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War before being reduced to squadron level in 1956. It ceased to have a separate existence in 1971.

131 Commando Squadron Royal Engineers

131 Commando Squadron Royal Engineers is an Army Reserve unit and part of 24 Commando Regiment Royal Engineers. It provides engineering support to 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines and is the largest Army Reserve Commando unit. The squadron has deployed worldwide to provide combat engineer support to 3 Cdo Bde RM, often deploying in small sub-units. 131 was first raised in 1947 as an airborne engineer regiment, and reached a strength of over 1,000 trained parachute engineers by the early 1960s. Between 1 April 1978 and 1 October 2015, the unit was an independent Commando squadron under operational command of HQ 3 Cdo Bde RM. On 2 October 2015, it formally became the third squadron of 24 Commando Engineer Regiment.

Land Command was a military command and part of the structure of the British Army from 1995 to 2008. Its headquarters was at Erskine Barracks, at Fugglestone St Peter, some four kilometres northwest of Salisbury in Wiltshire.

Army 2020, was the name given to the restructuring of the British Army, in light of the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review.

Monmouthshire Regiment

The Monmouthshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army and the Territorial Army. Originating in units of rifle volunteers formed in Monmouthshire in 1859, the regiment served in the Second Anglo-Boer War and both World War I and World War II before losing its separate identity in 1967.

London District Signals was a headquarters signal unit of the Royal Engineers (RE) and later Royal Corps of Signals in Britain's Territorial Army from 1908. It served with a corps headquarters at Gallipoli and on the Western Front during World War I, and later became an air defence signal unit during World War II. Its successor unit continues in the Army Reserve today.

1st Artillery Brigade (United Kingdom)

The British Army's 1st Artillery Brigade, formerly 1st Artillery Brigade and Headquarters South West, is a formation under 3rd UK Division that has control over close support artillery units within the British Army and was the Regional Point of Command (RPoC) for British Army units in the South West Region.

The North Riding (Fortress) Royal Engineers was a volunteer unit of Britain's Royal Engineers formed for the defence of the Tees Estuary in the North Riding of Yorkshire. As well as serving in this role it also provided specialist engineer units in both World Wars. Its descendants continued to serve in the Territorial Army until 1999.

The 29 Group, formerly 29 Engineer Brigade, is an engineer formation of the British Army responsible for Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Search. Its headquarters were at Aldershot.

References

  1. "168 Pioneer Regiment". British Army. 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
  2. Hammond, Philip (3 July 2013). "Army Reserve: Structure and basing" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
  3. "Summary of Army 2020 Reserve Structure and Basing Changes" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. 3 July 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 August 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
  4. "168 Pioneer Regiment march to mark disbandment". BBC. 26 October 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2014.