British 16 Air Assault Brigade
Encyclopedia
16 Air Assault Brigade is a formation of the British Army
based in Colchester
in the county of Essex
. It is the Army's rapid response airborne formation and is the only Operational Brigade in the British Army capable of delivering Air Manoeuvre, Air Assault and Airborne operations.
It was formed as part of the defence reforms implemented by the Strategic Defence Review
on 1 September 1999 by the merging of 24 Airmobile Brigade and elements of 5th Airborne Brigade
. This grouping created a highly mobile brigade of parachute
units and airmobile units which employ helicopters.
, Macedonia
, Iraq
and Afghanistan
, and is the largest brigade in the British Army
with 8,000 personnel. Its structure makes it a highly flexible and capable unit. It comprises a Formation Reconnaissance Squadron
, an artillery
regiment with an attached air defence battery, an engineer
regiment, two parachute infantry
battalions and two air assault infantry battalions, three aviation regiments, logistics, medical and mechanical engineering regiments or battalions and the Pathfinder group.
The brigade HQ is based in Colchester Garrison
and is under the operational command of the tri-service Joint Helicopter Command
(JHC) and is assigned to the British-led Allied Rapid Reaction Corps of NATO as Corps Troops. For administrative purposes, it is under the control of 5th Division.
The brigade is based in Colchester
, Essex
and the Brigade Headquarters has personnel from both the British Army and the Royal Air Force
assigned, enabling it to carry out Air and Land operations.
Due to the brigade's mobile role it is lightly armed and equipped. The brigade's land equipment includes Scimitar
s, WMIK Land Rovers
, Supacats, towed L118 105 mm light gun
s, Javelin anti-tank
and lightweight Starstreak
air-defence missile launchers. The aviation element of the brigade consists of three attack regiments equipped with WAH-64 Apache and Lynx
helicopters from the Army Air Corps, and Chinook
, Merlin and Puma support helicopters from the RAF
. The brigade is also supported by the RAF's Hercules transport aircraft
fleet.
Group is made up of selected personnel from the armed forces, who have undergone a rigorous selection and training programme. The Group is formed around a platoon to company strength cadre of reconnaissance and communications specialists. Its role includes locating and marking parachute drop zones and tactical and helicopter landing zones for air landing operations. Once the main force has landed, the group provides tactical intelligence vital to the operational decision-making within the brigade headquarters.
The pathfinders can utilise various airborne
insertion techniques which range from the current in-service Low Level Parachute (LLP), going up to High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) and High Altitude High Opening (HAHO) systems.
The numeral 16 is derived from the 1st Airborne Division
and 6th Airborne Division
of the Second World War, first used by the 16th Parachute Brigade formed in 1948.
The brigade's sign is that of a light-blue and maroon shield with a light blue striking eagle
outlined in maroon emblazoned on it and was adopted from the training centre in Lochailot, Scotland, where Special Forces and Airborne troops were trained between 1943 and 1945. The sign is worn on the left arm. The colours chosen are traditional and show the make-up of the brigade, maroon for Airborne and light-blue for Army Air Corps. The symbol of 5 Airborne Brigade had been Bellerophon
on top of Pegasus
(a winged horse of Greek
mythology) which became synonymous with the airborne forces thanks to their exploits during World War II. There was some controversy when the Parachute units of 5 Airborne had to give up the symbol and replace it with 16 Air Assault's symbol.
between government forces and rebels known as the National Liberation Army
, NATO launched a British-led effort (Operation Essential Harvest
) to collect weapons voluntarily given up by the rebels. The brigade HQ and some of its elements deployed in August 2001, acting as the spearhead
for the NATO operation. It returned home after the NATO mission was successfully completed in September.
in 2001, NATO established a peacekeeping force in December known as the International Security Assistance Force
(ISAF), based in the capital Kabul
. The brigade HQ and some of its units deployed to Afghanistan in 2001, 2006, 2008 and again in 2010-11, 16 air assault brigade has currently deployed to Afghanistan more than any other.
, the brigade, commanded by Brigadier 'Jacko' Page
, was deployed to Kuwait
in February 2003. The brigade was part of 1 (UK) Armoured Division and after extensive training in Kuwait it took part in the beginning of the invasion on 20 March. Initial speculation in the British media suggested that the brigade would support the American 82nd
and 101st divisions
in an airborne assault on the Saddam International Airport in Baghdad
. This plan did not, however, come into fruition. The brigade's eventual objective was to secure the southern oil field
s before they were destroyed by Saddam Hussain's forces. The brigade's 7th Parachute Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery entered Iraq on 20 March to support U.S. Marine Corps forces in their efforts to capture the Rumaila oil fields
, nearly all of the oil well
s being taken intact. The rest of the brigade, supported by its AAC helicopters, entered Iraq soon afterwards, still tasked with securing Rumaila. The brigade often met sporadic resistance and had to deal with disarming the many explosives attached to the infrastructure.
The brigade was subsequently used to guard the oil fields and protect Allied supply lines with elements moving further north of Basra
– Iraq's second largest city – to provide a screen protecting it from Iraqi attack. On 31 March the brigade, assisted by artillery and air support, attacked an Iraqi armoured column advancing on Basra, destroying 17 T-55
tanks, 5 artillery pieces and 7 armoured personnel carriers. After British forces entered Basra on 6 April, 3 PARA was employed to clear the 'old quarter' of the city on 7 April due to the narrow streets making it inaccessible to vehicles.
After Basra's capture the brigade was based in Maysan Province, centred around the province's capital Al-Amarah. The brigade carried out patrols into towns, helped bring normality back to the south, tried to maintain order and destroyed any conventional weapons caches that were found. The war was officially declared over on 1 May and the brigade began to return home that same month. During one patrol into Majar al-Kabir on 24 June the brigade suffered its largest casualties in Iraq when six Royal Military Police
men of 156 Provost Company were killed by a large Iraqi mob. A patrol of 1 PARA were ambushed at the same time but were successfully extracted from the area. By the time the brigade left Iraq it had collectively suffered nine killed. It was reported that two soldiers from the brigade had refused to fight just before the war began, and were sent back to Colchester Garrison.
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Note: In 2006 it was announced that the United Kingdom based battalion of the Royal Gurkha Rifles
would be assigned to 16 Air Assault Brigade, and would rotate in the air assault role with 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment and The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland - each battalion will spend five years with 16 Air Assault Brigade, followed by two years with 52nd Infantry Brigade in the standard light infantry role.
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
based in Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
in the county of Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. It is the Army's rapid response airborne formation and is the only Operational Brigade in the British Army capable of delivering Air Manoeuvre, Air Assault and Airborne operations.
It was formed as part of the defence reforms implemented by the Strategic Defence Review
Strategic Defence Review
The Strategic Defence Review was a British policy document produced by the Labour Government that came to power in 1997. Then Secretary of State for Defence, George Robertson, set out the initial defence policy of the new government, with a series of key decisions designed to enhance the United...
on 1 September 1999 by the merging of 24 Airmobile Brigade and elements of 5th Airborne Brigade
British 5th Infantry Brigade
The 5th Infantry Brigade was a regular British Army formation from the First World War to disbandment in 1999.- History :During both World War I and the Second World War the 5th Brigade was part of the 2nd Infantry Division. It served in France in 1940, was evacuated to Britain from Dunkirk and...
. This grouping created a highly mobile brigade of parachute
Parachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...
units and airmobile units which employ helicopters.
Background
As the British Army's rapid response formation, 16 Air Assault Brigade has served in the vanguard of all the Army's recent operational deployments to Sierra LeoneSierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, and is the largest brigade in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
with 8,000 personnel. Its structure makes it a highly flexible and capable unit. It comprises a Formation Reconnaissance Squadron
Formation reconnaissance regiment
The Formation Reconnaissance Regiment is one of two organisations currently provided by cavalry regiments of the British Army. Until recently, it was known as the Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment....
, an artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
regiment with an attached air defence battery, an engineer
Military engineer
In military science, engineering refers to the practice of designing, building, maintaining and dismantling military works, including offensive, defensive and logistical structures, to shape the physical operating environment in war...
regiment, two parachute infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
battalions and two air assault infantry battalions, three aviation regiments, logistics, medical and mechanical engineering regiments or battalions and the Pathfinder group.
The brigade HQ is based in Colchester Garrison
Colchester Garrison
Colchester Garrison is located in Colchester in the county of Essex. It has been an important military base since the Roman era. The first permanent military garrison in Colchester was established by Legio XX Valeria Victrix in 43 AD following the Claudian invasion of Britain. Colchester was an...
and is under the operational command of the tri-service Joint Helicopter Command
Joint Helicopter Command
Joint Helicopter Command is a tri-service organisation uniting military helicopters of the British Armed Forces for command and coordination purposes...
(JHC) and is assigned to the British-led Allied Rapid Reaction Corps of NATO as Corps Troops. For administrative purposes, it is under the control of 5th Division.
The brigade is based in Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
and the Brigade Headquarters has personnel from both the British Army and the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
assigned, enabling it to carry out Air and Land operations.
Due to the brigade's mobile role it is lightly armed and equipped. The brigade's land equipment includes Scimitar
FV107 Scimitar
FV107 Scimitar is an armoured reconnaissance vehicle used by the British Army. It is very similar to the FV101 Scorpion but mounts a high velocity 30 mm L21 RARDEN cannon instead of a 76 mm gun. It was issued to Royal Armoured Corps, Armoured Regiments in the Reconnaissance role...
s, WMIK Land Rovers
Land Rover Wolf
The Land Rover Wolf is a military utility vehicle in service with UK Armed Forces and the Dutch Marine Corps. The vehicle is famous for being the primary utility vehicle of the British Army....
, Supacats, towed L118 105 mm light gun
L118 Light Gun
The L118 Light Gun is a 105 mm towed howitzer, originally produced for the British Army in the 1970s and widely exported since, including to the United States, where a modified version is known as the M119A1...
s, Javelin anti-tank
FGM-148 Javelin
The FGM-148 Javelin is a United States-made man-portable third generation anti-tank missile fielded to replace the Dragon antitank missile.-Overview:Javelin is a fire-and-forget missile with lock-on before launch and automatic self-guidance...
and lightweight Starstreak
Starstreak missile
Starstreak is a British short range surface-to-air missile manufactured by Thales Air Defence , in Belfast. It is also known as Starstreak HVM where HVM stands for "High Velocity Missile". After launch the missile accelerates to approximately Mach 3.5, at which point it launches three laser beam...
air-defence missile launchers. The aviation element of the brigade consists of three attack regiments equipped with WAH-64 Apache and Lynx
Westland Lynx
The Westland Lynx is a British multi-purpose military helicopter designed and built by Westland Helicopters at its factory in Yeovil. Originally intended as a utility craft for both civil and naval usage, military interest led to the development of both battlefield and naval variants...
helicopters from the Army Air Corps, and Chinook
RAF Chinook
The Boeing Chinook is a tandem rotor helicopter operated by the Royal Air Force. A series of variants based on the United States Army's Boeing CH-47 Chinook, the RAF Chinook fleet is the largest outside the United States...
, Merlin and Puma support helicopters from the RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
. The brigade is also supported by the RAF's Hercules transport aircraft
Cargo aircraft
A cargo aircraft is a fixed-wing aircraft designed or converted for the carriage of goods, rather than passengers. They are usually devoid of passenger amenities, and generally feature one or more large doors for the loading and unloading of cargo...
fleet.
Pathfinder Group
The PathfinderPathfinders (military)
A pathfinder is a paratrooper who is inserted or dropped into place in order to set up and operate drop zones, pickup zones, and helicopter landing sites for airborne operations, air resupply operations, or other air operations in support of the ground unit commander...
Group is made up of selected personnel from the armed forces, who have undergone a rigorous selection and training programme. The Group is formed around a platoon to company strength cadre of reconnaissance and communications specialists. Its role includes locating and marking parachute drop zones and tactical and helicopter landing zones for air landing operations. Once the main force has landed, the group provides tactical intelligence vital to the operational decision-making within the brigade headquarters.
The pathfinders can utilise various airborne
Airborne forces
Airborne forces are military units, usually light infantry, set up to be moved by aircraft and 'dropped' into battle. Thus they can be placed behind enemy lines, and have an ability to deploy almost anywhere with little warning...
insertion techniques which range from the current in-service Low Level Parachute (LLP), going up to High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) and High Altitude High Opening (HAHO) systems.
Traditions
British 1st Airborne Division
The 1st Airborne Division was a division of the British airborne forces during the Second World War. The division was formed in 1941, after British Prime Minister Winston Churchill demanded an airborne force...
and 6th Airborne Division
British 6th Airborne Division
The 6th Airborne Division was an airborne division in the British Army during the Second World War. It took part in Operation Tonga, the airborne landings on the left flank of the invasion beaches in the Normandy Landings. It played a small part in the Battle of the Bulge and was involved in...
of the Second World War, first used by the 16th Parachute Brigade formed in 1948.
The brigade's sign is that of a light-blue and maroon shield with a light blue striking eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
outlined in maroon emblazoned on it and was adopted from the training centre in Lochailot, Scotland, where Special Forces and Airborne troops were trained between 1943 and 1945. The sign is worn on the left arm. The colours chosen are traditional and show the make-up of the brigade, maroon for Airborne and light-blue for Army Air Corps. The symbol of 5 Airborne Brigade had been Bellerophon
Bellerophon
Bellerophon or Bellerophontes is a hero of Greek mythology. He was "the greatest hero and slayer of monsters, alongside of Cadmus and Perseus, before the days of Heracles", and his greatest feat was killing the Chimera, a monster that Homer depicted with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a...
on top of Pegasus
Pegasus
Pegasus is one of the best known fantastical as well as mythological creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine horse, usually white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. He was the brother of Chrysaor, born at a single birthing...
(a winged horse of Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
mythology) which became synonymous with the airborne forces thanks to their exploits during World War II. There was some controversy when the Parachute units of 5 Airborne had to give up the symbol and replace it with 16 Air Assault's symbol.
History
Macedonia
After a ceasefire was declared in the Republic of MacedoniaRepublic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
between government forces and rebels known as the National Liberation Army
National Liberation Army
National Liberation Army is the name of several groups:* Albanian National Liberation Army, an Albanian resistance movement during World War II* Armée de Libération Nationale, a liberation movement in the Algerian War of Independence...
, NATO launched a British-led effort (Operation Essential Harvest
Operation Essential Harvest
Operation Essential Harvest was a deployment mission in the Republic of Macedonia by NATO, officially launched on August 22, 2001 and effectively started on August 27...
) to collect weapons voluntarily given up by the rebels. The brigade HQ and some of its elements deployed in August 2001, acting as the spearhead
Spearhead
A spearhead is the sharpened tip of a spear.Spearhead may also refer to:-Armed conflict:* Armoured spearhead, a tactical formation* Spearhead, nickname of the U.S. 3rd Armored Division in the U.S...
for the NATO operation. It returned home after the NATO mission was successfully completed in September.
Afghanistan
After the invasion of AfghanistanWar in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
in 2001, NATO established a peacekeeping force in December known as the International Security Assistance Force
International Security Assistance Force
The International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...
(ISAF), based in the capital Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
. The brigade HQ and some of its units deployed to Afghanistan in 2001, 2006, 2008 and again in 2010-11, 16 air assault brigade has currently deployed to Afghanistan more than any other.
Iraq
During the build-up to the invasion of Iraq2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
, the brigade, commanded by Brigadier 'Jacko' Page
Jonathan David Page
Major General Jonathan David Page CB OBE is a British Army General.-Military career:He joined the British Army in 1981, commissioned into the Parachute Regiment...
, was deployed to Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
in February 2003. The brigade was part of 1 (UK) Armoured Division and after extensive training in Kuwait it took part in the beginning of the invasion on 20 March. Initial speculation in the British media suggested that the brigade would support the American 82nd
U.S. 82nd Airborne Division
The 82nd Airborne Division is an active airborne infantry division of the United States Army specializing in parachute landing operations. Based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the 82nd Airborne Division is the primary fighting arm of the XVIII Airborne Corps....
and 101st divisions
101st Airborne Division
The 101st Airborne Division—the "Screaming Eagles"—is a U.S. Army modular light infantry division trained for air assault operations. During World War II, it was renowned for its role in Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, in Normandy, France, Operation Market Garden, the...
in an airborne assault on the Saddam International Airport in Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
. This plan did not, however, come into fruition. The brigade's eventual objective was to secure the southern oil field
Oil field
An oil field is a region with an abundance of oil wells extracting petroleum from below ground. Because the oil reservoirs typically extend over a large area, possibly several hundred kilometres across, full exploitation entails multiple wells scattered across the area...
s before they were destroyed by Saddam Hussain's forces. The brigade's 7th Parachute Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery entered Iraq on 20 March to support U.S. Marine Corps forces in their efforts to capture the Rumaila oil fields
Rumaila Field
The Rumaila oil field is a giant oil field located in southern Iraq, approximately from the Kuwaiti border. The dispute between Iraq and Kuwait over allegedly slant-drilling in the field was one of reasons for Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. This field was discovered by British Petroleum in...
, nearly all of the oil well
Oil well
An oil well is a general term for any boring through the earth's surface that is designed to find and acquire petroleum oil hydrocarbons. Usually some natural gas is produced along with the oil. A well that is designed to produce mainly or only gas may be termed a gas well.-History:The earliest...
s being taken intact. The rest of the brigade, supported by its AAC helicopters, entered Iraq soon afterwards, still tasked with securing Rumaila. The brigade often met sporadic resistance and had to deal with disarming the many explosives attached to the infrastructure.
The brigade was subsequently used to guard the oil fields and protect Allied supply lines with elements moving further north of Basra
Basra
Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...
– Iraq's second largest city – to provide a screen protecting it from Iraqi attack. On 31 March the brigade, assisted by artillery and air support, attacked an Iraqi armoured column advancing on Basra, destroying 17 T-55
T-55
The T-54 and T-55 tanks were a series of main battle tanks designed in the Soviet Union. The first T-54 prototype appeared in March 1945, just before the end of the Second World War. The T-54 entered full production in 1947 and became the main tank for armored units of the Soviet Army, armies of...
tanks, 5 artillery pieces and 7 armoured personnel carriers. After British forces entered Basra on 6 April, 3 PARA was employed to clear the 'old quarter' of the city on 7 April due to the narrow streets making it inaccessible to vehicles.
After Basra's capture the brigade was based in Maysan Province, centred around the province's capital Al-Amarah. The brigade carried out patrols into towns, helped bring normality back to the south, tried to maintain order and destroyed any conventional weapons caches that were found. The war was officially declared over on 1 May and the brigade began to return home that same month. During one patrol into Majar al-Kabir on 24 June the brigade suffered its largest casualties in Iraq when six Royal Military Police
Royal Military Police
The Royal Military Police is the corps of the British Army responsible for the policing of service personnel, and for providing a military police presence both in the UK, and whilst service personnel are deployed overseas on operations and exercises.Members of the RMP are generally known as...
men of 156 Provost Company were killed by a large Iraqi mob. A patrol of 1 PARA were ambushed at the same time but were successfully extracted from the area. By the time the brigade left Iraq it had collectively suffered nine killed. It was reported that two soldiers from the brigade had refused to fight just before the war began, and were sent back to Colchester Garrison.
Commanders
- Brigadier Peter WallPeter Wall (British Army officer)General Sir Peter Anthony Wall, KCB, CBE, ADC Gen. is a senior British Army officer, currently the Chief of the General Staff, the professional head of the British Army....
(late Royal Engineers) (1 September 1999) - Brigadier Barney White-SpunnerBarney White-SpunnerLieutenant General Sir Barnabas William Benjamin White-Spunner, KCB, CBE is the current Commander of the British Field Army.-Military career:Educated at Eton College and the University of St Andrews, Barney White-Spunner was commissioned into the Blues and Royals in 1979. He was appointed...
(late Blues and Royals) (21 December 2000) - Brigadier 'Jacko' Page (late Parachute Regiment) (December 2002)
- Brigadier 'Ed' Butler (late Royal Green Jackets) (c.2006)
- Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith (late Irish Guards) (c.2008)
Constituent units
Current formation
- D Squadron, Household CavalryHousehold CavalryThe term Household Cavalry is used across the Commonwealth to describe the cavalry of the Household Divisions, a country’s most elite or historically senior military groupings or those military groupings that provide functions associated directly with the Head of state.Canada's Governor General's...
- 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery is a regiment of the Royal Artillery in the British Army. It serves in the field artillery role with 16 Air Assault Brigade, and is equipped with the L118 Light Gun.- History :...
- 21 Air Assault Battery, Royal ArtilleryRoyal ArtilleryThe Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
- 23 Engineer Regiment (Air Assault)23 Engineer Regiment (Air Assault)23 Engineer Regiment is an Royal Engineers regiment in the British Army that was formed in 2003. It provides engineer support to 16 Air Assault Brigade in both the parachute and air assault role. The regiment is currently based at Rock Barracks just outside Woodbridge in Suffolk and consists of...
- 216 Parachute Squadron Royal Signals216 Parachute Squadron Royal Signals216 Parachute Signal Squadron is a Squadron of the British Army's Royal Corps of Signals. It is responsible for installing, maintaining and operating all types of telecommunications equipment and information systems in support of 16 Air Assault Brigade.-History:216 Parachute Signal was formed in...
- The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of ScotlandThe Royal Regiment of ScotlandThe Royal Regiment of Scotland is the senior and only Scottish line infantry regiment of the British Army Infantry. It consists of five regular and two territorial battalions, each formerly an individual regiment...
- 1st Battalion, The Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling), 83rd, 87th and Ulster Defence Regiment)
- 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment2nd Battalion, The Parachute RegimentThe Second Battalion, The Parachute Regiment is a battalion-sized formation of the British Army's Parachute Regiment and subordinate unit within 16th Air Assault Brigade whose Commanding Officer was Lieutenant Colonel Joseph O'Sullivan....
- 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment3rd Battalion, The Parachute RegimentThe 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment is a battalion sized formation of the British Army's Parachute Regiment and subordinate unit within 16 Air Assault Brigade....
- Pathfinder Group
- 3 Regiment, Army Air Corps
- 4 Regiment, Army Air Corps
- 9 Regiment, Army Air Corps
- 13 Air Assault Support Regiment, Royal Logistic CorpsRoyal Logistic CorpsThe Royal Logistic Corps provides logistic support functions to the British Army. It is the largest Corps in the Army, comprising around 17% of its strength...
- 16 Medical Regiment, Royal Army Medical CorpsRoyal Army Medical CorpsThe Royal Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...
- 7 (Air Assault) Battalion, Royal Electrical and Mechanical EngineersRoyal Electrical and Mechanical EngineersThe Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers is a corps of the British Army that has responsibility for the maintenance, servicing and inspection of almost every electrical and mechanical piece of equipment within the British Army from Challenger II main battle tanks and WAH64 Apache...
- 156 Provost Company, Royal Military PoliceRoyal Military PoliceThe Royal Military Police is the corps of the British Army responsible for the policing of service personnel, and for providing a military police presence both in the UK, and whilst service personnel are deployed overseas on operations and exercises.Members of the RMP are generally known as...
Note: In 2006 it was announced that the United Kingdom based battalion of the Royal Gurkha Rifles
Royal Gurkha Rifles
The Royal Gurkha Rifles is a regiment of the British Army, forming part of the Brigade of Gurkhas. The Royal Gurkha Rifles are now the sole infantry regiment of the British Army Gurkhas...
would be assigned to 16 Air Assault Brigade, and would rotate in the air assault role with 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment and The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland - each battalion will spend five years with 16 Air Assault Brigade, followed by two years with 52nd Infantry Brigade in the standard light infantry role.
2003 Iraq War
- 16 Air Assault Brigade Headquarters and Signals Squadron (216)
- D Squadron, Household Cavalry
- 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment
- 1st Battalion, The Parachute Regiment
- 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment
- Elements of 4th Battalion, The Parachute Regiment
- Elements of The Royal Irish Rangers now 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Regiment
- 7 (Parachute) Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery, Royal Artillery
- 3 Regiment, Army Air Corps
- 23 Engineer Regiment (Air Assault), Royal Engineers
- 7 Air Assault Battalion, Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers
- 13 Air Assault Support Regiment, Royal Logistics Corps
- 16 Medical Regiment, Royal Army Medical Corps
- 156 Provost Company, Royal Military Police
- Pathfinder Group