Light Aid Detachment
Encyclopedia
A Light Aid Detachment is an attached independent minor unit of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
or Detachment
of Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers operating as a sub-unit of the supported unit. These units provide dedicated logistic support to every field unit of the British Army
or Canadian Army.
REME and RCEME were created in October 1942 out of elements of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps
, Royal Engineers, Royal Corps of Signals, Royal Army Service Corps and Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps
who previously handled functions such as the repair of weapons, optics and vehicles.
In the RCEME LADs were divisions of larger units known as Workshops. In the British Army the title Workshop (Wksp) is used both for major REME units (Field for Brigades or Armoured for Divisions) and for those minor units which provide some 2nd Line support to the parent regiment. The term LAD is therefore restricted to only those minor REME units which solely provide 1st Line support, typically this is Armour and Infantry units. REME minor units supporting RA, R Signals, RE, RLC etc. are normally titled as Wksp as they also provide some degree of 2nd line support to the parent unit.
Typically composed of around 60-80 personnel they are attached to a host battalion. Typical field deployment would split the LAD/Wksp into a regimental "B Echelon" contingent of about 30 men and 4 "fitter sections" of about 7-12 men, each of which is attached to a company/squadron. The fitter sections are part of the A Echelon HQ of the company/squadron. This average configuration does, of course, vary widely dependent on the parent unit and their equipment.
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
The 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...
or Detachment
Detachment (military)
A detachment is a military unit. It can either be detached from a larger unit for a specific function or be a permanent unit smaller than a battalion. The term is often used to refer to a unit that is assigned to a different base from the parent unit...
of Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers operating as a sub-unit of the supported unit. These units provide dedicated logistic support to every field unit of 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...
or Canadian Army.
REME and RCEME were created in October 1942 out of elements of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps
Royal Army Ordnance Corps
The Royal Army Ordnance Corps was a corps of the British Army. It dealt only with the supply and maintenance of weaponry, munitions and other military equipment until 1965, when it took over most other supply functions, as well as the provision of staff clerks, from the Royal Army Service...
, Royal Engineers, Royal Corps of Signals, Royal Army Service Corps and Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps
Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps
The Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps was an administrative corps of the Canadian Army. The Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps RCOC can trace its roots back to the Canadian Stores Department. Formed in 1871, the Canadian Stores Department was a civil department of the Canadian Government...
who previously handled functions such as the repair of weapons, optics and vehicles.
In the RCEME LADs were divisions of larger units known as Workshops. In the British Army the title Workshop (Wksp) is used both for major REME units (Field for Brigades or Armoured for Divisions) and for those minor units which provide some 2nd Line support to the parent regiment. The term LAD is therefore restricted to only those minor REME units which solely provide 1st Line support, typically this is Armour and Infantry units. REME minor units supporting RA, R Signals, RE, RLC etc. are normally titled as Wksp as they also provide some degree of 2nd line support to the parent unit.
Typically composed of around 60-80 personnel they are attached to a host battalion. Typical field deployment would split the LAD/Wksp into a regimental "B Echelon" contingent of about 30 men and 4 "fitter sections" of about 7-12 men, each of which is attached to a company/squadron. The fitter sections are part of the A Echelon HQ of the company/squadron. This average configuration does, of course, vary widely dependent on the parent unit and their equipment.