1st Military Intelligence Brigade (United Kingdom)
The 1st Military Intelligence Brigade was a formation of the British Army which was formed after the 2003 Delivering Security in a Changing World reform, but in 2014 was absorbed into the new 1st Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Brigade.
1st Military Intelligence Brigade | |
---|---|
Brigade TRF | |
Active | Before 2007–2014 |
Country | |
Branch | |
Type | Military Intelligence Formation |
Role | Commanding the MI and PSYOPS formations of the army. |
Size | Brigade of 3 Battalions and one company sized group |
Part of | Headquarters Theatre Troops[1] |
Brigade HQ | Chicksands |
Nickname(s) | 1 Military Intelligence Brigade | 1 MI Bde |
Engagements | Operation Telic Operation Herrick |
Website | 1 Military Intelligence Brigade (Archived) |
History
After the 2003 Iraq War code-named Operation Telic, the British Army went through a period of re-organisation which would see previously independent units grouped into large rapid deployment formations. As a result of these reforms, the 1st Military Intelligence Brigade was formed in 2007 to command the military intelligence and psycological operations troops. Other new formations included the 8th Engineer Brigade and 2nd Medical Brigade. The brigade's mission was "to command OPCOM (operational command) troops, and to prepare, deliver & sustain MI (military intelligence) & PSYOPS (Psychological operations) formations in order to conduct land operations in support of Land Command and Defence tasks".[2][3]
Even though the brigade never fully deployed, its sub-units did have detachments serve during Operation Telic and Operation Herrick. Under Army 2020, the brigade was formed the backbone and skeleton of the 1st Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Brigade in September 2014, with all units transferring to the new brigade.[3]
After the brigade's integration, all military intelligence brigades joined 1 ISR Bde, there was also the formation of two new reserve battalions. The 15 Psyc Operations Group was moved under 77th Brigade, which was formed shortly after.[3]
Organisation
Brigade organisation was:[3][4]
- Headquarters 1st Military Intelligence Brigade, at Defence Intelligence and Security Centre, Chicksands
- 1st Military Intelligence Battalion, at Joint Headquarters Rheindahlen, Germany (supporting 1st (United Kingdom) Armoured Division)
- 2nd Military Intelligence Battalion, at Defence Intelligence and Security Centre, Chicksands (specialises in intelligence exploitation)
- 3rd Military Intelligence Battalion (TA), HQ in London (supporting HQ ARRC, Permanent Joint Headquarters, and Defence Intelligence Staff)[5]
- 4th Military Intelligence Battalion, at Ward Barracks, Bulford (supporting 3rd (United Kingdom) Mechanised Division)
- 5th Military Intelligence Battalion (TA), HQ in Edinburgh[3]
- 15 Psychological Operations Group, at Defence Intelligence and Security Centre, Chicksands (Joint Tri-Services)
Footnotes
- "HQ Theatre Troops Organisation". army.mod.uk. Archived from the original on 8 November 2008. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
- "Brigade Mission". army.mod.uk. 7 November 2008. Archived from the original on 7 November 2008. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
- Tanner, pp. 90–91.
- "Brigade Organisation". army.mod.uk. 7 November 2008. Archived from the original on 7 November 2008. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
- "Int Corps - 3 (V) MI Bn". web.archive.org. 2006-01-03. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
References
- James Tanner, The British Army since 2000, 2014 Osprey Publishing, Oxford, United Kingdom. ISBN 978 178200 593 3.