British Army considers downsizing CBRN role

Senior British Army commanders are looking to downsize the service's role in chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) operations to divert personnel to support the war in Afghanistan.

The British Army's contribution to the Joint CBRN (JCBRN) Regiment, which provides specialist reconnaissance, containment and decontamination support to the UK armed forces on operations overseas and government agencies in the UK, is under scrutiny in a major review of roles and missions.

Dubbed the Future Army Structures (Next Steps) (FAS(NS)), the study has proposed that the armoured unit 1 Royal Tank Regiment (1 RTR), which provides the core of the JCBRN Regiment along with 27 Squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF) Regiment, be re-roled as a new formation reconnaissance regiment. It would then be able to support an ongoing rotation of British Army brigades to Afghanistan, a senior army source said. "The army only has five formation reconnaissance brigades and six deployable brigades so the rotation cycle is out of sync and means the reconnaissance troops have to spend longer than is bearable on operations to cover the gap in the roulement plan."