The 77th Brigade is a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

formation, created in January 2015 by renaming the Security Assistance Group which was created under the

Army 2020 Army 2020, was the name given to the restructuring of the British Army, in light of the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review. Background The British Government gave an indication of its proposals for the future structure of the Army in ea ...

concept. It is based at

Denison Barracks Denison Barracks is a military installation at Hermitage in Berkshire, England. History The site was used as an American military hospital during the Second World War and became the home of Royal School of Military Survey in 1949. The barracks w ...

in Hermitage,

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Ber ...

and became operational in April 2015. The brigade was named the 77th in tribute to the

77th Indian Infantry Brigade The 77th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed in India in June 1942. The brigade was assigned to the Chindits and organised into eight columns for operations behind enemy l ...

, which was part of the

Chindits The Chindits, officially as Long Range Penetration Groups, were special operations units of the British and Indian armies which saw action in 1943–1944 during the Burma Campaign of World War II. The British Army Brigadier Orde Wingate form ...

, an

Indian Army The Indian Army is the Land warfare, land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Arm ...

guerilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tactic ...

force led by

Orde Wingate Major General Orde Charles Wingate, (26 February 1903 – 24 March 1944) was a senior British Army officer known for his creation of the Chindit deep-penetration missions in Japanese-held territory during the Burma Campaign of the Second Worl ...

who used unorthodox tactics against the Japanese in Burma in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The formation badge of the revived 77th shows a mythical Burmese creature known as a

Chinthe ''Chinthe'' ( my, ခြင်္သေ့ (); mnw, ဇာဒိသိုၚ် (); shn, သၢင်ႇသီႈ ()) is the Burmese word for 'lion'. The leograph of ''Chinthe'' is a highly stylized lion commonly depicted in Burmese iconogra ...

in reference to the Chindits.

History

The first 77th Brigade was raised as part of the new army also known as

Kitchener's Army The New Army, often referred to as Kitchener's Army or, disparagingly, as Kitchener's Mob, was an (initially) all-volunteer portion of the British Army formed in the United Kingdom from 1914 onwards following the outbreak of hostilities in the Fi ...

and assigned to the 26th Division and served on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers * Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...

and the

Macedonian Front The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers to aid Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, in the autumn of 191 ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. Some of the past units include: * 8th Battalion,

Royal Scots Fusiliers The Royal Scots Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1678 until 1959 when it was amalgamated with the Highland Light Infantry (City of Glasgow Regiment) to form the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Ma ...

* 11th Battalion,

Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) was a rifle regiment of the British Army, the only regiment of rifles amongst the Scottish regiments of infantry. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 26th Cameronian Re ...

* 10th Battalion,

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regime ...

* 12th Battalion,

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

* 77th Machine Gun Company * 77th SAA Section Ammunition Column * 77th Trench Mortar Battery

Role and composition

The Security Assistance Group (SAG)'s mission was to work with cross-Whitehall agencies to achieve the goals of Defence Engagement and Building Stability Overseas Strategies. 77th Brigade was created to draw together a host of existing and developing capabilities essential to meet the challenges of modern conflict and warfare, the unit's objectives will be similar to that of the SAG. Specifically, it is to: ''

Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San ...

'' described the brigade as a "psychological operations unit responsible for 'non-lethal' warfare that reportedly uses social media to "control the narrative", as well as disseminating UK government-friendly podcasts and videos". ''Warfare Today'' says of the brigade that it is a combined regular army and reserve unit "for non-lethal warfare and behavioural influence", based at Denison Barracks,

Hermitage, Berkshire Hermitage is a village and civil parish, near Newbury, in the English county of Berkshire. The civil parish is made up of a number of settlements: Hermitage village, Little Hungerford and Wellhouse. Location The village is focused residentiall ...

. The SAG aimed to have a full strength of 453 military and civilian personnel and occasionally, personnel from the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' ministries of foreign affairs, it was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreig ...

Department for International Development , type = Department , logo = DfID.svg , logo_width = 180px , logo_caption = , picture = File:Admiralty Screen (411824276).jpg , picture_width = 180px , picture_caption = Department for International Development (London office) (far right ...

and the

Stabilisation Unit The Stabilisation Unit is a cross-government unit of the UK government, governed through the National Security Council. It aims to support fragile states and countries emerging from conflict, where close cooperation between international agencie ...

may be attached to the Brigade or work with it, of this total there will be 440 military posts in the brigade with up to 42% of these being

reservists A reservist is a person who is a member of a military reserve force. They are otherwise civilians, and in peacetime have careers outside the military. Reservists usually go for training on an annual basis to refresh their skills. This person is ...

. A December 2016 response to a

freedom of information Freedom of information is freedom of a person or people to publish and consume information. Access to information is the ability for an individual to seek, receive and impart information effectively. This sometimes includes "scientific, indigen ...

request stated that the liability ( Table of Organisation) of the brigade included 182 regular and 266 reserve posts but the existing strength was only 153 regular and 123 reserve.

Structure

Current structure

* Brigade Headquarters, at Denison Barracks, Hermitage ** Task Group *** Division Information Activity and Outreach Cell *** Brigade Information Activity and Outreach Cell *** Information Activity and Outreach Teams *** Information Warfare Team *** Tactical Engagement Team *** Information Activity Training and Advisory Team ** Digital Operations Group *** Web Operations Team *** Production Team ** Operational Media and Communications Group ** Outreach Group **

The Staff Corps The Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps is a part of the Royal Engineers in the British Army Reserve. It is intended to provide advisers on engineering and logistics to the British Army at a senior level. Following its work creating the NHS Nighting ...

** Defence Cultural Specialist UnitBritish Army,
British Army Review: Number 181, Autumn 2021
'. The Journal of British Military Thought. Retrieved 22 October 2021. *** Cultural Property Protection Unit (Army Reserve)

Previous structure

Initially designated as the Security Assistance Group, the formation included the following units: * Headquarters Element * Media Operations Group (Volunteers) (MOG) - Media Operations * Security Capacity Building Team (SCBT) - Military Capacity Building *

15 Psychological Operations Group 15 (United Kingdom) Psychological Operations Group was a tri-service, or "purple", military unit formerly parented by 1 Military Intelligence Brigade but from April 2014, part of the Security Assistance Group within the British Army's Force Troop ...

(15 POG) - Psychological Warfare *

Military Stabilisation Support Group A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

(MSSG) - Stabilisation and Conflict Prevention In July 2015 and October 2015, these units were reshaped into six 'Columns'. * No.1 Column - Planning support focusing on the behavioural analysis of actors, audiences and adversaries * No.2 Column - Provided reachback support to deployed operations * No.3 Column - Provided deployable specialists to other parts of the Armed Forces and other Government organisations * No.4 Column - Provided professional specialists in Security Capacity Building * No.5 Column - Media operations and Civil Affairs * No.7 Column -

Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps The Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps is a part of the Royal Engineers in the British Army Reserve. It is intended to provide advisers on engineering and logistics to the British Army at a senior level. Following its work creating the NHS Nighti ...

(Structure formed in October 2015) There was no No. 6 Column for historical reasons.

Future Structure

From 2022 under the

Future Soldier Future Soldier was a multi-nation military project by the United States and its allies launched in the late 1990s. Set-up Superiority to enemy ground forces will be achieved by equipping the average ground-based combat soldier with an integ ...

programme the structure of the brigade will become: * Brigade Headquarters at Pirbright **

** Deployed Information Activity ** Stand-off Information Activity ** Honourable Artillery Company ** 6 Military Intelligence Battalion, Intelligence Corps

Activities

The Brigade participated in a two-week disaster relief exercise in

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...

. It deployed to the Philippines in April 2015 to assist the Philippines Government in developing their contingency plans for natural disasters. 77th Brigade has formed a formal partnership with the 361st Civil Affairs Brigade, US Army Europe. The Brigade uses social media such as

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

and

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...

as well as psyop techniques to influence populations and behaviour. David Miller, a professor of political sociology at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

who studies British government propaganda and public relations, said that it is "involved in manipulation of the media including using fake online profiles". In September 2019, ''

Middle East Eye Middle East Eye (MEE) is a London-based news website covering events in the Middle East and North Africa. MEE describes itself as an "independently funded online news organization that was founded in April 2014." MEE seeks to be the primary porta ...

'' reported that Gordon MacMillan, a Twitter executive with editorial control over the Middle East and North Africa, is also a reservist officer in the 77th Brigade. Both Twitter and the British Army denied that they have a relationship or agreement. Miller said it was hypocritical of Twitter to close accounts alleged to be connected with non-Western governments while having links to the British Army. On 22 April 2020, during the UK government's daily coronavirus briefing, General Nick Carter confirmed that 77th Brigade are working with the Home Office Rapid Response Unit "helping to quash rumours from misinformation, but also to counter disinformation". On 7 May 2020, ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...

'' interviewed Carter on the role of 77th Brigade in fighting coronavirus disinformation. The Defence Cultural Specialist Unit was used to monitor the internet for content on COVID-19 and to look for evidence of disinformation related to COVID-19 vaccines.

Future

Under the Future Soldier programme, the brigade will move to Pirbright Camp in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

in 2026.

References

External links

77th BrigadeBritish Army journal, 'British Army Review', Winter-Spring 2020, pages 14-19
{{Current British brigades Brigades of the British Army Military advisory groups Infantry brigades of the British Army Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War I Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War II Army 2020 Military units and formations established in 2014 Organisations based in Berkshire Psychological warfare West Berkshire District 2014 establishments in the United Kingdom