British Army Training Support Unit Belize (BATSUB), the successor of the former British Forces Belize, is the name given to the current

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 ...

Garrison in

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wa ...

. The garrison is used primarily for jungle warfare training, with access to over 5,000 square miles of jungle terrain, provided by the

Government of Belize His Majesty's Government in Belize, also referred to as the Belizean Government is the democratic administrative authority of Belize, a constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. It was formed in 1981 after gaining sovereignty from ...

. In 2010, the UK government announced it would mothball the facility as part of its Strategic Defence and Security Review. However, in 2015, reports indicated that BATSUB was seeing "increased usage". In November 2015, the UK government announced it was re-establishing the facility as part of its

2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review The National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 was published by the British government during the second Cameron ministry on 23 November 2015 to outline the United Kingdom's defence strategy up to 2025. It identified k ...

. According to some Belizean media reports, the British decision to re-establish BATSUB could have been linked to rising tensions between Belize and Guatemala. Under the Integrated Review paper announced by the UK Government in March 2021, Belize is to become a 'land hub', and could have personnel deployed more regularly and for longer durations. The unit is currently commanded by a

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...

. BATSUB is located near Belize International Airport, at

Price Barracks Price Barracks is a military installation located just north of Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport which is located in Ladyville some 8 miles to the north west of Belize City. It is the main base of the Belize Defence Force. History The ...

Ladyville Ladyville is the largest village in the country of Belize, eight miles northwest of Belize City in the Belize District. The Philip Goldson Highway connects Ladyville to Belize City. History Although originally a separate settlement, Ladyville ...

British Forces Belize

The British Army Training Support Unit Belize (BATSUB) is a successor to British Forces Belize, which was structured as such in 1989: *British Army Forces in Belize **1st Battalion,

Welsh Guards The Welsh Guards (WG; cy, Gwarchodlu Cymreig), part of the Guards Division, is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded in 1915 as a single-battalion regiment, during the First World War, by Royal Warrant of George V. ...

, on six month roulement. **1 x Armoured Reconnaissance Troop, six month roulement. **1 x Field Battery,

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, six month roulement. **1 x Field Squadron,

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is head ...

, six month roulement. **24th Squadron,

Royal Corps of Transport The Royal Corps of Transport (RCT) was a British Army Corps established to manage all matters in relation to the transport of men and material for the Army and the wider Defence community. It was formed in 1965 and disbanded in 1993; its units and ...

. **78th Ordnance Company,

Royal Army Ordnance Corps The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a corps of the British Army. At its renaming as a Royal Corps in 1918 it was both a supply and repair corps. In the supply area it had responsibility for weapons, armoured vehicles and other military equip ...

. ** No. 25 Flight, Army Air Corps. *Royal Navy Forces – Belize: **West Indies Guard Ship, as needed. *Royal Air Force – Belize: **

No. 1417 Flight RAF No. 1417 Flight RAF (1417 Flt) was an independent flight of the Royal Air Force which existed between 1941 and 1993 at various times in a variety of roles. This Flight had probably the most interesting incarnations of all the independent aircraft ...

No. 1563 Flight RAF No. 1563 Flight RAF (1563 Flt) is an independent flight of the British Royal Air Force (RAF). It operates the Westland Puma HC2 helicopters in Brunei. It previously flew tactical support missions for locally garrisoned British Army units, as we ...

**1 Air Defence Troop,

RAF Regiment The Royal Air Force Regiment (RAF Regiment) is part of the Royal Air Force and functions as a specialist corps. Founded by royal warrant in 1942, the Corps carries out soldiering tasks relating to the delivery of air power. Examples of such ta ...

, six month roulement.

References

External links

* British Army deployments Military of Belize Royal Air Force education and training Belize–United Kingdom military relations Military installations of the United Kingdom in other countries Belize and the Commonwealth of Nations United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations {{Belize-stub

British Forces Belize

See also

References

Further reading

External links