Bolkiah Garrison (), also referred to as Bolkiah Camp from its original name, is one of the

military base A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...

s in Mukim Berakas 'A',

Bandar Seri Begawan Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB) is the capital and largest city of Brunei. It is officially a Municipalities of Brunei, municipal area () with an area of and an estimated population of 100,700 as of 2007. It is part of Brunei–Muara District, the s ...

. It contains the main building for the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

(MinDef), and is also the

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

of the

Royal Brunei Armed Forces The Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF); (ABDB), Jawi script, Jawi: , is the official organisation and collective term for all of the military forces or service branches of the sultanate of Brunei, Brunei Darussalam. The RBAF consists of three pr ...

(RBAF). International defence collaborations, meetings and bilateral exercises are planned and considered within this military base.

History

Eight officers and sixteen warrant officers made up the cadre strength of the British expatriate section in the seconded personnel region by the middle of 1964. Simultaneously, plans were underway to construct a new British Forces Brunei (BFB) and Gurkha camp around from the Brunei Malay Regiment (BMR) Berakas Camp, close to the Brunei Airport. The new camp, which the Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah called Bolkiah Camp, was built to hold the Brigade Headquarters and related troops and could hold 700–800 men. The Training Wing Depot was established at Bolkiah Camp on 7 April 1969, but it would later be relocated to Penanjong Garrison in the

Tutong District Tutong District (; Jawi script, Jawi: دائيره توتوڠ) or simply known as Tutong ('), is the third largest and populated districts of Brunei, district in Brunei. It has an area of and the population of 47,210 as of 2021. The district i ...

in 1991. On the fourteenth anniversary of the Royal Brunei Malay Regiment's (RBMR) formation, the 2nd Battalion was formed following nearly two years of training on 2 January 1975. The new battalion needed a larger camp than the Berakas Camp could provide, so it relocated to the former British Reinforcement Camp in Bolkiah Camp. On 10 May 1976, the 2nd Battalion finally moved into its permanent camp in Tutong Camp. As of 1995, there was a small

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

based at Bolkiah Camp alongside

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

commanding officers to provide training the local soldiers of the Royal Brunei Malay Regiment (RBMR). In 2008, now known as Bolkiah Garrison, plans were made to upgrade the base's

surau A surau is an Islamic assembly building in some regions of Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, used for worship and religious instruction. Generally smaller physical structures, their ritual functions are similar to those of a mosque, they admit ...

, create a new building for the RBAF Museum, and provide housing for RBAF personnel. The Medical Reception Station (MRS) designed by architects at ALD Consultants was officially opened in 2018. On 21 March 2019, at the newly built Bolkiah Gymnasium and Multi-Purpose Hall, the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) hosted the launching ceremony for the upgrading of the RBAF's Identification Card and Security Enhancement Expo in upholding Wawasan Brunei 2035. One of the attempts to strengthen the security system in the RBAF is the upgrading of the

identification card An identity document (abbreviated as ID) is a document proving a person's identity. If the identity document is a plastic card it is called an ''identity card'' (abbreviated as ''IC'' or ''ID card''). When the identity document incorporates a ...

. During RBAF's 58th anniversary on 30 June 2019, 1,058 service personnel from all three service branches of the RBAF participated in an annual parade held within Bolkiah Garrison.

Facilities

There are several facilities built within Bolkiah Garrison: *

building *Joint Force Headquarters *Officer's Mess *Medical Reception Station *Bolkiah Gymnasium and Multi-purpose Hall *Performance Optimisation Centre (POC) *Dewan Gerak Badan (Body Motion Hall) *Surau Ad-Difa' *Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Institute of Defence & Strategic Studies Library, Bolkiah Garrison * Royal Brunei Armed Forces Museum

Gallery

References

External links

{{Portal bar, Asia, History Royal Brunei Land Forces Bandar Seri Begawan Joint military headquarters Royal Brunei Armed Forces bases 1964 establishments in Brunei Military installations established in 1964