Operation Helvetic is the

operational An operational definition specifies concrete, replicable procedures designed to represent a construct. In the words of American psychologist S.S. Stevens (1935), "An operation is the performance which we execute in order to make known a concept." F ...

name for the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military, military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests ...

' residual operation in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

from July 2007 to the present day.

Background

It was the successor operation to

Operation Banner Operation Banner was the operational name for the British Armed Forces' operation in Northern Ireland from 1969 to 2007, as part of the Troubles. It was the longest continuous deployment in British military history. The British Army was initia ...

after the end of

The Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...

. It consists primarily of support from Ammunition technical officers for the

Police Service of Northern Ireland The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ; Ulster-Scots: '), is the police service responsible for law enforcement and the prevention of crime within Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it ...

against an ongoing threat of bomb attacks from republican and loyalist dissidents. The operation is also intended to provide military support to the PSNI in the event of serious public disorder or an environmental crisis. At the start of the operation the total British army strength was approximately 5,000 soldiers in ten locations. By 2018, this had reduced to around 1,300 troops only for training purposes. Thus far two British soldiers have been killed by republican paramilitaries during the operation, both killed in the

2009 Massereene Barracks shooting The Massereene Barracks shooting took place at Massereene Barracks in Antrim, Northern Ireland. On 7 March 2009, two off-duty British soldiers of the 38 Engineer Regiment were shot dead outside the barracks. Two other soldiers and two civil ...

. In 2016, ATOs serving as part of Operation Helvetic dealt with terrorist bomb alerts roughly once a week. Of these 49% were classified as "serious threats". The lack of a General Service Medal for ATOs serving as part of Operation Helvetic was the subject of controversy in 2017 following the rejection by the cabinet office of a request for the award of the GSM to ATOs from Andrew Rowe, Northern Ireland's most senior army officer. In 2018, the operation was the subject of a

freedom of information request Freedom of information laws allow access by the general public to data held by national governments and, where applicable, by state and local governments. The emergence of freedom of information legislation was a response to increasing dissatis ...

brought by the

Committee on the Administration of Justice The Committee on the Administration of Justice (often known by the acronym CAJ) is an independent human rights organisation in Northern Ireland with cross-community membership. It was established in 1981 and lobbies and campaigns on a broad range ...

, which was seeking the disclosure of the terms of reference for Operation Helvetic. The request was opposed by the UK ministry of defence on grounds of operational secrecy. Though the Information Commissioner's Office found against the MoD, the MoD plans to appeal the decision. The cost of Operation Helvetic was approximately £1 billion a year in 2019. By 2019, increasing numbers of specialist troops were being deployed as part of the operation due to an uptick in the activity of Republican dissidents.

References

{{Reflist British Army deployments Military history of Northern Ireland Helvetic Bomb disposal