Active 1999–Present Branch British Army | Country United Kingdom Notable
commanders Tim Cross | |
Type Logistics Support Brigade Part of 3rd Division (United Kingdom) | ||
101 Logistic Brigade came into being during 1999 and is subordinate to HQ Force Troops Command. It was formerly known as the Combat Services Support Group (UK) (CSSG(UK)). Under the Army 2020 plan, it has shifted under 3rd Division (United Kingdom).
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History
The brigade's first commander was Tim Cross, then a brigadier. 101 Logistic Brigade, which wears the Blackadder tactical recognition flash after the famous television series, was formed in 1999 from what was the Combat Service Support Group (CSSG).
The CSSG was the successor to the Force Maintenance Area (FMA), which was already using the Blackadder flash following its formation in 1990 in the deserts of Saudi Arabia. The then commander of the FMA, Brigadier Martin White, recognised the need for a sense of identity and found inspiration in a letter from his daughter in which she quipped 'I hope you have a cunning plan'. And so it was not long before the transit camps in the port of Al Jubail were named after characters from the programme: Baldrick Lines, Blackadder Camp, Meltchett Lines and Camp Bob.
Then-Brigadier Patrick Cordingley puts it differently. He says that '...the engineers from 39 Engineer Regiment had also constructed a tented camp for another two thousand on some hard standing in the port to house logisticians who were likely to remain there after the rest of us deployed into the desert. This quickly became known, first unofficially and then officially, as Baldrick Lines, after the hapless manservant in the Blackadder television series. (The soldiers adopted Blackadder as something of a mascot. Baldrick's catchphrase, 'I have a cunning plan', became a running joke for the next six months and later on in the campaign the logisticians even adopted a Blackadder arm badge). ) As part of Theatre Troops (until Army 2020) it is able to deploy logistic force elements, including Brigade Headquarters, worldwide, in order to support the UK's military contribution to a national, NATO or a multi-national force.