Country United Kingdom Garrison/HQ RAF Honington | Part of No. 2 Group RAF Motto(s) "Fear Naught" | |
Active 1 April 1999 – 16 Dec 2011 Branch Joint (British Army and Royal Air Force) | ||
The Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Regiment was a specialist expeditionary unit of the British armed forces. Personnel of the Joint CBRN Regiment were trained in the detection, identification and monitoring of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.
It was formed on 1 April 1999 as the Joint NBC Regiment, from a stated recommendation in the Strategic Defence Review for an operational unit to support deployed forces of the British military in NBC defence and assistance. In 2005, the name of the regiment was changed following the addition of radiological weapons to its remit, and the NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) designation changed to CBRN.
There were five regular squadrons; four from the 1st Royal Tank Regiment and one (No. 27 Squadron) from the RAF Regiment. Two squadrons (A and W) from the Royal Yeomanry and, from March 2004, 2623 Squadron RAF Regiment provided a reserve capability.
Elements of the Joint CBRN Regiment have since operated in this role in Kuwait and Iraq (on Operation Telic, in which the Royal Yeomanry squadrons combined into a single unit named Y Squadron) and Afghanistan. The regiment also participated in the domestic UK foot and mouth disease crisis of 2001. The regiment contributed to operations world-wide during every year of its formation.
It was disbanded on 16 Dec 2011 as a result of the 2011 UK Strategic Defence and Security Review, with capabilities being transferred into the Defence CBRN Wing, manned entirely by the RAF Regiment. The 1st Royal Tank Regiment then become divisional troops within 3rd Mechanised Division. Nevertheless, in 2014, the Royal Tank Regiment formed up with one Squadron, Falcon Squadron, dedicated towards CBRN.