Options for Change was a restructuring of the British Armed Forces in 1990 after the end of the Cold War.
Until this point, UK military strategy had been almost entirely focused on defending Western Europe against the Soviet Armed Forces, with the Royal Marines in Scandinavia, the Royal Air Force (RAF) in West Germany and over the North Sea, the Royal Navy in the Norwegian Sea and North Atlantic, and the British Army in Germany.
With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact in 1989, a Soviet invasion of Western Europe no longer seemed likely. While the restructuring was criticised by several British politicians, it was an exercise mirrored by governments in almost every major Western military power: the so-called peace dividend.
Total manpower was cut by approximately 18 per cent to around 255,000 (120,000 army; 60,000 navy; 75,000 air force).
Other casualties of the restructuring were the UK's nuclear civil defence organisations, the United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation, and its field force, the Royal Observer Corps (a part-time volunteer branch of the RAF), both disbanded between September 1991 and December 1995.
Halving the troop strength in Germany by replacing the British Army of the Rhine with British Forces Germany in 1994.Several British Army regiments amalgamated:The Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons) - one battalionThe Queen's Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons)The Gordon HighlandersThe Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires) - two battalionsThe Queen's RegimentThe Royal Hampshire RegimentThe Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment - one battalionThe Duke of Edinburgh's Royal RegimentThe Gloucestershire RegimentThe Royal Gurkha Rifles - 3 battalions (later reduced to two)2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha RiflesThe Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling), 83rd, 87th and Ulster Defence Regiment) - two general service battalions (later reduced to one)The Royal Irish Rangers (27th (Inniskilling), 83rd and 87th)The Ulster Defence RegimentIn addition, seven regiments each lost a battalion:Grenadier GuardsColdstream GuardsScots GuardsThe Royal Regiment of FusiliersThe Royal Anglian RegimentThe Light InfantryThe Royal Green JacketsThe amalgamation of the Royal Scots and King's Own Scottish Borderers into the Royal Scots Borderers (one battalion) and the Cheshire Regiment and Staffordshire Regiment into the Cheshire and Staffordshire Regiment (one battalion) was suspended in 1994.
The Household Cavalry Regiment (each retained regimental identity)The Life GuardsThe Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons)The King's Royal HussarsThe Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own)14th/20th King's HussarsThe Light Dragoons13th/18th Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own)15th/19th The King's Royal HussarsThe Queen's Royal Hussars (Queen's Own and Royal Irish)The Queen's Own HussarsThe Queen's Royal Irish HussarsThe Queen's Royal Lancers16th/5th Queen's Royal Lancers17th/21st LancersThe Royal Dragoon Guards4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards1st Royal Tank Regiment1st Royal Tank Regiment4th Royal Tank Regiment2nd Royal Tank Regiment2nd Royal Tank Regiment3rd Royal Tank RegimentRoyal Logistic CorpsRoyal Corps of TransportRoyal Army Ordnance CorpsRoyal Pioneer CorpsArmy Catering CorpsPostal and Courier Service, Royal EngineersAdjutant General's CorpsRoyal Army Educational CorpsRoyal Army Pay CorpsWomen's Royal Army CorpsArmy Legal CorpsCorps of Royal Military PoliceMilitary Provost Staff CorpsClosing RAF Wildenrath in April 1992 and RAF Gutersloh in March 1993, halving the number of RAF bases in Germany.Withdrawing the F-4 Phantom II squadrons.Cancelling the Brimstone air-to-surface missile project (later restarted).A small reduction in Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft.Cutting the number of frigates and destroyers from around 50 to 40.A dramatisation of the effects that Options for Change had on the ordinary men and women serving in the armed forces came in the ITV series Soldier Soldier. The fictional infantry regiment portrayed in the series, the King's Fusiliers, was one of those selected for amalgamation. It showed the whole process of negotiation over traditions, embellishments, etc. between the two regiments involved, and the uncertainty that many of those serving felt for their jobs in the light of two separate battalions merging into one, with the resulting loss of manpower.
