Letter to the Chairman from the Secretary
of State for Defence concerning Joint Helicopter Command
I shall today be announcing the selection of
the location for the headquarters of the new Joint Helicopter
Command that is being created as a result of the Strategic Defence
Review. This marks the conclusion of the planning stage for the
new Command, which will pool the expertise of the three Services
in the operation of battlefield helicopter fleets and improve
the effectiveness of their contribution to our defence capability.
I have accepted the recommendation of the Joint
Helicopter Command Study Team that the Joint Helicopter Command
be based at the Army Headquarters at Wilton near Salisbury, forming
part of that headquarters. It will bring under a single Joint
command all those battlefield helicopters operated in support
of ground forces by all three Services, throughout the United
Kingdom and Germany: that is, the Royal Navy's Commando helicopters
based at Yeovilton, all operational Army Air Corps helicopters
including the whole of the new 16 Air Assault Brigade which will
in future include the Apache Attack Helicopter, and the Royal
Air Force's Support Helicopters.
As we said in July last year, the Royal Navy's
ship-based helicopters, which are employed in antisubmarine or
anti-surface warfare and airborne early warning roles, and search
and rescue helicopters operated by the Royal Navy and Royal Air
Force, are not included in the new arrangements since their roles
have little in common with those of the battlefield helicopters.
The Study Team has also made detailed recommendations
for the precise division of responsibilities between the Joint
Command and other agencies that have an interest in or provide
support to the battlefield helicopter fleets, so as to provide
the best framework to deliver the required capabilities.
The creation of the new Command reflects the
crucial role that battlefield helicopters are expected to play
in current and future military operations. The role of the headquarters
of the new Command will be to direct training, planning and resourcing
of these important assets; and to prepare suitable force packages
with Joint logistic support for use by commanders in the field
including their deployment from the sea.
The new arrangements will retain and build upon
the individual Service identity and ethos by ensuring that the
single Service units within the new Joint Command continue to
be commanded and manned by personnel from that Service. The headquarters
will be manned by individuals from each Service and its command
will be open to officers from all three Services. The first Commanding
Officer will be Air Vice-Marshal David Niven who led the study
team which has examined and made recommendations on the detailed
arrangements for the new Command which will form at Wilton on
1 October this year and be fully operational by 1 April next.
I enclose a copy of the Written Answer which
announces these changes.[8]
25 January 1999
8 Not printed. Back
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