New HQ For 20th Armoured Infantry Brigade After Returning From Germany

The British Army's 20th Armoured Infantry Brigade has opened its new headquarters in Bulford. 

The brigade only moved back to the UK in the summer, after almost seven decades based in Germany.

Major General James Swift, 3rd Division Commander, cut the ribbon to the new building which has been at the centre of a huge infrastructure project to accommodate around 4,000 incoming personnel. 

Soldiers said they are enjoying a more modern, open-plan layout, compared to their old headquarters in Germany. 

Captain Rupert Nurick said: "Actually now that we're here, you can just talk across to the other departments and on a wider scale, having the brigade here, means that all of our units are really, really close by.

"It's much more efficient."

For some soldiers, their entire Army career has been spent in Germany and a change of scenery is a welcome sight.

WO1 Artificer Sergeant Major Maz Hoer said: "I very much enjoyed being over in Germany, I've had some excellent experiences there and being on mainland Europe has been fabulous but we've actually quite looked forward to coming back to the UK to start the next chapter."

Moving thousands of people to the Wiltshire area has had an impact on local infrastructure.

Roughly 1,500 forces families were set to move into three estates around Salisbury Plain this summer, with 900 new homes being built as part of a £246 million project. 

In February, Forces News reported that 225 military families will be housed in Bulford which is now beginning to fill up.

Bulford's married patch is currently 75% occupied.

Schools, doctor and dentist surgeries have all had to gear up for the arrival of 20th Armoured Infantry Brigade.

Earlier this year, concerns were raised over whether the infrastructure would be ready.

Brigadier Dominic Biddick, Commander of 20 Armoured Infantry Brigade, said his soldiers are in a "good place" but admitted he "will be watching those areas really closely".

Despite settling back into life in the UK, soldiers from 20th Armoured Infantry Brigade will still be travelling the world on operations.

In the next two years, units from the brigade will complete tours of Afghanistan, Cyprus and Estonia.