Regimental associations told 'get your house in order' over publication of SAS names

The Ministry of Defence has issued new advice to regimental associations, including an instruction to stop publishing the names of personnel via journals and magazines, following a serious data breach that revealed the identities of Special Forces soldiers in the regimental journals of the Grenadier Guards.

In a letter seen by BFBS Forces News and sent to corps and regimental colonels, the MOD lays down the law and warns that regimental colonels will be held personally responsible for future breaches.

Frustrations are specifically directed at regimental associations, which are designed to support veterans and maintain links between those who have served in a unit and those currently serving.

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They are typically run as charities, but fall under the jurisdiction of regimental colonels, who are paid members of the Armed Forces.

Alongside the letter, regimental headquarters have also received updated advice covering communications.

It outlines significant breaches in protocol that have occurred this year – including the sharing of Special Forces data and politically sensitive social media posts about Northern Ireland prosecutions.

The documents have already prompted some regimental associations to pull pages from public-facing websites. The Grenadier Guards' official website – in its entirety – has been taken offline.

The end of nominal rolls in regimental journals?

Across the Army, there are around 40 regimental association websites and apps, which provide updates on unit activities and signpost support for veterans.

Each year, associations tend to publish regimental journals – magazines chronicling the activities of their units – which frequently include the current nominal rolls of all serving personnel.

This has been standard practice for decades, including during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Often, a separate column within the nominal roll pages lists officers and soldiers posted away from the unit. As widely reported, these lists have – in some cases – included personnel serving with Special Forces.

In the Grenadier Gazette, the regimental journal of the Grenadier Guards, the names of officers posted to "MOD Block A" have been routinely listed – a known shorthand for Special Forces.

Other sections include tongue-in-cheek references to personnel being posted to "the land of the Marcher Lords" – a poetic nod to Hereford, the home of the SAS.

One passage reads: "Major [name removed by BFBS Forces News] is wielding the sword of retribution and unleashing hell on those that would do us harm, from the green and pleasant land of the Marcher Lords."

Another entry from a separate edition states: "Major [name removed] is still flat-packing enemies of the state from the realm of the Marcher Lords."

Both passages were written – at the time – by a serving officer of the Grenadier Guards, not by a paid employee of the Grenadier Guards Association.

New policy guidance

The updated communications policy issued to regimental headquarters advises that the standard publication of nominal rolls should cease.

"Nominal rolls are not to be published in regimental journals or online unless a data protection impact assessment (DPIA) has been conducted and submitted, clearly identifying why there is a 'lawful business need' to make this information public," it says.

The policy also reminds regimental associations that, while they are non-MOD entities, the nominal rolls of serving personnel are classed as official data, and fall fully under MOD authority.

Army boss orders immediate review

In the wake of the data breaches in the Grenadier Gazette, the Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Roly Walker – himself a Grenadier Guards officer and former Special Forces commander – ordered an immediate review of how regimental associations handle communications.

Gen Sir Roly said: "The security of our people is of the utmost importance, and we take any breach extremely seriously.

"I have directed an immediate review into our data-sharing arrangements with our regimental and corps associations to ensure appropriate guidance and safeguards are in place to best support the vital work they do."