The Royal Logistics Corps is not nicknamed the Really Large Corps for nothing; it is the single largest element of the British Army and was formed in 1993 by amalgamating Royal Army Ordnance Corps, Royal Pioneer Corps, Army Catering Corps, Royal Corps of Transport and the posties from the Royal Engineers.
One of the problems with the RLC is that it is too large, too diverse, too many roles and ultimately too diffuse. Transportation, logistics management (this is not transportation), ammunition storage, postal services, fuel operations, port operations, pioneers and field catering.
How can the delivering post, rustling up an egg banjo and disposing of IED’s sit within one organisation?
In some respects though, it makes sense for the Combat Service Support elements to be under one roof, it is a difficult issue to reconcile.
To make matters worse, or better depending on your viewpoint, we also have duplication of very similar functions across the three services
I am going to break this post up into a few parts for ease of reading
Counter IED
This is a difficult subject to write about whilst so much sterling and incredibly brave work is going on in Afghanistan, but it is still worth discussing.
Explosive Ordnance Disposal is a broad subject with a long history but in the modern context has evolved as much by a combination of historical accident as anything else, the need to excavate to deeply buried German bombs needing the obvious involvement of a field engineering force, the Royal Engineers, for example.
The Joint Force IED arrangement we are now seeing are a result of both the changing nature of the IED threat and the sheer volume of devices, but the underlying structures have remained. Evolving from the WWI Ordnance Examiners of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps the modern Explosive Ordnance Disposal capability traces much of its history back to the Blitz, having to deal with both unexploded ‘duds’ and devices that used time delay fuses. The ongoing ‘measure’ and ‘countermeasure’ struggle between the German designers and those tasked with clearing them continued throughout the war and this experience was disseminated widely to other nations like the USA.
Modern EOD arguably evolved from here.
The use of sophisticated improvised explosive devices (IED’s) in Northern Ireland lead to the creation of specialist units in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, now RLC. The Royal Navy Mine Warfare Diving Branch and Royal Air Force 5131 Bomb Disposal Squadron can also trace their histories back decades.
This has led to a situation where to counter conventional and improvised explosive devices we have 2 units from the Army and one each from the other services.
This may seem wasteful but to understand why, one simply has to look at their respective missions. The Royal Engineers (33 and 101(V) Regiment) are responsible for specialist search and conventional explosive ordnance clearance. 11 EOD Regiment RLC are responsible for counter terrorist bomb disposal, explosive ordnance disposal and the recovery and safe disposal of conventional munitions which can include anything from small arms ammunition to battlefield rockets. The RN clearance branch is attached to the mine countermeasures capability and is responsible for explosive ordnance disposal underwater (RE divers also have this role) and the RAF EOD Bomb Disposal Squadron is responsible for airfield clearance operations. There is sound logic for this distinction, the RLC C-IED operators are drawn from the technical ammunition trade and this specialist knowledge is an advantage when dealing with the wide variety of devices found both on and off a battlefield. Specialist expertise takes a long time to develop, career structures are very different from the RE EOD personnel.
Operations in Afghanistan and Iraq have focussed on the IED but the other skills and capabilities must not be neglected. However, whilst the UK armed forces were large it could support these specialism’s but there are obvious crossovers and duplications that might be unsupportable in a smaller force.
IED’s have gone from a specialist weapon used by terrorist organisations in Northern Ireland to a mainstream weapon that will feature in probably every future conflict and we have to ask if the existing arrangements are efficient or sustainable.
With the increasing use of direct to user delivery of ammunition from the manufacturer and more complex ammunition that needs REME support the demand for the traditional role of ammunition management might be less. It hasn’t and won’t go away though because the cost effective management of all types of ammunition is still a highly skilled and essential activity and to counter the manufacturer to user argument there is an increasingly onerous legislative environment and much more insecurity of supply. One could argue either way about the need for specialist ammunition/explosive specialists.
With a reduction of the trade from which High Threat C-IEDD operators are drawn this will inevitably reduce career opportunities and mean a greater demand on those actually able to carry out this extremely difficult task, a sustained demand for manual approaches will inevitably mean those individuals are going to suffer. The highly specialist and technical approach to IED disposal as perfected in Northern Ireland may not always be appropriate in an environment like Afghanistan, a range of response capabilities are therefore needed that operate at different levels of risk. One wonders if the current casualty rate is sustainable and if the high threat C-IED operators are both in short supply and high demand is freedom of manoeuvre being compromised?
Whatever we do, we must recognise that the often irrational animosity between the RE and RLC has to stop, the growing and evolving threat, likely greater use of technology and reducing resources demand that inter service and cap badge politics is stomped on from a great height. There are very real and practical barriers to creating a single tri service organisation beyond the current ‘joint’ but still separate arrangements but we must tackle them decisively.
A completely new EOD Corps may be the ideal end state and could amalgamate the 4 entities currently involved and be responsible for all clearance activities. A separate Corps would be large enough to sustain a variety of career paths across a number of related trades, sustainability is one of the key issues that would need to be resolved.
A much greater use of technology should also be part of the new unit, the UK has yet again, given up its clear technical lead in related technologies, especially in robotics. Talisman is a clear step in the right direction but me must continue with this and expand it.
Traditional assault minefield breaching would be retained with the Royal Engineers and the ammunition technical trades transferred to a new function within the RLC, merged with the REME (more on this later)
In addition to the non assault clearance activities the new EOD Corps would also be heavily involved with demining activities in post conflict zones as part of a comprehensive overseas aid/emergency response package (this is going to be detailed in a future post) that includes elements of military and civilian capabilities.
With the increasing use of modular mine warfare equipment, especially in our C3 proposal, it might even be possible to task this new corps with underwater mine clearance as well.
This is only a tentative suggestion, one possible way to create and perhaps more importantly, sustain, a range of capabilities in the face of likely increasing/changing demand both at home and abroad. By creating a dedicated corps that takes responsibility for all munitions disposal activities across the three services the overall workload creates the need for a larger unit, in a larger unit there will be greater career opportunities for those hard pressed operators to move within.
The challenge in such a unit would be to increase the capability whilst maintaining quality and safety, a thorny issue currently being wrestled with by the professionals in all three services.
UPDATE 1
One of the commenters took offence to me calling the Pioneers grave diggers. I thought I should apologise for any offence but simply say it was a bit light hearted, banter, no offence intended whatsoever.
UPDATE 2
Have sense of humours sharply declined?
Think Defence is not in the business of upsetting or insulting people so once again, if the grave digger comment was out of order I apologise.
It has been removed and by way of penance, if any serving or former Pioneer wishes to send me an article on your past, present or future then I will publish it
I think the IED threat is over estimated.
Static explosives, be they conventional mines or improvised bombs can only be used if the enemy knows where you are or where you are going to be.
The only reason they have such a disproportionate effect is because we act in a disproportinaly stupid manner.
Seriously, if NATO war plans were to advance 20 miles through a mine field, withdraw back to out start lines, ignore the Russians for three days and then advance 20 miles through a freshly laid mine field again, we would take a lot of losses from mines, and appear very stupid.
But thats exactly what we do in Afghanistan, over and over and over again we walk into a minefiled, clear it, allow the enemy to relay it and walk into.
Mines are always going to be a problem, even we have the capability to lay a minefield in front of an advancing army (I’m not sure how the yoghurt knitters have missed it but we do).
But they dont become anything more than a mild disruption unless we behave in an astonishingly stupid manner.
We need the ability to clear minefields, we need the ability to prevent the enemy sowing them within our areas of control, and sometimes, very rarely, we need the ability to disarm a mine.
9,999 times out of 10,000 the target is going to be worth considerbly less than the soldier risked disarmed the thing.
In Afghanistan, explain to the farmer his house is going to blow up because the taliban stuck a bomb on it, blow it up, rebuild it, give him a couple of solar panels, a battery, a 12v light or two and a bag of cash. Happy Farmer.
spent 12 years in the Royal pioneer corps and i never dug one grave ,mind you our lads exumed the lads that fell in the south atlantic and made sure that they were brought home to the UK i find it offensive that my corps in your article about the RLC were called “grave digger,s oh and by the way our lads were in NI from the start of the “war in the province and we under took many tasks out there including CP work in derry with 8 inf and in lisburn with 39 inf BDE as CP to lt col rose “22 sas who only would have pioneers as his CP i find it offencive that you have made a comparison like this about my corps, I
oh and mr dominic j go and tell the widows of RLC personel killed in afganistan that the job,s they are doing out there are pointles
what i would sugest you do is get out there with the lads and walk a mile in there shoe,s before commenting on somthing you know nothing about!
Don’t take offence N Taylor, none was intended, the grave digger comments were just a light hearted way of demonstrating the breadth of what the RLC does, if you look at the sentence I used it in you will see I also mentioned egg banjos. We all know the ACC were about much more that frying eggs so by your extension I am insulting the cooks.
I think if you read the post you will see nothing but respect
If you did find it insulting then you have my apologies but come on, lighten up, its just a bit of harmless banter
If you want to write a piece on the Royal Pioneer Corps on anything at all, its history, role in D Day or the Rhine Crossing or even its future you are more than welcome.
N Taylor
“go and tell the widows of RLC personel killed in afganistan that the job,s they are doing out there are pointles”
I’m very sorry if you disagree with me so strongly you’d try and bring something as emotive as war widows into the issue, but I do not believe disarming a mine in afghanistan is worth the risk to our personel.
However I dont know everything, if you have some examples of where disarming a mine was worth the life of a British Soldier, I’m happy to here them.
“what i would sugest you do is get out there with the lads and walk a mile in there shoe,s before commenting on somthing you know nothing about!”
I’m not sure what I would learn by being “out there” thats relevent to this issue. that someone who has been out there cant simply tell me.
hi dominic. j.
with ref to your last
i could tell you about the war in NI but you had to be there to experience it and the same go,s for the lads and lasses in afganistan at the mo
the conditions that these personel are fighting and dying in ,like ni we did not who was friend or foe and the IED threat was there every day and the threat of death or injury was hanging above us every time we went out on the streets again as the lads and lasses are doing in afganistan at the moment being told about the theater of war and being down on the ground will never and cannot ever be the same i don,t know if you have ever served or thought about serving your country but it may be the right time to think about it. N Taylor
first of all i was royal pioneer and proud to serve my country and did it with pride and we are specialists in numerous things
close protection
port ops
bridge builders
road layers
ammo movement
class one infantry trained
we also had RSI within the corp
all arms weapons instructor’s
and various other duties
the pioneers where the first to land on the beaches of Normandy to clear the land mines and many a brave pioneer paid the ultimate price we where amongst the first sent to Ireland at the height of the trouble also in bosina under IFOR the two gulf wars now pioneers or in afganistan and irac how dare you call me and all pioneers grave diggers the engineers do that with jcbs and volvoS you try saying to some of my freinds that they are only grave diggers and are now suffering from PTSD and i think you will find yourself in very hot water you may think it is funny calling me a grave digger but i do not all for an extra 50 pence a day
you never posted what arm of the service you served in or are you ashamed to mention it in case someone has a go at you
Guys, how many time do you want me to apologise, it was just a joke, lighten up.
The offending phrase has been removed
N Taylor
No one on here doubts the courage and commitment of the lower end of the armed forces.
We sometimes doubt the competancy of the higher ups, but thats a different issue.
My issue is simply that we should not be wasting the lives of our soldiers by having them attempt to disarm mines.
They should simply be destroyed in controlled explosions and any rebuilding carried out.
The secondary issue that our strategy in Afghanistan is appaling is a shot at the higher ups, not anyone who’s actualy spent more than a few days on Ghanners.
“i don,t know if you have ever served or thought about serving your country but it may be the right time to think about it.”
Considered RAF Regiment, didnt meet sight requirements by a mile and a youth spent cross country running has made the ongoing fitness a bit of a no hoper now.
hi admin
thanks for your comments i think that anyone who served in HM Forces as you no dought realise is proud of what ever arm of the services they served in and is fiercley defencive of there regt or corps ship or flight,I thank you for removing the offending phrase
and i look forward to reading your articles in the future
as a foot note
dominic mate i would like to no how the eod lads are supposed to dispose of ied,s with out going near to them unfortunatley they must be found and the area cleared befor the patrol can carry on with there job,s and the device must be detonated or made safe before this can happen???
“dominic mate i would like to no how the eod lads are supposed to dispose of ied,s with out going near to them ”
I was operating under the impression that “shoot them” was an effective option. As was throwing an explosive of our own at them.
Idealy we should be able to roll them up with a digger of some sort.
Last on the list should be lay down in a field under fire with a shovel and a pair of wire cutters.
I have heard Terry the taliban are setting muliple IEDs that if you trigger one several go up, so EOD must identify if this the case by close up inspection robots do a certain amount but not all.
I am Major Tharanga Silva and I am doing a reacsrh about Logistic system of British Army. Pl send me some details
I am the youngest brother of a former Royal Pioneer who served in Gulf 1 when I was a young fella. It took years for him to talk about it but he was one of the unfortunate ones who was a Gravedigger out there and although a serving member myself, would never want to go through what he did, it quite literally broke him and screwed his life up. Commendable that the author had the balls to apologise about the original comment but lets not refer to ANY soldier as being at the lower end of the armed forces. It’s more likely they have seen more shit than those at the perceived higher end.