Catalogue description Ministry of Defence: HQ Army Strategic Command: Reports

HQ Army Strategic Command (STRATCO) was created on 1 April 1968 as a result of a major rethink of the command structure of the land forces in the UK, under the Command of Lieut-General Sir John Mogg KCB, CBE, DSO. It was charged with command for all matters except local administration of most of the field force units in the UK. Strictly speaking STRATCO did not command all field force formations in the UK - 6 Infantry Brigade was excluded. Strategic Reserves (STRATRES) actually provided the bulk of the field force formations, and consequently mounted any military response to an overseas crisis or fulfil Britain's commitments, in both a NATO and a world-wide context.

• The military commitments of HQ Army Strategic Command outside UK were:
• 1. Commitments under the international treaties of CENTO and SEATO
• 2. Bilateral agreements
• 3. Residual colonial responsibility to the colonial territories
• 4. To NATO, to provide forces in certain circumstances to maintain international peace.

The Command consisted of two divisions, 3 and 5 Divisions, and supporting command troops. 3 Division was an operational division in all respects - a fully operational divisional HQ and four Brigades: 5, 19, 24 and 16 Parachute Brigade. Supporting arms are shown including armour, artillery and engineers. The Divisional HQ was also responsible for training of AMF(L) (ACE [Allied Command Europe] Mobile Force (Land)) Battalion. Although they all had staffs - albeit smaller than the "norm" - they had no operational role. The brigades of 5 Division were 2, 8 and 39: 2 and 8 Brigades had HQs in skeleton form which were raised at about the same time as the divisional HQ. The latter was set up because it was deemed appropriate that a higher echelon of command existed between the hitherto independent units in each brigade area and STRATCO itself. 39 Brigade which was responsible directly to HQ Northern Ireland District (HQ NID) for certain operational duties in the Province, although forming part of 5 Division's order of battle.

On 1 April 1972 HQ Army Strategic Command was closed along with Southern Commands in the reorganisation of the UK Command Structure to make way for UKLF.