History, Politics And Current Affairs

Ran across this on TwiX today from a fella named Nicholas Drummond, proposing a notional BAOD:

Get ready for a new military abbreviation

BAOD

British Army of the Dnieper

Expect this to be a reinforced brigade with 1 x Challenger 2 regiment, 1 x Ajax Regiment, 2 x Warrior battalions, 1 x Ranger Regiment, 1 x Archer battery, 1 x GMLRS regiment, 1 x SHORAD battery, 1 x Engineer regiment, and 1 x Logistics regiment.

A total of 4,000-5,000 troops.

Thoughts? It sounds like a fairly strong and well-rounded force, though I'm really interested in what kind of fixed-wing/rotary wing support they might get. Also, I was unaware of the Ranger Regiments - they sound like Green Berets with some of the emphasis taken off direct action.

Mike

Can the UK support the force for more than a few months?

MikeKozlowski wrote: ↑Mon Mar 03, 2025 9:41 pm Ran across this on TwiX today from a fella named Nicholas Drummond, proposing a notional BAOD:

Get ready for a new military abbreviation

BAOD

British Army of the Dnieper

Expect this to be a reinforced brigade with 1 x Challenger 2 regiment, 1 x Ajax Regiment, 2 x Warrior battalions, 1 x Ranger Regiment, 1 x Archer battery, 1 x GMLRS regiment, 1 x SHORAD battery, 1 x Engineer regiment, and 1 x Logistics regiment.

A total of 4,000-5,000 troops.

Thoughts? It sounds like a fairly strong and well-rounded force, though I'm really interested in what kind of fixed-wing/rotary wing support they might get. Also, I was unaware of the Ranger Regiments - they sound like Green Berets with some of the emphasis taken off direct action.

Mike

Drummond is a well known guy, and he’s treated as an expert by many. However, he’s surprisingly often waaaay off target, and put out clearly incorrect information as absolute fact. Not saying he’s necessarily off target in this case, I’ll leave that up to others to judge, but just be aware.

He’s the Rheinmetall sales guy, right?
Ranger Regiment is one of the worst ideas in recent times. Take all the badly recruited regiments in the army, equip them like cheap SF and use them for mentoring and training missions around the world. Classic preparing to fight the last war and now desperately for a role.

As for sustaining? Nope. The British Army would be pushed to even deploy it in the first place.

MikeKozlowski wrote: ↑Mon Mar 03, 2025 9:41 pm Ran across this on TwiX today from a fella named Nicholas Drummond, proposing a notional BAOD:

Get ready for a new military abbreviation

BAOD

British Army of the Dnieper

Expect this to be a reinforced brigade with 1 x Challenger 2 regiment, 1 x Ajax Regiment, 2 x Warrior battalions, 1 x Ranger Regiment, 1 x Archer battery, 1 x GMLRS regiment, 1 x SHORAD battery, 1 x Engineer regiment, and 1 x Logistics regiment.

A total of 4,000-5,000 troops.

Thoughts? It sounds like a fairly strong and well-rounded force, though I'm really interested in what kind of fixed-wing/rotary wing support they might get. Also, I was unaware of the Ranger Regiments - they sound like Green Berets with some of the emphasis taken off direct action.

Mike

Way more than they can afford to lose, too little to do the job properly. And, as others have said, far more than they can reliably sustain.

Especially once the logistical failures kick in, it telegraphs weakness, not strength.

It’s modeled on BAOR which was home-based in Germany. As such logistics aren’t any more of an issue than being based at home - it presupposes a big investment in housing, workshops, etc to replicate what is already in the UK. Logistics in then a problem for Eddie Stobart, not the army.

If it’s assumed that it will be fighting as party of a wider NATO force (mostly Polish) then it makes reasonable sense. One thing to be aware of: when based it the UK we need a mix of forces as we will always be fighting some distance from home. That militates against having heavy armoured forces like BAOR - a notional BAOD would need such heavy armour. If we decide to procure it, Drummond of the UK sales guy for pretty much the only non-US supplier we could get it from…

This will soon be reduced to BFD (British Forces Dniepr) and a while after that, BDRC (British Dniepr Roulement Company)

Craiglxviii wrote: ↑Tue Mar 04, 2025 9:48 am This will soon be reduced to BFD (British Forces Dniepr) and a while after that, BDRC (British Dniepr Roulement Company)

... And eventually TSATPIK (The squaddies at the pub in Kiev).

Mike

MikeKozlowski wrote: ↑Tue Mar 04, 2025 11:36 am

Craiglxviii wrote: ↑Tue Mar 04, 2025 9:48 am This will soon be reduced to BFD (British Forces Dniepr) and a while after that, BDRC (British Dniepr Roulement Company)

... And eventually TSATPIK (The squaddies at the pub in Kiev).

Mike

I think one of the silliest military post abbreviations that was avoided in recent decades was the UK naval commander post during Desert Storm. Senior Naval Officer Gulf (SNOG) was vetoed.

David Newton wrote: ↑Tue Mar 04, 2025 1:42 pm I think one of the silliest military post abbreviations that was avoided in recent decades was the UK naval commander post during Desert Storm. Senior Naval Officer Gulf (SNOG) was vetoed.

Prior to WWII we had

Commander in Chief US Atlantic - CINCUSAL

That got, er, torpedoed

Yes. And it was specifically stated that CINCUS was pronounced SIN SEE US, not SINKUS.

Belushi TD

Nightwatch2 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 04, 2025 4:11 pm

David Newton wrote: ↑Tue Mar 04, 2025 1:42 pm I think one of the silliest military post abbreviations that was avoided in recent decades was the UK naval commander post during Desert Storm. Senior Naval Officer Gulf (SNOG) was vetoed.

Prior to WWII we had

Commander in Chief US Atlantic - CINCUSAL

That got, er, torpedoed

I thought it was Commander In Chief US CiCUS

MikeKozlowski wrote: ↑Mon Mar 03, 2025 9:41 pm Ran across this on TwiX today from a fella named Nicholas Drummond, proposing a notional BAOD:

Get ready for a new military abbreviation

BAOD

British Army of the Dnieper

Expect this to be a reinforced brigade with 1 x Challenger 2 regiment, 1 x Ajax Regiment, 2 x Warrior battalions, 1 x Ranger Regiment, 1 x Archer battery, 1 x GMLRS regiment, 1 x SHORAD battery, 1 x Engineer regiment, and 1 x Logistics regiment.

A total of 4,000-5,000 troops.

Thoughts? It sounds like a fairly strong and well-rounded force, though I'm really interested in what kind of fixed-wing/rotary wing support they might get. Also, I was unaware of the Ranger Regiments - they sound like Green Berets with some of the emphasis taken off direct action.

Mike

To be good enough for the task, we'd be talking 50,000, not 5,000.

Basing in Ukraine like Germany helps with rotation of active forces.

But it would be best to expand by this number, rather than commit out of the 69,000 currently available.

Though who you recruit and why they'd want to is a good question.

jemhouston wrote: ↑Tue Mar 04, 2025 5:55 pm

Nightwatch2 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 04, 2025 4:11 pm

David Newton wrote: ↑Tue Mar 04, 2025 1:42 pm I think one of the silliest military post abbreviations that was avoided in recent decades was the UK naval commander post during Desert Storm. Senior Naval Officer Gulf (SNOG) was vetoed.

Prior to WWII we had

Commander in Chief US Atlantic - CINCUSAL

That got, er, torpedoed

I thought it was Commander In Chief US CiCUS

Might have been. I think sink us all was in there somewhere too

Nightwatch2 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 04, 2025 4:11 pm

David Newton wrote: ↑Tue Mar 04, 2025 1:42 pm I think one of the silliest military post abbreviations that was avoided in recent decades was the UK naval commander post during Desert Storm. Senior Naval Officer Gulf (SNOG) was vetoed.

Prior to WWII we had

Commander in Chief US Atlantic - CINCUSAL

That got, er, torpedoed

Nightwatch,

Not gonna lie - CINCUSAL sounds like a 'personal' cream of one sort of the other.

Mike