THE BRITISH army is reducing its military status in Northern Ireland, removing the major general in charge and passing overall command of remaining forces to a brigadier.
Maj Gen Chris Brown, the current General Officer Commanding (GOC), will leave army headquarters at Thiepval Barracks in Lisburn, Co Antrim, for a posting in Baghdad. Command will pass to Brig George Norton, bringing British army structures in Northern Ireland into line with those in Scotland and Wales.
Maj Gen Brown said the "draw down" and the loss of some 30 of his staff was the final normalisation move following the end of Operation Banner in the summer of 2007. That was the operation mounted when British troops were first sent to Derry and Belfast in 1969, and was the longest such operation in army history.
Maj Gen Brown said just under 5,000 troops would still be based in Northern Ireland even though many of these would be stationed abroad, particularly Afghanistan.
He told The Irish Times: "We are still providing bomb disposal support [for the PSNI] and a series of devices have been dealt with in the recent days and months. That will continue and there is no suggestion that the PSNI at the moment has the resources or the desire to create their own bomb disposal capability,"
The outgoing GOC has been stationed in the North on many tours, including in south Armagh in the mid-1970s. Maj Gen Brown denied the reorganisation amounted to a further withdrawal of troops.
"In terms of overall numbers, that is simply not the case," he said. "Scotland doesn't have its own GOC, Wales doesn't. The only reason we have hung on to a GOC in Northern Ireland is because of that residual support for the police, and that is no longer necessary."
Viewed in that context, he said that Northern Ireland was now in the same framework as any other part of the UK.
"There is no reduction in either capability or commitment as a result of the loss of a small number of staff," Brig Norton said.
The changes have been recommended to the ministry of defence in London and ministerial approval has been granted.
Maj Gen Brown suggested that street violence surrounding the Whiterock Orange parade in west Belfast in 2005 perhaps delayed the announcement to complete the "draw down".
He said last month's homecoming parade in Belfast city centre by troops returning from the Middle East demonstrated how normal Northern Ireland had become.
Recognising the potential for trouble that day he said: "We had fewer people arrested on November 2nd than are arrested at an average fourth division football match."