Army Board

The Army Board is the top single-service management committee of the British Army, and has always been staffed by senior politicians and soldiers. Until 1964 it was known as the Army Council.^[1]

Army Board

Flag of a military member of the Army Board
Agency overview
Formed	1964
Preceding agency	Army Council
Jurisdiction	United Kingdom
Headquarters	Whitehall, Westminster, London
Agency executive	John Healey - Secretary of State for Defence Army Board Chairman
Parent agency	Ministry of Defence

Membership of the Board

The composition is as follows:^[2]

• Civilian
  • Secretary of State for Defence
  • Minister of State for the Armed Forces
  • Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology
  • Under Secretary of State for Defence and Minister for Veterans
  • Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Defence
  • Second Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Secretary of the Army Board)
• British Army
  • Chief of the General Staff
  • Deputy Chief of the General Staff
  • Assistant Chief of the General Staff
  • Commander Home Command
  • Commander Field Army
  • Chief of Materiel (Land)
  • Army Sergeant Major

The Executive Committee of the Army Board (ECAB) dictates the policy required for the Army to function efficiently and meet the aims required by the Defence Council and government. The Chief of the General Staff is the chairman of the Executive Committee of the Army Board.

In 2015, the newly created Army Sergeant Major became the first Army representative not a commissioned officer to be a member of the Executive Committee of the Army Board.^[3]

Former members of the board

Included: ^[4][5]

• Chief Scientist (Army), (civil)
• Deputy Under Secretary of State (Army), (civil)
• Master-General of the Ordnance, (military)
• Permanent Under Secretary of State (Administration), (civil)
• Vice-Chief of the General Staff, (military)

See also

• Air Force Board – for the RAF
• Admiralty Board – for the Royal Navy

References

1. Holmes 2011, pp. 22–23.
2. "Army Board". Armed Forces. 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
3. "New Army Sergeant Major Glenn Haughton". Army.mod.uk. British Army. 20 August 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
4. Paxton, John, ed. (25 August 1974). The Statesman's Year-Book 1974-75 (111th ed.). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 107. doi:10.1057/9780230271036. ISBN 978-0-230-27103-6.
5. Paxton, John, ed. (25 August 1985). The Statesman's Year-Book 1985-86 (122nd ed.). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 1301. doi:10.1057/9780230271142. ISBN 978-0-230-27114-2.

Sources

• Holmes, Richard (2011), Soldiers: Army Lives and Loyalties from Redcoats to Dusty Warriors, UK: Harper Collins, pp. 22–23, ISBN 9780007457724