British Army unit to move back to Minden

Taken from the Sixth Sense Newspaper Feb 14

British Army unit to move back to Minden

Probably because they'd left their MFO boxes on the square.

Good to know there is a British presence back in Minden, though their stay will be short.

As I said before I had many happy years in the town in the 1960's.

JPW wrote:

Good to know there is a British presence back in Minden, though their stay will be short.

As I said before I had many happy years in the town in the 1960's.

................................................................................................
Ah!  The good old days ! My lot were there in 1759 helping the locals to give those Froggy upstarts a thrashing ...............

Link from Mindenertageblatt 16 Oct 14

http://www.mt.de/lokales/minden/20237731_Britische-Pioniere-in-Minden-begruesst.html
(The pictures included in the article also explain the presence of a scottish piper with the brit contingent suggesting the German Engrs may get used to his music).


British Engineers exercise with Bundesweht opposite numbers with M3 Amphibious Bridge Rig on the Weser,
23 Amph Engr Platoon eqpt is housed in the Herzog von Braunschweig Kaserne for the next 3 years!   whilst the soldiers commute daily from Bielefeld.

[quote="Pborn3"]Link from Mindenertageblatt 16 Oct 14

http://www.mt.de/lokales/minden/20237731_Britische-Pioniere-in-Minden-begruesst.html

British Engineers exercise with Bundesweht cunterparts ...........quote]  
_________________________________________________

Really !   Such facilities were never available when we were in BAOR !

[quote="Pborn3"]Link from Mindenertageblatt 16 Oct 14

http://www.mt.de/lokales/minden/20237731_Britische-Pioniere-in-Minden-begruesst.html
(The pictures included in the article also explain the presence of a scottish piper with the brit contingent suggesting the German Engrs may get used to his music).


British Engineers exercise with Bundesweht opposite numbers with M3 Amphibious Bridge Rig on the Weser ..............  {Quote]    
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.

Hmmm !   Ref your edited version.......  Makes my comment  superfluous....
For those who are now baffled, I should explain the original wording for the later "opposite numbers" was "Counterparts" , or should have been if the "o" hadn't been missed out in error.
Or as a Freudian Slip !

Hello Charlie Charlie all correspondents this topic........... Ref my received notification of PM dtd. 18/10 & timed 1829 hrs. Am advised by Windows they have a fault and msg. remains unread.
Desperate to learn contents, even if abusive. Regret unable to respond until these are known.

eye say again:

Sorry about that - trained-soldier; (Cartav)
(the laptop keyboard doesn't match my fingers and I just didn't check properly before transmitting,
the edit-after key was a boon!)
spoiled your punch line!!

After the cooperation exercise ( Leopard Star 2 ) with the 75 Royal Engineers......
a graduation photo with the 75 RE and my german soldiers from the 1 German Tank Batallion from Holzminden, 100 Pioneer Regiment from Minden and Heavy Pioneer Regiment 130 from Minden.

I have so many new british comrades/friends......you´re welcome Lads.

Anglo German Engineer Bridging Regiment to be operational in Minden by 2023.  Equipped with the M3 bridging rig the present constellation has integrated well and the British and German soldiers (male and female) are competent in each other's job.
A further 180 BR soldiers are to join the Pionierbataillon 130, a permanent liaison officer is to be embedded in the German HQ Staff.  
On current plans the soldiers will commute daily to the Bundeswehr Barracks in  Minden and will live in British Barracks in Sennelager - families will live on a Married Quarters estate with the usual Garrison amenities - shopping, medical, social support, schools, BFBS TV and Radio, and a British Legion Club.

1 October 2021

The new German/British Engineer Bridging Battalion  130 (deutsch-britisch Pionierbrückenbataillon 130) officially formed as a unique two nation unit containing 23 Amph Engr Sqn RE at Minden.  The official language of the new unit is English, and the soldiers will be trained together and exercise their bridge building skills together.

27 years after the British withdrew from Minden they are back and in the Herzog von Braunschweig Kaserne with the Bundeswehr and their M3 Amphibious Bridging rigs.  
(The photo is at the German Army bridging site on the R. Weser south of the town and adjacent to the B65 road which crosses the road on a high level bridge)

https://www.mt.de/lokales/minden/Minden-spricht-wieder-Englisch-Gemeinsames-Pionierbataillon-aufgestellt-23101237.html

https://www.bundeswehr.de/en/organization/army/news/strongertogether-minden-s-first-royal-engineer-5095110

This is wishful thinking, but maybe this could be the thin edge of the wedge.

and 1 year after formation the Weser still looks cold:

https://www.facebook.com/britisharmygermany/videos/1314291505981616
Lifted from BFBS 7 Nov 22

British Army Germany  · “Building Bridges - Strengthening interoperability”British and German soldiers from Minden-based German-British Amphibious Engineer Battalion 130 took part in a capability demonstration in Ingolstadt for NATO allies and European partners. The Battalion, including British soldiers from 23 Amphibious Engineer Squadron RE, deployed their M3 amphibious rigs and other engineer equipment by rail, the first time for many personnel who quickly learned the skills under the watchful eye of trained movement specialists. Captain Henry Brown, Operations Officer for the Battalion emphasised the multi-national role of the demonstration. “It was a great opportunity for us to deploy our equipment by rail, the first time we have done this in a while, so re-learning that capability was good. The Battalion has deployed with two amphibious Squadrons and provides an opportunity, not just to showcase our capability but to train alongside our allies and partners. ”The Battalion was officially formed on 1 Oct 2021 but joint training happened before then. “23 Amph Engr Sqn is now integrated into the Battalion and we think we have introduced our British flavour into our operations. (23 Amph are accn in Talbot Bks Sennelager - where the Fd Amb was!) Language differences can still be a challenge here and there but on the water we act as one entity with adoptive hand signal and other procedures.” Both nations operate the M3 rig which is used individually as a ferry or joined together to create a bridge for military vehicles to cross, including Main Battle Tanks and other heavy equipment. The UK and Germany are the only nations within NATO to have the bridging capability.
AND people in Herford, Bad O, Minden and as far as Bückeburg are receiving BFBS Radio again!