British Army Training Support Unit Belize

History

Belize, formerly British Honduras, gained independence from Britain in September 1981. Britain retained a deterrent force, British Forces Belize, to protect Belize from the threat of invasion from Guatemala, which claims Belize as its own. British Army Training Support Unit Belize (BATSUB) was formed in 1994 as a successor to British Forces Belize, which had been structured in 1989 with units including the 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards, an Armoured Reconnaissance Troop, a Field Battery of the Royal Artillery, a Field Squadron of the Royal Engineers, and various other army, navy, and air force elements. In 2010, the UK government announced it would mothball the facility as part of the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, but by 2015 reports indicated increased usage. In November 2015, the UK government announced it was re-establishing the facility under the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review; some Belizean media reports linked this decision to rising tensions between Belize and Guatemala. Under the Integrated Review paper announced in March 2021, Belize is to become a 'land hub', with personnel potentially deployed more regularly and for longer durations. The unit is currently commanded by a lieutenant colonel.