Home Command, previously Personnel and Support Command, is a personnel support and UK operations command of the British Army. The post of Commander PSC previously replaced that of Adjutant-General to the Forces, and then had British Isles responsibilities, including Support Command and civil contingencies tasks, added to it.
Responsibilities
In 2015 the post of the Army's Adjutant-General to the Forces was eliminated, and re-designated Commander Personnel and Support Command. In April 2016, Personnel and Support Command was renamed as Home Command. Headquarters Home Command is located at Montgomery House in Aldershot and provides the Army’s personnel and institutional support. It assumed responsibility for the delivery elements of the Adjutant General’s portfolio: recruiting; individual training ; career management and postings. The Command therefore includes the Military Secretary’s Organisation and the Army Personnel Centre, the Army Recruiting and Training Division and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Home Command also includes Regional Command to provide the Army’s institutional support, including: civil engagement, cadets, Firm Base and Garrisons, Recovery Capability, welfare, and veterans, including the Regular Reserve. In summary, it "provides personnel and institutional support to the Army." In mid-2018 Home Command consisted of Regional Command, London District, the Army Recruiting and Training Division, the Army Personnel Centre, and Sandhurst Group. In early 2017 there were 155 military and 511 civilian personnel making up the Army Personnel Centre. Later, Army Recruiting and Training Division was renamed as Recruiting and Initial Training Command.
Standing Joint Commander (UK)
Commander Home Command is also the Standing Joint Commander responsible for the planning and execution of civil contingency operations within the UK landmass and territorial waters during any required Military Aid to the Civil Authorities. HQ SJC is Defence’s operational headquarters responsible for resilience operations and contingency planning in support of the civil authorities in the UK. This headquarters was formed in 2004, with the then Commander-in-Chief, Land Forces as the SJC. In the intervening years the post was downgraded to a lieutenant general. When Personnel Support Command was established in 2015, it was decided that the role of SJC Commander was to transfer to Commander PSC in Aldershot. In due course PSC became Home Command. However, military and civilian personnel remained in Andover, thereby separating the Commander from his Headquarters. The Army Reserve 's Civil Contingency Reaction Forces, broken down by regional brigade, were intended to be a useful tool to provide support to civil authorities. A total of £1.8 million per year was allocated to the Civil Contingency Reaction Force between 2002 and March 2009 to fund role-specific training. But the CCRF was never mobilised, primarily because regular forces have been able to respond to crises in a shorter timescale, and a House of Commons answer on 5 November 2009 said that the concept had been discontinued. The focus was placed instead on a "framework of Joint Regional Liaison Officers and Brigade Reinforcement Teams to ensure effective liaison between regional army headquarters, local authorities and the emergency services." Since 2017, HQ SJC has been at Montgomery House, Aldershot. It is militarily responsible for directing Operation Temperer anti-terrorist guard deployments, if ordered. , HQ SJC is organizing military aid to the civil authorities to support the British government's response to the 2020 coronavirus epidemic in the United Kingdom, for example in the process of establishing the NHS Nightingale Hospitals. It will be responsible, in that role, for the COVID Response Force.
