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On 1 August 2007 Op BANNER, the military
support to the civilian police in Northern Ireland ended and despite
recent activity by resurgent Irish Republican factions the Province
remains relatively peaceful.
The worst year for terrorist violence was in 1972 when 131 service
personnel were killed and 578 injured. At one stage in 1972 there
were over 30,000 service personnel in the Province supported by
another 10,000 police. Overall 763 members of the armed forces and
303 members of the security forces lost their lives as a result of
the violence in Northern Ireland.
During early 2011 there were approximately 3,900 UK service
personnel in the Province of whom over 96 per cent were from the
Army. The core of the peacetime garrison is centred around
facilities at Aldergrove, Antrim, Ballykinler, Holywood, Lisburn and
Magilligan.
On 1 January 2009 HQ Northern Irend was disbanded and HQ 38 (Irish)
Brigade (Thiepval Barracks, Lisburn) became the Province’s single
headquarters under the overall command of HQ 2nd Division in
Edinburgh.
Some units stationed in the Province are under the command of HQ 19
Light Brigade for operations worldwide.
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