Revolutionising our management of heritage on the Defence estate

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Archaeology, Defence Estate, Historic environment
DIO archaeologist Guy Salkeld is pictured in front of a trench under excavation at Flower's Barrow on Lulworth Trainingn Area. He is smiling enthusiastically.

The MOD has a rich and diverse historic environment on its UK and overseas estate, containing many thousands of historic buildings and archaeological sites. As the guardian of these valuable heritage assets, DIO is responsible for their stewardship, a key …

The eagle has landed: rare bird returns to Lulworth Ranges

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Defence Training Estate (DTE), Environment and Ecology, Lulworth Training Area
A photo of a white-tailed eagle mid-flight. The eagle has large, rectangular like wings with frayed tips. It has a brown plumage with a pale head and white tail.

The white-tailed eagle or sea eagle is Britain’s largest bird of prey, and was once widespread along the south coast of England before being driven to extinction by human persecution. To restore this lost species, Forestry England and the Roy …

Putting BATUS to bed: how we prepare the British Army’s Canada estate for the winter

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: BATUS, British Army, Canada
A photo showing a dawn sunrise on the Suffield Military Training Area. Against the dim light can be seen the outlines of several armoured vehicles and some fenced brick buildings.

The British Army Training Unit Suffield (BATUS) in Canada is home to one of the largest training estates that the British Army operates on, and it is used to deliver some of the most complex and testing training exercises that …

Military training at Penhale Training Area helps restore vital sand dune habitats

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Biodiversity, British Army, Conservation, Defence Training Estate (DTE), Environment and Ecology, Explosive Ordnance Clearance, Military Training, Penhale Training Area

  I’m a Reservist with the British Army’s 232 Port Squadron, 165 Port and Maritime Regiment Royal Logistic Corps (RLC), and I recently volunteered for the Penhale Dunes Dynamic Dunescape support exercise as I wanted to contribute to a unique …

Transforming the British Army estate in Belize

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: BATSUB, Belize, British Army
The Sailfish Club, a single-story building with cream-coloured brickwork and a sloped green roof. In front of it is a grass lawn.

DIO’s overseas teams are constantly working to support the training requirements of our Armed Forces in locations across the globe. In Belize, we’re responsible for maintaining the British Army Training Support Unit Belize (BATSUB) estate, which has recently benefited from …

Supporting Exercise Cerberus in Germany: All in a day’s work

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: British Army, Explosive Ordnance Clearance, Germany, Military Training, Sennelager
a military vehicle with two soldiers in the turret driving past at speed

Exercise Cerberus 22 was the Army’s largest and most ambitious Field Army exercise in Europe for a decade. With 3,500 soldiers and 800 vehicles involved the exercise provided the opportunity to test the five different Brigade Headquarters within the Warfighting …

A new start for facilities management on overseas sites 

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Commercial, Facilities Management, Gibraltar
Aerial view of Gibraltar, surrounded by sea on three sides. The Rock forms the backdrop with buildings in the foreground to the end of the headland.

Today marks the start of the first of a new suite of contracts to provide key services for the UK Armed Forces on overseas Ministry of Defence (MOD) bases.   We awarded the £155 million contract, which provides maintenance work, repairs, …

When your heart is in the country: understanding what makes the training estate tick

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Salisbury Plain Training Area, Training Estate Public Safety, Working at DIO
An old and damaged armoured vehicle is on the left of the image, with its tracks up on some rubble which is more prominent to the right of the image. Behind it is a large two storey building made of breeze blocks with shuttered windows.

Having recently joined DIO as a Campaigns and Marketing Officer in our Communications team, one of my main responsibilities is to work on our Training Estate Public Safety (TEPS) campaign.  Being new to DIO and the Ministry of Defence as …

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: managing waste on the UK Defence Training Estate

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Climate Change, Defence Training Estate (DTE), Environment and Ecology, Landmarc, Sustainability

  Recycle Week is back! This year it’s all about ‘getting real’ and providing clarity about recycling. Penny Arnold, a Team Supervisor at Landmarc, explains how waste is managed on the UK Defence Training Estate. Recycle Week in a nutshell …