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http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/...277879,00.html

The British Army's operation in Northern Ireland will come to an end at midnight tonight.

Operation Banner is the longest continuous campaign in the Army's history, lasting 38 years.

British troops were first sent to Northern Ireland in 1969, after clashes between Catholics and Protestants.

The end sounds the death knell for the Home Service Battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment (RIR).

The 3,000 full and part-time soldiers in the three battalions are being formally signed off in a move costing the Government more than £250m.

Full-time soldiers have been awarded a special untaxed payment of £28,000, immediate pension and redundancy depending on their years.

The regiment, and the Ulster Defence Regiment which preceded it, was presented with the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross by the Queen at a ceremony in Belfast last autumn.

Praising their "uncommon courage and conviction" over more than three decades of continuous service - during which more than 200 members were murdered - the Queen said: "Your contribution to peace and stability in Northern Ireland is unique."

The name of the RIR will live on through its mainland-based, regular Army, 1st battalion, which has served with distinction in both Iraq and Afghanistan in recent years.

the gov is stupid to do this... they will b back in a few years