The formation of the Corps of Army Music was triggered by a defence review known as "Options for Change" in the early 1990s and followed a 1993 announcement by the Chief of the General Staff that the number of army bands was to be reduced from 69 to 30. The period saw the number of personnel from 2,000 to 1,100, with Lieutenant Colonel Roger Tomlinson of the Royal Military School of Music describing it as "a gloomy time for those of us in the military music business". The Queen signed a warrant on 13 August 1994 to allow the formation of the Corps of Army Music. All officers who were Directors of Music in the various Corps and Regiments and that all army musicians should transfer to the Corps of Army Music - now the newest and most junior corps in the army - on 1 September 1994.