Royal Australian Regiment

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name=The Royal Australian Regiment


caption=Cap badge of the Royal Australian Regiment
dates=23 November 1948-
country=Australia
branch=Army
type=Line Infantry
command_structure=Royal Australian Infantry Corps
role=Mechanised Infantry (two battalions)
Motorised Infantry (two battalions)
Light Role Infantry (two battalions)
Paratroop (one battalion)
Commando (one battalion)
size= Eight battalions
current_commander=
garrison= 1st Battalion - Townsville
2nd Battalion - Townsville
3rd Battalion - Holsworthy
4th Battalion - Holsworthy
5th Battalion - Palmerston
6th Battalion - Enoggera
7th Battalion - Adelaide
8th/9th Battalion - Enoggera
ceremonial_chief=HM The Queen
(Royal Australian Infantry Corps)
ceremonial_chief_label=Colonel in Chief
colonel_of_the_regiment=Major General Jim Connolly, AO, CSC
colonel_of_the_regiment_label=Colonel Commandant
nickname=1st Battalion - "The Big Blue One"
2nd Battalion - "Men in Black"
3rd Battalion - "Old Faithful"
4th Battalion - "The Fighting Fourth"
5th Battalion - "The Tiger Bn"
7th Battalion - "The Pigs"
motto= "Duty First"
colors=3rd Battalion and 6th Battalion entitled to wear US PUC streamer on Regimental Colour; 1st Battalion entitled to US MUC streamer on Regimental Colour
identification_symbol=
identification_symbol_label=Unit Colour Patches
identification_symbol_2= [http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb309/hammersfan_01/Tartans/Australian.gifAustralian (2nd Bn and 7th Bn pipers kilts and plaids)]
[http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb309/hammersfan_01/Tartans/RoyalStewart.gifRoyal Stewart (3rd Bn pipers kilts and plaids)]
identification_symbol_2_label=Tartan
identification_symbol_4=RAR
identification_symbol_4_label=Abbreviation
march=Quick - "El Alamein" (Band); "Black Bear" (Pipes and Drums)
Slow - "Infantry Song"
mascot=1st Battalion - Shetland Pony "Septimus"
5th Battalion: Sumatran Tiger named "Quintus Secundus Sabre"
battles=
notable_commanders=Robert Nimmo (first commander)
anniversaries=The Royal Australian Regiment (RAR) is the parent regiment for regular infantry battalions of the Australian Army, making up the majority of the Royal Australian Infantry Corps.

Organisation

The regiment currently consists of eight battalions:
*1st Battalion (1 RAR) - Light Infantry
*2nd Battalion (2 RAR) - Light Infantry
*3rd Battalion (3 RAR) - Parachute Infantry
*4th Battalion (4 RAR) - Commando
*5th Battalion (5 RAR) - Mechanised Infantry
*6th Battalion (6 RAR) - Motorised Infantry
*7th Battalion (7 RAR) - Mechanised Infantry
*8th/9th Battalion (8/9 RAR) - Motorised Infantry

The Royal Australian Regiment is capable of providing five battlegroups for deployment. 1 Brigade can deploy two battlegroups, one of which comes from the RAR mechanised battalion, while the other is from the 1st Armoured Regiment.

At present (2007) there is a major re-organisation of the Australian Army in progress. The army wishes to operate six battalion groups within three brigades (one light, one motorised, and one mechanised). This has seen the formation of a new mechanised infantry battalion by breaking up the composite battalion of the 5th/7th Battalion (5/7 RAR), to re-form the 5th Battalion and 7th Battalion as separate formations on the RAR's establishment. A further light infantry/motorised battalion was formed on 31 October 2007 with the re-raising of the 8th/9th Battalion (8/9 RAR).

History

Formation of the Royal Australian Regiment

The Royal Australian Regiment had its origins in the 65th, 66th and 67th battalions which were raised in late 1945 from soldiers in other units of the Second Australian Imperial Force as part of the Australian contribution to the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan (these three battalions constituted the infantry component of the Australian 34th Brigade). In 1947, it was decided that these battalions would be the Australian Army's first ever standing, regular infantry units (see History of the Australian Army). The 65th, 66th and 67th battalions were regimented to form the Australian Regiment on 23 November 1948 and were re-designated the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the Australian Regiment respectively. The "Royal" prefix was granted on 3 October 1949.

The SAS Regiment owes its heritage to the RAR as it was formed as 1 SAS Coy, RAR in 1957.

Overseas deployments

The regiment has served in several major conflicts. In 1951, during the Korean War, 3 RAR, with the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry and supporting UN forces, defeated a whole division from the Chinese army, at the Battle of Kapyong.

In 1966, during the Vietnam War, two platoons from D Company 6 RAR, with support from other Australian, New Zealand and US forces, defeated a battalion-sized Viet Cong force, at the Battle of Long Tan. From 12 May - 6 Jun 1968, both 1 RAR and 3 RAR were involved in regimental sized enemy action against the NVA 7th Division during the 1968 Tet Offensive. For these actions, both battalions were awarded the battle honour 'Coral-Balmoral'.

In 1988, during the Australian bicentennial celebrations, a contingent drawn from the battalions of the Regiment under the command of LTCOL John Salter of 1RAR, supported by an Australian Army Band, was deployed as part of the Bicentennial celebrations to mount public duties at Buckingham Palace Windsor Castle, St James' Palace and the Tower of London, the first Australian troops to do so since the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

In 1993, 1 RAR served with distinction in the Baidoa district of Somalia and had several firefights with armed groups. In the course of four months, over 8311 tonnes of humanitarian aid was delivered in the Humanitarian Relief Sector (HRS) Baidoa which covered some 17,000 km². Further reading: 'A little bit of Hope' by LTCOL Bob Breen (Retd).

The Regiment provided almost all of the Australian combat units deployed to East Timor between 1999 and 2004. All the current battalions in the Regiment served at least one 6-month rotation to East Timor where they were responsible for securing the East Timorese-Indonesian border. 5/7 RAR achieved two notable firsts while deployed; firstly as the only major combat manoeuvre unit under NZ command (in previous conflicts NZ units generally operated under Australian command arrangements) and was the first RAR battalion to serve under UN command since the Korean War during the transition of UNTAET.

While the Royal Australian Regiment's only representation in the Australian contribution to the 2003 invasion of Iraq was a single commando platoon from 4 RAR, rifle companies from most of the Regiment's current battalions have been deployed to Baghdad to provide security for the Australian embassy. More significantly, a company from 5/7 RAR forms part of the Al Muthanna Task Group, with the second rotation of the Task Group being commanded by the headquarters of 5/7 RAR and the third rotation of the Task Group being commanded by 2 RAR.

Elements of 4 RAR were deployed to Afghanistan in 2005 as part of the Australian Special Forces Task Group.

In 2006 the 3 RAR Battlegroup and a company from 4 RAR were deployed to Timor Leste as part of Operation Astute. The role of this force is to restore order to the Timorese capital of Dili. Earlier in 2006 two rifle companies, one each from 1 RAR and 3 RAR, were deployed to the Solomon Islands on similar duties.

Reorganisation

Since 2005, the Australian Army has been re-organising using the Hardened and Networked Army concept. Initially, it was planned that, as part of the re-organisation, one of the then existing battalions would convert to a mechanised infantry formation. The 4th Battalion, being a specialist commando unit, would have been left as it was. In December 2005, it was announced that the 3rd Battalion will convert from its current parachute role to a mechanised battalion, and that it would move from Sydney to Adelaide by 2011. However, in August 2006, a further announcement was made that two new infantry battalions would be formed. The 5th/7th Battalion has de-linked into two separate battalions. The 5th Battalion will remain in Darwin, whilst the 7th Battalion will eventually relocate to Adelaide. Both battalions will remain in the mechanised role. The 3rd Battalion will convert to an ordinary light infantry battalion and relocate to Townsville. At the same time, it was announced that the 8th/9th Battalion would be reformed, likely to be in the motorised role. The 5th/7th Battalion conducted a de-linking parade on 3 December 2006, reforming as the 5th Battalion and 7th Battalion. The 5th Battalion reformed in a largely mature state, which included a company serving on operations in Iraq. The 7th Battalion reformed with a company on operations in Afghanistan and work continues to raise the remainder of the unit. The 8th/9th Battalion will be reformed in Enoggera on 31 Oct 2007 as part of the Enhanced Land Force plan.

Former battalions

* 2nd/4th Battalion (1973-1995)
* 5th/7th Battalion (Mechanised) (1973-2006)
* 8th Battalion (1966-1973)
* 9th Battalion (1967-1973)

Theatre and battle honours

* Sariwon, Yongyu, Chongju, Pakchon, Uijongbu, Chuan-Ni, Maehwa-San, Kapyong, Kowang-San, The Samichon, Korea 1950-53
* Long Tan, Bien Hoa, Coral-Balmoral, Hat Dich, Binh Ba, Vietnam 1965-72

Note: Not all theatre honours are displayed on battalion colours. The following Battle Honours are emblazoned upon each battalion's Regimental Colour:

Korea 1950-53, Maryang-San, Kapyong, Vietnam 1965-72, Long Tan, Coral-Balmoral.

Foreign military decorations

1 RAR, 3 RAR and 6 RAR have all been awarded US military decorations for service alongside US troops; 1 RAR received the Meritorious Unit Commendation for its service in Vietnam, while 3 RAR received the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation and United States Presidential Unit Citation formerly the Distinguished Unit Citation following the Battle of Kapyong during the Korean War (honours it shares with the 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry). D Company 6 RAR also received the Distinguished Unit Citation, this time in Vietnam at the Battle of Long Tan; although the respective battle honours are borne by the whole regiment, the three citations awarded by the United States are held solely by the battalions that received them, and are displayed as streamers on the respective regimental colours of those battalions.

*
* Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation
*

Music

The Royal Australian Regiment has a wide variety of regimental music. In addition to regimental quick and slow marches, each battalion has its own set of marches:

* Royal Australian Regiment - Quick: "El Alamein" (Band); "Black Bear" (Pipes and Drums); Slow: "Infantry Song"
* 1st Battalion - "Waltzing Matilda"
* 2nd Battalion - "Ringo" (Band); "Back in Black" (Pipes and Drums)
* 3rd Battalion - "Our Director" (Band); "Heilan Laddie" (Pipes and Drums)
* 4th Battalion - "Inverbrackie"
* 5th Battalion - "Dominique"
* 6th Battalion - "Spirit of Youth" (Band); "The Crusaders" (Pipes and Drums)
* 7th Battalion - "Australaise" (Band); "Cock o' the North" (Pipes and Drums)
* 8th/9th Battalion - "The Brown and Grey Lanyard"

Alliances

* - Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
* - 1st Bn, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment
* - Royal Malay Regiment
* - Brigade of Gurkhas
* - Grenadier Guards; 1st Bn
* - Coldstream Guards; 2nd Bn
* - Scots Guards; 3rd Bn
* - The Queens's Royal Hussars (Queen's Own and Royal Irish); 3rd Bn
* - Irish Guards; 4th Bn
* - Welsh Guards; 5th Bn
* - The Highlanders; 7th Bn
* - The Parachute Regiment; 8th/9th Bn

See also

*Non US Winners of US gallantry awards

External links

* [http://www.vvaa.org.au/1rar.htm 1 RAR Meritorious Unit Commendation]
* [http://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/pow/korea/3rar_citation.htm 3 RAR Distinguished Unit Citation]
* [http://www.vvaa.org.au/dcoy.htm 6 RAR Distinguished Unit Citation]