The Rifles | |
---|---|
Active | 2007 – present |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Branch | British Army |
Type | Rifles |
Role | 1st Battalion—Light Infantry 2nd Battalion—Light Infantry 3rd Battalion—Mechanised Infantry 5th Battalion—Armoured Infantry 6th Battalion—Light Infantry 7th Battalion—Armoured Infantry 8th Battalion–Light Infantry |
Size | Seven battalions |
Part of | Light Division |
Garrison/HQ | RHQ—Winchester 1st Battalion—Dhekelia 2nd Battalion—Lisburn 3rd Battalion—Edinburgh 5th Battalion—Bulford 6th Battalion—Exeter 7th Battalion—Reading 8th Battalion–Bishop Auckland |
Motto(s) | "Celer et Audax" (Latin) "Swift and Bold" |
Colours | Rifle Green |
March | Quick: "Mechanised Infantry" Double Fast: "Keel Row/Road to the Isles" Slow: "Old Salamanca" |
Commanders | |
Colonel in Chief | Queen Camilla |
Colonel Commandant | Lieutenant-General Thomas Copinger-Symes[1] |
Insignia | |
Tactical Recognition Flash | |
Arm Badge | Croix de Guerre From Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry |
Abbreviation | RIFLES |
The Rifles is an infantry regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of four Regular battalions and three Reserve battalions. Each Regular battalion was formerly an individual battalion of one of the two large regiments of the Light Division (with the exception of the 1st Battalion, which is an amalgamation of two individual regiments). Since formation, the regiment has been involved in the later stages of the Iraq War and in the War in Afghanistan.