1st Battalion, The Rifles | |
---|---|
Active | 1 February 2007 – |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | British Army |
Type | Light Infantry |
Size | Battalion |
Part of | 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team |
Garrison/HQ | Beachley Barracks, Chepstow |
Motto(s) | Swift and Bold |
Colours | Rifle Green |
March | Quick: Mechanised Infantry Double Past: Keel Row/Road to the Isles Slow: Old Salamanca |
Commanders | |
Colonel Commandant | General Sir Nicholas Parker KCB CBE |
Insignia | |
Tactical Recognition Flash | |
Arm Badge | Croix de Guerre From Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry |
Abbreviation | 1 RIFLES |
1st Battalion, The Rifles (1 RIFLES) is a light infantry battalion of The Rifles under the command of 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team. [1] [2]
The battalion formed on 1 February 2007 as part of 52 Infantry Brigade, merging the single battalions of the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment and the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment. [3] The battalion then moved in August 2007, to its permanent home of Beachley Barracks at Chepstow. [4]
From 2008 to 2012, it was attached to 3 Commando Brigade as the fourth manoeuvre unit of the brigade alongside the three battalion sized commando units of the Royal Marines. [5]
From March 2020, 1 RIFLES was deployed throughout Wales on Operation Rescript, supporting the UK's efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic. The battalion helped install hospital beds at Dragon's Heart Hospital, a temporary critical care hospital for COVID-19. [6]
The battalion is currently based in Dhekelia, British Forces Cyprus until 2025. 1 Rifles will return to Chepstow in the summer of 2025 to take on a new role as a Light Mechanised Battalion driving Foxhound vehicles. Towards the end of the decade, 1 Rifles will move to new build facilities at Caerwent Barracks. [7]