Rhodesian Light Infantry

1st Battalion, Rhodesian Light Infantry
Emblem of the Rhodesian Light Infantry. The absence of the Queen's crown is evidence that this is the post-1970 pattern.
Active	1 February 1961 – 31 October 1980
Country	Rhodesia
Allegiance	United Kingdom (1961–65)  Rhodesia (1965–70)  Republic of Rhodesia (1970–79)  Zimbabwe Rhodesia (1979)  United Kingdom (1979–80)  Zimbabwe (1980)
Branch	Regular Army
Type	Infantry
Role	Commando
Size	Battalion
Part of	2 Brigade
Headquarters	Cranborne Barracks, Salisbury
Nickname(s)	The Saints The Incredibles
Motto(s)	Various; none official
Colours	Green and white
March	Quick: When the Saints Go Marching In Slow: The Incredibles
Mascot(s)	Cheetah
Anniversaries	1 February 1961 11 November 1965
Engagements	Rhodesian Bush War
Decorations	Freedom of the City of Salisbury 25 July 1975
Disbanded	31 October 1980
Commanders
First CO	Lt-Col J. S. Salt
Final CO	Lt-Col J. C. W. Aust
Notable commanders	Lt-Col G. P. Walls

The 1st Battalion, Rhodesian Light Infantry (1RLI), commonly The Rhodesian Light Infantry (RLI), was a regiment formed in 1961 at Brady Barracks (Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia) as a light infantry unit within the army of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Barely a year after its creation, it was relocated to Cranborne Barracks (Salisbury) where its headquarters remained for the rest of its existence. The Regiment became part of the Southern Rhodesian Army when the Federation dissolved at the start of 1964 and later that year reformed into a commando battalion — Rhodesia's equivalent of the 75th Ranger Regiment (United States).

After Rhodesia'sUnilateral Declaration of Independence on 11 November 1965, the RLI became one of the country's main counter-insurgency units during the Rhodesian Bush War, which pitted the government security forces against the rival guerrilla campaigns of Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) and Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA).

An all-white regiment, the RLI was made up wholly of professional soldiers until 1973, when capable conscripted national servicemen were first introduced. Foreign volunteers from across the world, many veterans of foreign conflicts, also joined and became a key part of the Regiment. The RLI was nicknamed "The Saints" or "The Incredibles", and regarded, through astounding success with both internal Fireforce operations in Rhodesia and external preemptive strikes against guerrillas based in Mozambique and Zambia, as one of the world's foremost exponents of counter-insurgency warfare.