Royal 22nd Regiment
| Royal 22e Régiment | |
|---|---|
Cap badge of The Royal 22e Régiment
|
|
| Active | 4 June 1869 - Present |
| Country |
 Canada
|
| Branch | Canadian Army |
| Type | Line Infantry |
| Role |
Mechanized Infantry (two battalions) Light Role Infantry/Paratroop (one battalion) Reserve (two battalions) |
| Size | Five battalions |
| Part of | Royal Canadian Infantry Corps |
| Garrison/HQ | Le quartier général – Quebec City 1st Bataillon – Valcartier 2nd Bataillon – Quebec City 3rd Bataillon – Valcartier 4th Bataillon – Laval 6th Bataillon – Saint-Hyacinthe |
| Nickname(s) | The Van Doos |
| Motto(s) | Je me souviens (I Remember) |
| March | Quick: Vive la Canadienne Slow: Marche lente du Royal 22e Régiment: La Prière en famille |
| Mascot(s) | Goat named Batisse X |
| Decorations |
|
| Commanders | |
| Colonel-in-Chief | Queen Elizabeth II |
| Colonel of the Regiment | Major-General Alain Forand, CMM, SC, MSC, CD |
| Insignia | |
| Plume | Red Left side of bearskin |
| Abbreviation | R22eR |
The Royal 22nd Regiment (R22R), or rather the Royal 22e Régiment) in both English and French correct usage, and colloquially in English The Van Doos (an anglicized pronunciation of the French for twenty-two, vingt-deux), or, in French, le Vingt-deuxième, is an infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. The mostly francophone regiment comprises three Regular Force battalions, two Primary Reserve battalions, and a band, making it the largest regiment in the Canadian Army. The "maison-mère" or home of the regiment is La Citadelle in Quebec City and is where the regimental museum is housed. The regimental headquarters is located in Quebec City, with all three of its regular battalions stationed at Canadian Forces Base Valcartier in Quebec. The regiment serves as the "local" infantry regiment for Quebec where it draws most of its recruits.
While the Royal 22e Régiment commemorates the history and traditions of the Canadian Regiment of Fencible Infantry from the War of 1812 (also carrying resultant battle honours from the War of 1812), the modern ancestor of the regiment was formed in the early days of the First World War as part of the British Army, when volunteers from all over Canada were being massed for training at Valcartier, Quebec, just outside Quebec City. The first contingent of 30,000 volunteers, which became the 1st Canadian Division of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, were grouped into numbered battalions, regardless of origin. The existing reserve regiments were not mobilized, due to the belief of the Defence Minister, Sam Hughes, that a new "efficient" structure was required. In the process, the new structure failed to create French-speaking units, such as those that had existed in the reserves. Over 1000 French-Canadian volunteers were scattered into different English-speaking units. This was not an oversight. Ontario (Hughes's political base) was in the process of forbidding teaching in French, or of French, in the school system (Regulation 17), causing outrage in French Canada and a lack of support for the war of the "King and country" that was perceived as seeking to destroy the Francophone community in Canada.
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Wikipedia