The Rifles

The Rifles
Cap and Back badges of The Rifles
Active	1 February 2007 –
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Type	Rifles
Role	1st Battalion—Light Infantry 2nd Battalion—Light Infantry 3rd Battalion—Light Protected Mobility Infantry 4th Battalion—Specialised Infantry Battalion 5th Battalion—Armoured Infantry 6th Battalion—Army Reserve 7th Battalion—Army Reserve 8th Battalion - Army Reserve
Size	Eight battalions
Garrison/HQ	RHQ—Winchester 1st Battalion—Beachley Barracks, Gloucestershire 2nd Battalion—Thiepval Barracks, Lisburn 3rd Battalion—Dreghorn Barracks, Edinburgh 4th Battalion—New Normandy Barracks, Aldershot Garrison 5th Battalion—Ward Barracks, Bulford Camp 6th Battalion—Wyvern Barracks, Exeter 7th Battalion—Brock Barracks, Reading
Motto(s)	"Celer et Audax" (Latin) "Swift and Bold"
Colours	Rifle Green
March	Quick: Mechanised Infantry Double Past: Keel Row/Road to the Isles Slow: Old Salamanca
Commanders
Colonel in Chief	HRH The Duke of Edinburgh
Colonel Commandant	General Sir Nicholas Parker KCB CBE
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 five Regular and two (three from 2017) Reserve battalions, plus a number of companies in other Army Reserve battalions. Each battalion of The Rifles 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 combat operations, first in the later stages of the Iraq War and in the War in Afghanistan.

The Rifles was created as a result of the Future Army Structure. Under the original announcement, the Light Division would have remained essentially unchanged, with the exception of the Light Infantry gaining a new battalion through the amalgamation of two other regiments, and both gaining a reserve battalion from within the Territorial Army (TA) as it was then called. However, on 24 November 2005, the Ministry of Defence announced that the four regiments would amalgamate into a single five-battalion regiment. The Rifles was formed on 1 February 2007 by the amalgamation of the four Light Infantry and Rifle Regiments of the Light Division:

The Rifles was formed to serve as the county regiment of the following counties:

The 2nd Battalion, the 3rd Battalion and the 4th Battalion were all deployed in Basra in Iraq during some of the worst fighting of the Iraq War including the withdrawal from Basra Palace in September 2007.

The 1st Battalion undertook a tour in Afghanistan between October 2008 and April 2009 mentoring the Afghan National Army in Helmand Province. The 5th Battalion was one of the last British Army units to leave Iraq in May 2009. The 4th Battalion provide reinforcement cover for the elections in Afghanistan and to take part in Operation Panther's Claw in Summer 2009. At the same time the 2nd Battalion was deployed to Sangin and was relieved in due course by the 3rd Battalion. The 2nd and 5th battalions of the Rifles returned for a six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan serving in the Nahri Saraj District in October 2011.