The Rifles

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The Rifles
Cap and back badges of The Rifles
Active	February 2007-
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Army
Type	Rifles
Role	1st Battalion - Commando Support 2nd Battalion - Light Role 3rd Battalion - Light Role 4th Battalion - Mechanised 5th Battalion - Armoured 6th Battalion - TA Reserve 7th Battalion - TA Reserve
Size	Seven battalions
Garrison/HQ	From 2009 (end of arms plot): 1st Battalion - Chepstow 2nd Battalion - Ballykinler 3rd Battalion - Edinburgh 4th Battalion - Bulford 5th Battalion - Paderborn, Germany
Motto	Swift and Bold
Colors	N/A
Commanders
Colonel in Chief	HRH The Duke of Edinburgh
Colonel Commandant	Lieutenant General RV Brims CBE DSO
Insignia
Arm Badge	Croix de Guerre From Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry

For the band The Rifles, see The Rifles (band). For the novel by William T. Vollmann, see The Rifles (novel).

The Rifles is a new British Army Regiment that will be created as a result of the Future Army Structure. Announced on 24 November 2005 by the MOD, The Rifles will be formed by the amalgamation of the Light Infantry and the Royal Green Jackets, along with the Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry and the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Light Infantry which will merge into a single battalion. This will bring the whole of the Light Division under a single cap badge.

The new regiment will have 5 regular and 2 Territorial Army Battalions.

1st Battalion, formed by the amalgamation of the Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry and the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Light Infantry
2nd Battalion, formed by the redesignation of the 1st Battalion, the Royal Green Jackets
3rd Battalion, formed by the redesignation of the 2nd Battalion, The Light Infantry
4th Battalion, formed by the redesignation of the 2nd Battalion, the Royal Green Jackets
5th Battalion, formed by the redesignation of the 1st Battalion, The Light Infantry
6th (V) Battalion, formed by the redesignation of the Rifle Volunteers
7th (V) Battalion, formed by the redesignation of the Royal Rifle Volunteers, minus the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment company, plus the Royal Green Jacket companies of the London Regiment

As a rifle regiment, a private soldier in The Rifles will be known as a Rifleman; the regiment will wear a standard rifle green beret. A number of golden threads will be brought into the new regiment from each of its founder regiments:

Croix de Guerre - the French Croix de Guerre ribbon awarded to the Devonshire Regiment in World War I, and subsequently worn by the Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry, will be worn on both sleeves of No. 1 and No. 2 dress.
Back Badge - the badge worn on the back of headdress that was awarded as an honour to the 28th Foot, and subsequently worn by the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Light Infantry will be worn on the forage cap and side hat, and on the shako of the regimental band and bugles.
Bugle Horn - the bugle horn badge of the Light Infantry will be the new regiment's cap badge.
Maltese Cross - the Maltese Cross of the Royal Green Jackets will be worn as a buckle on the cross belt, and will contain the regiment's representative battle honours. In accordance with the tradition of the Rifles, the regiment will not carry colours.
Black Buttons - the traditional black buttons of a rifle regiment will be worn on all forms of dress with the exception of combat dress.

The new regiment's five battalions will be given fixed roles - the 2nd and 3rd Battalions will be roled as light infantry, while the 4th and 5th Battalion will remain as mechanised and armoured infantry respectively. The 1st Battalion will be assigned to 3 Commando Brigade, where it will serve as a support battalion for the Royal Marines. It remains to be seen whether HM The Queen will grant The Rifles the honorific "Royal" at some point in the future. HRH The Duke of Edinburgh (Colonel-in-Chief, RGBWLI) will be the new regiment's Colonel-in-Chief, but each battalion will also have its own Royal Colonel:

1st Battalion, The Rifles	HRH The Duke of Kent (Colonel-in-Chief, DDLI)
2nd Battalion, The Rifles	HRH The Earl of Wessex
3rd Battalion, The Rifles	HRH Princess Alexandra, The Hon Lady Ogilvy (Colonel-in-Chief, LI)
4th Battalion, The Rifles	HRH The Duchess of Cornwall
5th Battalion, The Rifles	HRH The Countess of Wessex
6th (V) Battalion, The Rifles	HRH The Duke of Gloucester
7th (V) Battalion, The Rifles	HRH The Duchess of Gloucester

1 Alliances
2 Order of Precedence
3 See also
4 References

[edit] Alliances

Although no list of regimental alliances has been announced as yet, due to the Rifles not forming until February 2007, using the large regiments that have formed already as examples, it can be assumed that all of the current alliances of the four individual regiments will be carried into the Rifles.