Organization
- 1st Battalion, Royal Gurkha Rifles (1994- ); formed by the amalgamation of the 1st Bn, 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles and 1st Bn, 6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles.
- 2nd Battalion, Royal Gurkha Rifles (1994- ); formed by renaming the 1st Bn, 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles.
- 3rd Battalion, Royal Gurkha Rifles (1994–1996); formed by renaming the 1st Bn, 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles. Amalgamated with the 2nd Bn, Royal Gurkha Rifles in 1996 as part of run down of British forces in Hong Kong.
The two battalions of the RGR are formed as light role infantry; they are not equipped with either armoured or wheeled vehicles. One battalion is based at Shorncliffe, near Folkestone in Kent as part of 52 Infantry Brigade, and is available for deployment to most areas in Europe and Africa. The other is based at the British garrison in Brunei as part of Britain's commitment to maintaining a military presence in SE Asia. The two battalions rotate in each role, usually for three years at a time.
As part of the restructuring of the infantry, the UK-based battalion was transferred from 2 Infantry Brigade to 52 Infantry Brigade, to be given a more mainstream role. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (5 SCOTS), the UK based RGR battalion will rotate as part of 16 Air Assault Brigade—it will spend five years with this formation, followed by two years as a light infantry battalion with 52 Brigade. 2RGR will take on this role for the first time in 2010.
The proximity to Afghanistan has meant that the Brunei based battalion has been called upon to deploy as part of the British force. Twice during its most recent Brunei posting the 2nd Battalion was deployed as the Afghanistan Roulement Infantry Battalion, while the 1st Battalion deployed as part of 52 Infantry Brigade in late 2007. During this tour, Cornet HRH Prince Henry of Wales was attached for a period to the 2RGR battlegroup as a Forward Air Controller.
Read more about this topic: Royal Gurkha Rifles
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