Royal Australian Regiment
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
The Royal Australian Regiment (RAR) is the main regular infantry formation in the Australian Army. The regiment consists of six separate battalions:
- 1st Battalion (1 RAR)
- 2nd Battalion (2 RAR)
- 3rd (Parachute) Battalion (3 RAR)
- 4th (Commando) Battalion (4 RAR)
- 5th/7th (Mechanised) Battalion (5/7 RAR)
- 6th Battalion (6 RAR)
1 RAR, 2 RAR and 6 RAR are light infantry units.
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History
RAR has its origins in the three battalions of the 34th Brigade, raised in late 1945 — from soldiers in other units of the Second Australian Imperial Force — to form the body of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan. In 1947, it was decided that the unit would be the army's first ever standing, regular infantry formation (see Australian Army). The brigade was renamed The Australian Regiment in 1948, with the "Royal" prefix being granted the following year.
The regiment has served in several major conflicts, including the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
Decorations from the United States
1 RAR, 3 RAR and 6 RAR have all been awarded US military decorations for service alongside US troops; 1 RAR received the Meritorious Unit Commendation for its service in Vietnam, while 3 RAR received the Distinguished Unit Citation following the Battle of Kapyong during the Korean War (an honour it shares with the 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry). D Company 6 RAR also received the Distinguished Unit Citation, this time in Vietnam at the Battle of Long Tan; although the respective battle honours are borne by the whole regiment, the three citations awarded by the United States are held solely by the battalions that received them, and are displayed as streamers on the respective regimental colours of those battalions.
In 1988, during the Australian bicentennial celebrations, a detachment from 1 RAR mounted the guard at Buckingham Palace in London, the first Australian unit to do so since the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
In 1993, 1 RAR served with distinction in the Baidoa district of Somalia and had several firefights with armed groups.
Battle Honours
| Korea | Vietnam |
| Sariwon | Long Tan |
| Yongyn | Bien Hoa |
| Chongju | Coral-Balmoral |
| Pakchon | Hat Dich |
| Uijongbu | Binh Ba |
| Chuan-Ni | Vietnam 1965-72 |
| Moehwa-San | |
| Kapyong | |
| Kowang-San | |
| The Samichan | |
| Korea 1950-53 |
Affiliations
The Royal Australian Regiment is affiliated to a number of other Commonwealth regiments:
- Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
- 1st Bn, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment
- Royal Malay Regiment
- Brigade of Gurkhas
Individual battalions of the RAR also have affiliations:
- 1st Battalion - Grenadier Guards
- 2nd Battalion - Coldstream Guards
- 3rd Battalion - Scots Guards, Queen's Royal Hussars
- 4th Battalion - Irish Guards
- 5th/7th Battalion - Welsh Guards, The Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons)
See Also
Non US Winners of US gallantry awards
External Links
- 1 RAR Meritorious Unit Commendation (http://www.vvaa.org.au/1rar.htm)
- 3 RAR Distinguished Unit Citation (http://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/pow/korea/3rar_citation.htm)
- 6 RAR Distinguished Unit Citation (http://www.vvaa.org.au/dcoy.htm)
