The Royal Rifle Volunteers are a Territorial Army, infantry battalion based upon a standard TA infantry battalion.
Unlike a regular battalion the resources of the unit are split up. The battalion is part of 145 Home Counties Brigade,and has a presence in all of the home counties, with 4 companies. These are namely
To keep interest in these units without forcing the people to travel long distances, the
Support Company (D Coy) was disbanded and thrown to the all the local regiments. A Coy has responsibility for the battalion's
Anti-Armour capability in
Milian. B Has
Recce duties, and C Company is Responsible for the
Machine Gun Element. E Company is responsible for the manning of the battalions
mortar platoon, equipped with the fine
81mm mortar system.
What makes the Royal Rifle Volunteers interesting is their multi unit make up. They can't even march together, since the Royal Green Jackets are part of the Light Division, and perform Light Infantry Foot Drill, Whereas, the rest of the battalion perform what is technically known as heavy infantry foot drill. There is also a great amount of historical conflict between the various regiments, most notably between the Princess Of Wales Royal Regiment and the Royal Green Jackets. Since the PWRR can trace back their history to the 15th Century, and are the senior infantry regiment of the line there is quite a lot of dislike for "the Jackets", who are whippersnappers, being formed in the 19th Century. Also The RGBW and PWRR were part of a larger formation known as The Wessex Regiment, and when the Wessex Regiment was disbanded, the RGJ were seemingly brought in from outside, causing more friction.
Since the RRV are made up of several different regiments, there are no real regimental traditions. For example, Marches
Princess of Wales Royal Regiment
The Royal Glostershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment
The Royal Green Jackets
The Royal Green Jackets, performing the awkward, if not highly impressive 140 paces a minute
marching pace, do not integrate well with the rest. Indeed the Sight of a Royal Green Jackets
Sgt Major giving
drill instructions to the
PWRR and
RGBW is a sight I will not forget - chaos!
However, this motley crew of mixed regiments have managed to win the reputation of being one of the best infantry regiments of the Territorial Army - no mean feat - given the competition. Lately they have deployed on 2 week exercises, with half a day's preperation in the Ukraine and Lithuania - both of which, any regular infantry battalion would be lucky to pull off correctly (with the exception of those forces on a 72 hr notice to move, like the Para's). Additionally, they have provided troops for peacekeeping in Afghanistan, and have deployed troops to fight the war in Iraq. Since the regiment was formed in 1999 it has achieved a lot, and its continued existence will be based upon its ability to continue in such a professional manner.