Page 5 - Bugle Spring 2025

FOREWORD
FOREWORD
By The Colonel Commandant Lieutenant General Tom Copinger-Symes CBE
With 2025 now upon us, tempo across
all pillars of The Rifles is high, but the
environment remains rich with opportunity
as well as threat. Global and national
events have obviously played a big part
in this. Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine
slogs on. Many of us watched-on as the
Assad regime in Syria fell suddenly in
December. Despite green shoots of peace
in the Israel-Hamas conflict, the ceasefire
remains fragile and regional stability in the
Middle East continues to sit on a knife-edge.
Much of the world went to the polls this
year, including our own General Election
in the summer, and the new government’s
Strategic Defence Review will report later
this year. At that stage we will have a
clearer sense of any implications for us as
a Regiment and I will communicate that
as proactively as I can. Obviously, we will
also be involved in the discussions but that
will be behind closed doors. Needless to
say, as a Regiment we will continue our
tradition of leading change across the Army
and Defence. Amongst all this turbulence,
whether operational or organisational, I
am proud that we are at the forefront of the
nation’s response to these conflicts and
Riflemen are maintaining our reputation
for operational excellence and innovative
thought.
In this edition of The Bugle, you’ll get a
sense of the scale of the contribution that we
make to the defence of our nation - whether
directly in the regular and reserve pillars, or
through our broader regimental family as
veterans and cadets and in the community
pillar. Our regular and reserve Riflemen have
been deployed overseas, across the Middle
East, Cyprus, Kenya, Morocco, France and
Estonia. In the UK they have been training
Ukrainian troops to defend their nation. Our
cadets were magnificent at the Rifles Cadet
Cup in September, showcasing the talent in
the eighteen thousand-plus youngsters who
wear our cap-badge. And we’ve received
tireless support from our families and veterans’
association - day-in, day-out - providing the
helping-hand we all sometimes need, whether
still serving or not.
As a Regiment, it is the sum of these parts
that make us the exceptional family that we
are and which will continue to propel us from
success to success.
Thank you for your incredible efforts in
2024, whichever pillar of the regiment you
fall in to. It has been another productive and
happy year for The Rifles, and you’ve yet again
demonstrated the professionalism, innovation,
imagination and energy for which we are
respected across our Armed Forces.
Swift and Bold.
It has been
another
productive
and happy
year
RIFLES The Bugle 5
RIFLES The Bugle 5