Page 16 - The Rifles Bugle Autumn 2019

YOUR REGIMENTAL
HEADQUARTERS UPDATE Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Peter Balls OBE, Regimental Secretary
Little is known of what your Regimental Headquarters (RHQ) is doing throughout the year to support the Regiment but I can assure you that it is always busy. The RHQ has varying degrees of
responsibility for each of the five pillars of our Regiment:
This illustration highlights the significant size of The Rifles and indicates the tremendous opportunities that being such a large and collegiate Regiment provide. Making sure that each of the pillars is appro- priately supported and that their combined effort is synchronised to ensure the growth or sustainability of The Rifles are the key outputs of Regimental Headquarters.
The RHQ takes its Army taskings from Headquarters Infantry in Warminster and Regimental direction from the Colonel Commandant and his RIFLES Council. RHQ has evolved since The Rifles was formed in 2007. It now has a central hub of 15 people (a mix of Civil Servants and Volunteers) deliv- ering the core outputs of Communications, Finance, Welfare, Heritage, Cadets, Associations and Officer Recruiting.
The central hub in Winchester is now supported by 6 Regional Offices (London/London, South/ Winchester, West/Taunton, South West/Exeter, Midlands/Shrewsbury and North/Pontefract), each comprised of 2 staff; and we have retained clerical staff in Bodmin and Durham too. These 6 Regional Offices synchronise the Regimental activity of the five pillars of the Regiment within their respective regions, noting that around 40% of all new Regular Riflemen that join The Rifles are attracted to the Regiment from cities and counties outside our historical footprint – which when combined with the spread of our battalions across the UK means that The Rifles is truly a national Regiment offering unmatched opportunity. This reality reflects a combi- nation of having Regular Battalions permanently located across the UK; a wide and overlapping Reserve and Cadet footprint across much of England; the popularity, strength and contemporary appeal of our brand; and the offer and opportunities that cannot currently be matched elsewhere in the Infantry.
Figure 1
This is what we do...
and who we are...
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14 REGIMENTAL HEADQUARTERS UPDATE
THE RIFLES