Page 10 - The Bugle 2018

8 RIFLES IS TESTAMENT TO THE STRENGTH OF THE REGIMENT’S BINDING ROOTS
Last year I used my Directive for the Regiment as the Foreword to The Bugle. This year I shall use the three objectives from the Directive as a framework to review the past year.
Realise the potential of every Rifleman and maximise the opportunity of being a large Regiment.
The formation of 8 RIFLES on 1 November 2017 is clear evidence of the Army maximizing the oppor- tunities that come with a large Regiment. As our new Reserve Battalion of the North and Midlands, 8 RIFLES is testament to the strength of the Regiment’s binding roots to the communities of the North East, Yorkshire and West Midlands. Paired with 2 RIFLES and at over half of its established strength on Formation Day and now growing fast, the future of 8 RIFLES is assured and it is proper recognition of the success, reputation and health of the Regiment as a whole.
While there is still work to be done to realize the potential of every Rifleman there are two remarkable
achievements this year that deserve attention. First, The Rifles now has seven serving Regular Late Entry Lieutenant Colonels. Most readers will understand how competitive it is to rise through the ranks to the very top of the pyramid. So this achievement is genuine testament to the opportunity that good career management within a large Regiment can deliver. Likewise the selection of three Command Serjeant Majors (Field Army, Force Troops Command and RIFLES), the success of our officers, and some outstanding individual results at the Infantry Battle School and Cambrian Patrol Competition all acknowledge the potential that opportunity, variety and a forward looking ethos can generate.
Exploit the range of modern roles to enhance the Regiment’s reputation for tactical innovation and forward thinking.
With RIFLES battalions in every Infantry role, less Air Assault, there have been abundant opportunities this year to exploit and demonstrate the Regiment’s reputation for tactical innovation and forward thinking.
It is always invidious to differentiate between the contributions of our battalions, but as an example I shall highlight:
• The manner in which 1 RIFLES conducted their successful Battle Group exercise in Kenya as well as executing an impressive range of concurrent small-scale training and operational missions.
• 2 RIFLES conduct of operations in Iraq while simultaneously combating elephant poachers in Gabon and later guarding the London Royal Palaces in 2018.
• 3 RIFLES also excelling on their Battle Group exercise in Kenya and converting to its new STRIKE role, while winning the Army Cross Country, and being runners up in the Army Boxing Competitions.
• 4 RIFLES pilot of the new Specialized Infantry Battalion role and now having some of our best Riflemen selected from across the Regiment persistently deployed in the Middle East and North Africa.
• 5 RIFLES drawing significant international praise as the first Battle Group to deploy on the NATO enhanced Forward Presence task in Estonia.
• The achievements of our three Reserve Battalions who are highly rated as being amongst the best-recruited and trained units in the Army’s Reserve.
Capitalise on the five pillars to sustain the Regiment and build esprit de corps, ensuring full manning.
Ensuring full manning has been challenging this year, largely as a consequence of some systemic problems within the Army’s Recruiting Group. These are being given due Army attention, but it is
FOREWORD
by The Colonel Commandant,The Rifles
8 FOREWORD
THE RIFLES