All Topics  
3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment

 
3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
 
 
  Topics 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment Topic Home

The 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR) is an Australian parachute
Airborne forces

Airborne forces are military units, usually light infantry, set up to be moved by aircraft and 'dropped' into battle. Thus they can be placed behind enemy lines, and have an ability to deploy almost anywhere with little warning....
 battalion based in Sydney
Sydney

Sydney is the List of cities in Australia by population in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million . It is the List of Australian capital cities of New South Wales, and was the site of the first British Empire colony in Australia....
. 3 RAR was initially formed in 1945 as the Australian 67th Battalion and has seen active service in Japan, Korea, Malaya, South Vietnam and East Timor. 3 RAR will convert to a light infantry
Light infantry

Traditionally light infantry were soldiers whose job was to provide a skirmishing screen ahead of the main body of infantry, Harassment and delaying the enemy advance....
 battalion and relocate to Townsville
Townsville, Queensland

Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Australia, in the state of Queensland. Adjacent to the central section of the Great Barrier Reef, it is in the dry tropics region of Queensland....
 by 2011.

History
Formation
3 RAR was initially formed on 20 October 1945 as the 67th Battalion.






Discussion
Ask a question about '3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment'
Start a new discussion about '3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


The 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR) is an Australian parachute
Airborne forces

Airborne forces are military units, usually light infantry, set up to be moved by aircraft and 'dropped' into battle. Thus they can be placed behind enemy lines, and have an ability to deploy almost anywhere with little warning....
 battalion based in Sydney
Sydney

Sydney is the List of cities in Australia by population in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million . It is the List of Australian capital cities of New South Wales, and was the site of the first British Empire colony in Australia....
. 3 RAR was initially formed in 1945 as the Australian 67th Battalion and has seen active service in Japan, Korea, Malaya, South Vietnam and East Timor. 3 RAR will convert to a light infantry
Light infantry

Traditionally light infantry were soldiers whose job was to provide a skirmishing screen ahead of the main body of infantry, Harassment and delaying the enemy advance....
 battalion and relocate to Townsville
Townsville, Queensland

Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Australia, in the state of Queensland. Adjacent to the central section of the Great Barrier Reef, it is in the dry tropics region of Queensland....
 by 2011.

History


Formation


3 RAR was initially formed on 20 October 1945 as the 67th Battalion. The Battalion was intended for occupation duties in Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
 and was formed from volunteers from the 3rd, 6th, 7th and 11th Australian Divisions. The battalion was redesignated the 3rd Battalion of the Australian Regiment
Royal Australian Regiment

The Royal Australian Regiment is the parent regiment for regular infantry battalions of the Australian Army, making up the majority of the Royal Australian Infantry Corps....
 upon the Regiment's formation in November 1948. The 'Royal' prefix was appended in March 1949.

The 67th Battalion arrived in Japan as part of the Australian 34th Brigade
Australian 34th Brigade

The Australian 34th Brigade was an Australian Army brigade. The Brigade was formed in 1945 as part of the Australian contribution to the British Commonwealth Occupation Force and was later renamed the 1st Brigade ....
 in February 1946. As with the rest of the occupation force, the Battalion did not encounter any significant resistance or civil unrest. The Australian force in Japan was gradually downsized, with 3 RAR being the only Australian battalion left in the country at the outbreak of the Korean War
Korean War

The Korean War refers to a period of military conflict between North Korea and South Korea regimes, with major hostilities lasting from June 25, 1950 until the armistice signed on July 27, 1953....
.

Korea


3 RAR was rapidly committed as Australia's main land force contribution to the United Nations
United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, Social change, human rights and achieving world peace....
 forces in the Korean War. After a period of intensive training and reinforcement in Japan, the battalion arrived in South Korea
South Korea

South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea , ), often referred to as Korea and the "names of Korea#Revival of the names", is a Semi-presidential system republic in East Asia, located in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula....
 in late September 1950. The battalion formed part of the 27th Commonwealth Brigade
27th British Commonwealth Brigade

The 27th British Commonwealth Brigade was a brigade formed by the armies of the Commonwealth of Nations, during the Korean War. It was formed in August 1950, from the 1st Battalion, Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, and the 1st Battalion of The Middlesex Regiment, from the United Kingdom Hong Kong garrison....
 and took part in the United Nations offensive into North Korea and the subsequent retreat into South Korea following the Chinese offensive in the winter of 1950-51. It was one of three units to receive the Presidential Unit Citation (US)
Presidential Unit Citation (US)

The Presidential Unit Citation, originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the Armed Forces of the United States and allies for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy on or after 7 December 1941 ....
 after the Battle of Kapyong
Battle of Kapyong

The Battle of Kapyong was waged during the Korean War. The battle began on 22 April and lasted until 25 April 1951. The Chinese People's Liberation Army assaulted positions held by United Nations forces from Australia, Canada and United Kingdom....
. In October 1950 the battalion again distinguished itself during the engagement at Chong Ju where in North Korea. Commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Charles Green, it attacked and captured a large North Korean defensive line
Trench warfare

Trench warfare is a form of warfare where both combatants have fortified positions and fighting lines are static. Trench warfare arose when a revolution in fire power was not matched by similar advances in mobility , resulting in a slow and grueling form of defense-oriented warfare in which both sides constructed elaborate and heavily arme...
 in a combined arms
Combined arms

Combined arms is an approach to warfare which seeks to integrate different arms of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects.Though the lower-echelon units of a combined arms team may be of homogeneous types, a balanced mixture of such units are combined into an effective higher-echelon unit, whether formally in a table of organi...
 operation with tanks and artillery.

Malaya


South Vietnam

3 RAR served 2 tours in Vietnam
Vietnam

Vietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by People's Republic of China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east....
, the first 1967 to 1968 saw the battalion stationed in Phuoc Tuy Province. The battalion took part in several operations and was involved in mine clearing, counter mortar and rocket tasks and reconnaissance in force operations. During 26 and 28 May 1968, 3 RAR, while stationed at FSPB Balmoral in a battalion defensive position, withstood two determined assaults by regimental sized units of the North Vietnamese Army. In 1971 the battalion returned to Phuoc Tuy Province. During the second tour the battalion took part in several minor actions. The battalion returned home by the end of 1971.

East Timor

3 RAR played a key role in the Australian-lead intervention
INTERFET

The International Force for East Timor was a multinational peacekeeping taskforce, mandated by the United Nations to address the humanitarian and security crisis which took place in East Timor from 1999–2000 until the arrival of United Nations peacekeepers....
 into East Timor
East Timor

East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro Island and Jaco , and Oecussi-Ambeno, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor....
 in 1999. The Battalion arrived in Dili
Dili

Dili, also spelled D?li, is the Capital and largest city of East Timor. It lies on the northern coast of Timor island, the easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands....
 by sea and was initially responsible for the city. The battalion later secured the enclave of Oecussi. 3 RAR returned to Australia in February 2000 and served a second 6-month tour of East Timor in 2002. In May 2006 the 3 RAR Battalion Group was deployed to restore order to East Timor as part of Operation Astute
Operation Astute

Operation Astute is a United Nations-authorised, Australian Defence Force deployment to East Timor to quell unrest and return stability in the 2006 East Timor crisis....
. An online company group was deployed at short notice in Feb 2007 for 4 months and replaced by a second company group in June 2007 for 7 weeks.

Solomon Islands


3RAR deployed to the Solomon Islands on Monday 24 January 2004 to reinforce the military component of RAMSI (Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands) . The 3RAR company of Soldiers consisted of approximately 100 personnel to provide added support to the local and Australian Federal Police in enforcing the rule of law and restoring order in the Solomon Islands. . The soldiers tent lines at RAMSI base were named the "PTE Jamie Clark Lines" in March 2007 after the accidental death of PTE Clark in March 2005.

Iraq


3 RAR was brought into the Australian media as it contained the first Australian Soldier to be killed in Iraq. PTE Jake Kovco died in April 2006 while deployed to Baghdad
Baghdad

Baghdad is the Capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is also coterminous. With a municipal population estimated at 6.5 million, it is the largest city in Iraq, and the second largest city in the Arab World....
 in Iraq when he accidentally shot himself while handling his pistol.

Current composition


3 RAR currently consists of:

  • Battalion Headquarters
  • Three basic parachute infantry companies
  • Support Company
  • Administration Company


3 RAR forms the main element of the Australian Army's Airborne Battle Group. This battle group consists of:

  • 3rd Brigade
    Australian 3rd Brigade

    The 3rd Brigade of the Australian Army is an infantry brigade. Formed in 1914 the brigade has seen active service in the First World War and during the INTERFET in East Timor....
     Command Elements
  • 3 RAR
  • A Battery, 4th Field Regiment
    A Field Battery, Royal Australian Artillery

    A' Field Battery is an airborne artillery battery, part of the 4th Field Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery of the Australian Army Australian 3rd Brigade and a component of the Army's Airborne Battle Group....
  • Parachute Surgical Team, 1 Health Support Battalion
  • Signals Element, 3rd Command Support Regiment and 7 Signals Regiment
  • Engineer Troop, 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment
  • RAAF Mobile Air Control Elements


Under the initiative announced in December 2005, 3 RAR was to convert to a mechanised structure. However, in August 2006 it was announced that 3 RAR would instead convert to a pure light infantry
Light infantry

Traditionally light infantry were soldiers whose job was to provide a skirmishing screen ahead of the main body of infantry, Harassment and delaying the enemy advance....
 structure and the 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment

The 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment is a regular infantry battalion of the Australian Army. The battalion was formed on the 1st September 1965 at Puckapunyal in Victoria during the expansion of the regular infantry that occurred because of Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War....
 would be reformed as a mechanised infantry battalion.

Role


3 RAR is currently Australia's only parachute infantry battalion. With the rest of the Parachute Battalion Group the battalion is responsible for providing a rapid reaction capability. One company from the battalion is maintained on high readiness to deploy at 48 hours notice. In addition to its specialised parachute role, 3 RAR is also capable of operating as a conventional light infantry
Light infantry

Traditionally light infantry were soldiers whose job was to provide a skirmishing screen ahead of the main body of infantry, Harassment and delaying the enemy advance....
 battalion. If required, 4 RAR (CDO)
4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment

The 4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, is the elite Commando battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment and is one of two combat-capable groups within the Special Operations Command ....
 can provide highly trained Commandos to do the role of 3 RAR, however due to their special forces
Special forces

Special Forces , also known as, Special Operation Forces is a generic term for highly-trained military teams/units that conduct specialized Military operation such as reconnaissance, unconventional warfare, and counter-terrorism actions....
 commitments this is not currently a preferred option. After 3 RAR is re-rolled to a light infantry battalion 4 RAR will become the Army's only parachute-qualified battalion, however.

Alliances

  • - Scots Guards
    Scots Guards

    The Scots Guards is a regiment of the Guards Division of the British Army, whose origins lie in the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland....
  • - The Queen's Royal Hussars (Queen's Own and Royal Irish)