The
5th/7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (Mechanised) (5/7 RAR [MECH]) was a mechanised infantry
battalionA battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
of the
Australian ArmyThe Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
. The battalion was based at
Robertson BarracksFor the Robertson Barracks, Norfolk, England see RAF Swanton MorleyRobertson Barracks is a major Australian Army base located in the outer Darwin, Northern Territory suburb of Holtze in the Municipality of Litchfield. The barracks was built during the 1990s. The Barracks are home to the 1st Brigade...
in
Palmerston, Northern TerritoryPalmerston is a planned satellite city of Darwin, the capital and largest city in Australia's Northern Territory. Palmerston is situated near Darwin Harbour and has an urban population of 23,614 on the 2006 Census night and making it the second largest city in the territory...
and formed part of the 1st Brigade. It was formed in 1973 by linking both the 5th and
7th BattalionsThe 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment is a regular infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was originally raised in 1965 as part of Australia's commitment to the Vietnam War and it eventually served two tours in Vietnam in 1967 and 1971...
of the
Royal Australian RegimentThe Royal Australian Regiment is the parent regiment for regular infantry battalions of the Australian Army and is the senior infantry regiment of the Royal Australian Infantry Corps...
together. In late 2006, as part of the expansion of the
Australian ArmyThe Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
, the unit was broken up into two separate battalions once again.
History
5/7 RAR was formed on 3 December 1973 at
Holsworthy BarracksHolsworthy Barracks is located in the outer south-western Sydney suburb of Holsworthy. It is part of the Holsworthy military reserve, which has been a training area and artillery range for the Australian Army since World War I. Following World War II it became a major base for the permanent...
in
SydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
by the amalgamation of the 5th and
7th BattalionsThe 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment is a regular infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was originally raised in 1965 as part of Australia's commitment to the Vietnam War and it eventually served two tours in Vietnam in 1967 and 1971...
of the
Royal Australian RegimentThe Royal Australian Regiment is the parent regiment for regular infantry battalions of the Australian Army and is the senior infantry regiment of the Royal Australian Infantry Corps...
to form a single
light infantryTraditionally light infantry were soldiers whose job was to provide a skirmishing screen ahead of the main body of infantry, harassing and delaying the enemy advance. Light infantry was distinct from medium, heavy or line infantry. Heavy infantry were dedicated primarily to fighting in tight...
battalion. This was the result of reductions in the size of the Australian Army following the of the
Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. Throughout the battalion's history 5/7 RAR formed part of the 1st Brigade.
In January 1975 the battalion deployed to
DarwinDarwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
as part of the clean-up following
Cyclone TracyCyclone Tracy was a tropical cyclone that devastated the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day, 1974...
. Between 1976 and 1978 5/7 RAR trialed a mechanised infantry organisation using
M113The M113 is a fully tracked armored personnel carrier that has formed the backbone of the United States Army's mechanized infantry units from the time of its first fielding in Vietnam in April 1962. The M113 was the most widely used armored vehicle of the U.S...
armoured personnel carrierAn armoured personnel carrier is an armoured fighting vehicle designed to transport infantry to the battlefield.APCs are usually armed with only a machine gun although variants carry recoilless rifles, anti-tank guided missiles , or mortars...
s. The value of this mechanisation was demonstrated when the battalion was able to quickly respond to the
Sydney Hilton bombingThe Sydney Hilton bombing occurred on 13 February 1978, when a bomb exploded outside the Hilton Hotel in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. At the time the hotel was the site of the first Commonwealth Heads of Government Regional Meeting , a regional off-shoot of the biennial meetings of the heads...
in 1978 by guarding the route between Holsworthy and the site of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Regional Meeting at Bowral. While the mechanisation trial was judged a success, it was decided that only one of 5/7 RAR's companies would be mechanised, with the mechanised role rotating between the battalion's rifle companies every 12 months. The battalion was fully mechanised in 1984 and in 1986 the battalion's official title was changed to 5/7 RAR (Mech).
In 1999 5/7 RAR relocated from Holsworthy to
DarwinDarwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
. Later that year the battalion made its first operational deployment when it deployed to
East TimorThe Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
as part of
INTERFETThe 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...
and transitioning in February 2000 as the 1st AUSBATT of the UNTAET mission. This deployment proved highly successful, with 5/7 RAR providing the force with a powerful and highly mobile battalion. After a seven-month tour, the battalion returned to Australia shortly after
ANZAC DayAnzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought at Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all...
2000. 5/7 RAR served a second tour in East Timor between October 2002 and May 2003, though it operated largely as a
light infantryTraditionally light infantry were soldiers whose job was to provide a skirmishing screen ahead of the main body of infantry, harassing and delaying the enemy advance. Light infantry was distinct from medium, heavy or line infantry. Heavy infantry were dedicated primarily to fighting in tight...
battalion on this deployment. The deployment also included a company of
General ReserveThe Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen Military Forces, the Militia and, unofficially, the...
soldiers, drawn largely from the
Royal Victoria RegimentThe Royal Victoria Regiment is an Infantry Regiment of the Australian Army, consisting of two battalions, the 5th/6th Battalion and the 8th/7th Battalion.-History:...
and the
Royal New South Wales RegimentThe Royal New South Wales Regiment is a reserve infantry regiment of the Australian Army based in the state of New South Wales. The regiment consists of four battalions:-Organisation:*1st/19th Battalion*2nd/17th Battalion*4th/3rd Battalion...
.
5/7 RAR's final deployments were to
IraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. In 2004 5/7 RAR provided two rifle companies (C and D Companies) for security duties in
BaghdadBaghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
. During 2005 and 2006 a rifle company from the battalion formed part of the
Al Muthanna Task GroupThe Al Muthanna Task Group was a battlegroup that formed Australia's main ground force contribution to the Multinational force in Iraq. The AMTG was established in April 2005 and ceased to exist in July 2006 when the Australian force was relocated to Dhi Qar Governorate as Overwatch Battle Group...
in southern Iraq. 5/7 RAR provided the headquarters and support elements of the second rotation of the Task Group from November 2005 – April 2006. The rifle company in Iraq was mounted in
ASLAVThe Australian Service Light Armoured Vehicle , is an Australian version of the Light Armoured Vehicle designed and manufactured by General Dynamics Land Systems Canada for the U.S. Marines. The initial design was the MOWAG Piranha 8x8, however the vehicle was re-designed to meet North American...
s from the
2nd Cavalry RegimentThe 2nd Cavalry Regiment is a cavalry regiment of the Australian Army. The second most senior regiment in the Royal Australian Armoured Corps, 2 CAV serves in an armoured reconnaissance role and is attached to the 1st Brigade, based in Darwin in the Northern Territory.-History:The regiment was...
as it was judged that these fast and well armed vehicles were better suited to conditions in Iraq than 5/7 RAR's elderly M113A1s.
On 24 August 2006
Prime MinisterThe Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
John HowardJohn Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
announced that two new battalions would be established in two stages, with one eventually to be based in Adelaide and the other—
8th/9th Battalion, Royal Australian RegimentThe 8th/9th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment is an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was originally formed in 1973 by linking together both the 8th and 9th Battalions of the Royal Australian Regiment...
—in south-east Queensland. The first of the two new battalions would be formed by splitting the 5/7 RAR creating the separate 5th and 7th Battalions, with the 5th Battalion remaining at Robertson Barracks, while the 7th would be relocated to
AdelaideAdelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
.
On 3 December 2006, the 5th/7th Battalion was formally de-linked into its antecedent units. At the time, elements of the battalion were deployed in
IraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, so the operational establishment of the new units was undertaken during 2007.
Structure
5/7 RAR consisted of:
- Battalion Headquarters
- Three mechanised infantry companies (B, C & D Companies)
- Support Company
- Administration Company
- Technical Support Company
- Training Company (A Company)
All elements of the battalion were mechanised with M113A1 armoured personnel carriers.
Role
5/7 RAR was Australia's only mechanised infantry battalion. Under the doctrine developed by
1st Brigade1st Brigade is a formation of the Australian Army intended as its primary mechanised formation. Raised for service initially in 1914 for service during World War I, the brigade fought at Gallipoli and on the Western Front before being disbanded in mid-1919. In 1921, the 1st Brigade was re-raised as...
, 5/7 RAR combined with 1st Armoured Regiment to form two battle groups (one ‘infantry heavy’ and one ‘armour heavy’).
Pipes and Drums
The 5th/7th Battalion maintained one of only three pipe bands in the Australian regular army. The pipes and drums were inherited from the 7th Battalion in 1973 upon the amalgamation with the 5th Battalion. Initially, the pipes and drums had no tartan, until in 1979 the Gordon tartan was adopted in recognition of the battalion's alliance with the Gordon Highlanders. In 1992, the new Australian tartan was adopted by both the 5th/7th Battalion and the 2nd Battalion. The pipes and drums served as combat medics, primarily driving the fleet of M113 ambulances.
Alliances
–
Welsh GuardsThe Welsh Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division.-Creation :The Welsh Guards came into existence on 26 February 1915 by Royal Warrant of His Majesty King George V in order to include Wales in the national component to the Foot Guards, "..though the order...
(from 5th Battalion, RAR) –
The HighlandersThe Highlanders, 4th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.Prior to 28 March 2006, the Highlanders was an infantry regiment in its own right; The Highlanders , part of the Scottish Division...
(from 7th Battalion, RAR)