Commanding Officer's Foreword

Welcome to the 2nd Battalion, The Mercian Regiment (Worcesters and Foresters). Our heritage is from the Worcester and Sherwood Foresters Regiment and many of our officers and soldiers hail from the great counties of Worcestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. This reflects the strong bonds that still exist with our traditional recruiting areas; though it is not uncommon to see officers and soldiers from the 1st and 3rd Battalions serving with us when career opportunities arise. Likewise, men from this Battalion can opt to serve in one of our sister battalions when it is in their career interests to do so. This is the real benefit of being part of such a large, strong regiment with three regular battalions and one territorial battalion - any one of which will, almost certainly, be committed to operations at any given time. But don't worry if you're attracted to us and don't come from our traditional locations. We value quality and accept officers and soldiers from outside these areas as well.

We are a light role infantry battalion, part of 19 Light Brigade, based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Belfast is a popular posting with our officers, soldiers and their families and there are many advantages to being based in the heart of one of the UK's major cities. When off duty there's lots to do and travel to the Irish Republic presents opportunities to explore the whole island, which is completely safe to do. As Palace Barracks is just two minutes from Belfast City Airport and five minutes from the ferry terminal, travel home to England is very convenient and many people find it faster to reach the Midlands from Belfast than from many other parts of Great Britain.

As a light role infantry battalion we are rapidly deployable and could find ourselves spearheading deployments ahead of heavier forces that require longer preparation times. As such, we place a great deal of emphasis on physical fitness, shooting and self-reliance which are the core skills of all Worcesters and Foresters. Our soldiers operate some of the most sophisticated equipment in the world. For example, the Anti-Tank Platoon is equipped with the JAVELIN missile system and the Communications and Information Systems Platoon operates the highly complex BOWMAN digital communications system. Both of these are absolutely state-of-the-art and require soldiers who can think for themselves to operate them. So whether you join a rifle company or a support weapons platoon, you can be sure of one thing: the chance to use the best kit in the world. We also drive a variety of vehicles which means everybody needs to have a car licence, at least, with many of our soldiers acquiring heavy vehicle licences as well so they can drive protected mobility vehicles on operations.

Having deployed to Afghanistan on no less than three occasions in the last five years, we are one of the most experienced units in the British Army in that theatre of operations. On current planning we will return to Afghanistan this year.

But don't worry, it's not all work. Sport is very important to us. Currently the Battalion is represented at Army level in triathlon, golf, cross-country running and soccer. In barracks, Wednesday afternoons are set aside for sport so everyone gets the chance to take part no matter how good or bad you might think you are. Adventurous training is a vital part of Battalion life and this year officers and soldiers from 2 MERCIAN will take part in expeditions as far away as Belize, Kenya and Montenegro.

So if you're looking for a challenge and the opportunity to serve alongside some of the most operationally experienced soldiers in the British Army, then 2 MERCIAN is for you. Friendships forged with us will last for life. If you're an old soldier or currently serving away from the Battalion then I commend you to keep in touch using these pages.

Stand Firm, Strike Hard