The 2nd Battalion, The Rifles (2 RIFLES) welcomed The Queen, as Her Majesty attended a parade to mark soldiers completing their junior leadership selection course.
Her Majesty is the Colonel-in-Chief of the Regiment and the parade, held in Lisburn.
Rifleman Hugo McDonald leads the Cadre as the top student.
The 2nd Battalion, The Rifles (2 RIFLES) welcomed The Queen, as Her Majesty attended a parade to mark soldiers completing their junior leadership selection course.
The 2nd Battalion, The Rifles (2 RIFLES) welcomed The Queen, as Her Majesty attended a parade to mark soldiers completing their junior leadership selection course.
As Colonel-in-Chief of The Rifles, Her Majesty took the salute at the pass-off parade which marked the end of a six-week arduous cadre (training course) for the Riflemen.
In July 2020, as Duchess of Cornwall, Her Majesty took over the role of Colonel-in-Chief of The Rifles from her late father-in-law, The Duke of Edinburgh.
The Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Dan Brown, of 2 RIFLES said: “We were delighted to have Her Majesty The Queen at the parade, which recognised the achievements of our Riflemen. After six weeks of demanding training that developed and tested their potential to lead fellow soldiers, the opportunity to mark their achievements in front of our Colonel-in-Chief made the occasion even more special.”
Rifleman Hugo McDonald, who was awarded Top Student on the cadre and led his colleagues as they ‘doubled off’ from the parade (a long-held tradition unique to The Rifles) said: “This was a memorable experience after a hard few weeks.”
Following the parade at a small reception in Thiepval Barracks, Her Majesty was introduced to families and friends of the soldiers on parade.
The Rifles are the British Army’s largest infantry regiment, at the forefront of overseas operations. Although based in Lisburn, over the last 18 months 2 RIFLES companies have deployed worldwide, to Estonia, Spain, Zambia, Brunei, and Kenya.
Summer 2023, saw most of the battalion urgently deploy and based in Hampshire for 6 months, contributing to the United Kingdom’s efforts to assist Ukraine.
Concurrently, the rest of the battalion deployed to the Falkland Islands to take up the role of ‘Resident Infantry Company’, a great opportunity to train and operate in a part of the world that holds great significance in the history of the country.
This year started with 2 RIFLES running a ‘Potential Junior Non-Commissioned Officer (PJNCO) Cadre’ for the wider Rifles Regiment. This consisted of an arduous, wide-ranging course to find suitable Riflemen to promote to Lance Corporal. Alongside this, 12 Riflemen deployed to Brunei to participate in The Royal Gurkha Rifles PJNCO cadre.