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The
1st Battalion is the full time element of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders .
The Battalion has, until recently, been in Northern Ireland for two years
and has built a reputation as the British Army’s leading public order experts .
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The Argylls have a new
role
 In September 2003, the 1st
Battalion moved to Howe
Barracks in Canterbury
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one of the best barracks owned by the Army -
where they expect to stay for the next 5-6 years. The aim is to rapidly reorganise and retrain for a new role as Air Assault
Infantry in
the 16 Air Assault Brigade. Low
level training took place both within the United Kingdom and the Argylls have worked
abroad with the latest RAF and Army helicopters in realistic and demanding
scenarios
Although
the Brigade already has three Airborne Battalions (from the Parachute Regiment);
The Argylls will be the only Air Assault Battalion in the Army . Typical tasks might be rapidly deploying into a peace-keeping
situation, seizing important objectives behind enemy lines (such as airfields)
or giving support to Apache Attack Helicopters .
This
is one of the Army’s latest pieces of equipment and
in order to operate deep behind enemy lines it also requires re-fuelling and
re-arming bases behind enemy lines. One task could be to protect these bases.
As
the only Air Assault Infantry Regiment in the Army’s most rapidly deployable brigade,
The Argylls must truly be prepared for any eventuality. The only way to prepare for any eventuality is by realistic training and
having first access to the latest equipment.
 As
an Air Assault Infantry Battalion the Argylls will consist of four rifle
companies - the
fighting element of the Battalion - and various support elements . Within these support elements can be found a large number of trades
- from
snipers to heavy machine gunners to signallers to anti-tank specialists to
drivers . There is a wide enough
variety of jobs to appeal to all members of the Battalion .
For
example, The Argylls maintain their very own Pipes and Drums, who although
trained to a very high standard of piping and drumming, are equally proud of
their skills as machine gunners, just as they as proud to be Highlanders as Air Assault
Infantrymen .
The
attached pictures outline some of the larger pieces of equipment that will be
available to 16 Air Assault Brigade . The key is that any piece of equipment should be light,
rapidly deployable (either by helicopter or aircraft) and mobile off-road . As part of Britain’s rapid deployment forces,
Argylls will be first in line
to receive any new pieces of equipment purchased by the Army, for example the
under-slung grenade launcher for the rifle .
There
is no selection process to be a member of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
but as has been mentioned the Battalion will conduct an intensive training
programme in order to change role .The
principle behind this programme will be to conduct achievable, progressive
training for all soldiers in the Battalion concentrating on the skills required
to become Air Assault Infantrymen.
In
early 2004, the 1st Battalion is preparing for a new role in Iraq - training the
local Security Forces.
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