New Ranger Regiment badge

Discussion in 'Postwar' started by sol, Nov 25, 2021.

  1. sol

    sol Very Senior Member

    So today, British Army introduced a badge for a new Ranger Regiment which seems heavily influenced by the one that Selous Scouts used.

    [​IMG]

    Also, the new ORBAT is presented too. I hope that soldiers would not need to carry a ribbon with a full name of brigades as some of those are quite long now, like for example 1st Deep Recce Strike Brigade Combat Team. Longer titles for a smaller Army as compensation I guess.
     
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  2. Ramiles

    Ramiles Researching 9th Lancers, 24th L and SRY

    https://www.army.mod.uk/news-and-events/news/2021/11/ranger-regiment-cap-badge/

    The Ranger Regiment cap badge
    The Ranger Regiment is very proud of its new cap badge which takes inspiration and spirit from the Peregrine Falcon; fast, agile and fiercely loyal to its partner, it operates around the world in all environments including deserts, mountains and cities. It has been designed to demonstrate a new capability for the Army.
    It follows a long history of birds being used as emblems and logos around the world. Peregrine derives from the medieval Latin word ‘peregrinus’ which means wanderer. It is the most geographically dispersed bird of prey, and can be found on every continent, less Antartica. The Peregrine Falcon is also the fasted
    (sic) bird on the planet, with a diving speed of over 200 miles per hour.
    While many regiments have a cloth badge for officers and a metal badge for soldiers, everyone serving in the Ranger Regiment will wear a metal badge, irrespective of rank.
     
  3. idler

    idler GeneralList

    Still haven't quite figured out how they're going to draw ever more special forces from a constantly dwindling pot... Anyone know why they didn't re-role the Paras and drop direct entry?

    The logic behind the new Brigade organisations seems to be to double their size so that there might be enough deployable troops and equipment to actually put a normal brigade in the field.
     
  4. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    No Queen's Crown on it.
     
  5. Ramiles

    Ramiles Researching 9th Lancers, 24th L and SRY

    Glancing at this... Selous Scouts - Wikipedia

    And particularly in the "Legacy" bit...

    "In 2018 The New York Times reported that glorification of the Selous Scouts formed part of online nostalgia for Rhodesia and had been taken up by far-right movements that were sympathetic to the white Rhodesian regime. Items branded with the slogan and insignia of the Selous Scouts were available for sale, and a company called the "Selous Armory" was selling a range of apparel glorifying the Rhodesian military."
     
  6. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    A fellow cynic on Twatter posited that it's an announcement to distract from evisceration of the Infantry.
    I find it hard to disagree... as a cynic.
     
  7. lionboxer

    lionboxer Member

    Awful. Like a cheapo plastic badge that Action Man comes with!
    Lionboxer
     
  8. JITTER PARTY

    JITTER PARTY Well-Known Member

    When did 'sustainment' become a word?
    What are 'deep fires'?
    'Warfighting' anyone?
     
  9. Trackfrower

    Trackfrower Member

    The original "rangers", part of the KRRC?
     
  10. JDKR

    JDKR Member

    A grim badge. How on earth can the new regiment be ‘very proud’ of its new badge when the regiment has yet to form? How long will it take for this specialist organisation to grow the skills it will need on operations? There’s some smoke and mirrors going on here. I need to checkout ARRSE!
     
    SDP likes this.
  11. idler

    idler GeneralList

    The thought did cross my mind that the 'double-brigades' are ripe for whittling down due to 'recruiting shortfalls' when they can't meet their quotas.

    I thought the gunners might have a hard time as they're a difficult sell in the 'surgical strike with no collateral damage' era. There's always next time, I suppose.
     
  12. sol

    sol Very Senior Member

    Out of 32 battalion left, 9 of them, 4 Ranger and 5 assistance battalion are just over 200 strong, another one, 1st Royal Irish, might going in similar way (left to be seen), one is designated as experimental unit, that mean only 21 "regular" battalions are left. If we exclude 2 parachute battalion and one that is designated as Special Operations Support (1st Para) that number is even smaller. And it is questionable how many of those left are close to nominal strength. So that statement is not far from being true.

    I think that someone had different unit in mind when they come to the name. Several units in the British Army had Ranger in their title but for this one Army get inspiration from French and Indian War.

    According to the British Army, the Ranger Regiment's name comes from an 18th century unit that saw action in North America, using "irregular tactics".
    The first Ranger groupings fought in the French and Indian War, between 1754 and 1763, including the unit of Robert Rogers, who wrote '28 Rules of Ranging'.
    These early units specialised in "unconventional warfare", such as forest ranging, and environments usually inaccessible to other forces, as well as carrying out reconnaissance roles.
    Rangers were also used by both sides during the American War of Independence, with Robert Rogers' unit eventually evolving into a British Army regiment, the Queen's Rangers.
    Following that conflict and loss of the North American colonies, the British Army was without a suitable environment to employ a ranger unit, and the ranging capability ceased to exist in the same way.


    Ranger Regiment: What we know about the Army's new elite unit
     
    JDKR likes this.
  13. davidbfpo

    davidbfpo Patron Patron

    It is often overlooked that the Rhodesian Selous Scouts were mainly black Africans, the vast majority being ex-guerillas who were "turned" and well rewarded allegedly per kill. Yes, there was a white element from both the Rhodesian Army and the police (BSAP). Will some of ex-Afghan SF personnel who left with our rescue at Kabul airport be joining them? Personally I would be very surprised if many in the current British Army have any direct knowledge of the Selous Scouts, who were disbanded forty years ago.

    I've seen one newspaper headline the manpower cuts to the Army, nothing is shown in the Orbat. Elsewhere you can find:
    From: Labour says Johnson is breaking election promise with army reorganisation – as it happened

    Given the number of Gurkhas in existing formations, either as a company or a squadron, especially in signals, it is tempting to ponder whether the Army can recruit enough non-Gurkha soldiers now.

    There are some curious features in the official MoD Orbat document, notably missing where formations are now, instead it is future locations. Annoyingly it uses town / city names and barrack names. Just why one Ranger formation will be in Belfast eludes me. Quite possibly a lot of movement around the UK to fulfill the plan, although some moves have yet to be confirmed.
     
  14. Sheldrake

    Sheldrake All over the place....

    I don't like this cap badge at all.- but it sums up the half baked thinking behind the concept.

    The eagle - of whatever species -is not a symbol much used by the British Army. It is not a symbol that features in the heraldry of our royal family or of the nations that make up the United Kingdom.

    The British Army has always fought against armies with the eagle as a cap badge - Napoleonic France - Imperial Germany - Nazi Germany and the USA. The cavalry regiments with eagle cap badges were either awarded them as some diplomatic favour (14/20th or QDG - or as a trophy: Scots DG) There is a good reason for this: Rome. Imperial France and Imperial and Nazi Germany wanted to claim the inheritance of the Holy Roman Empire in dominating Europe, while the US founding fathers were inspired by Republican Rome.

    The British Army adopting an Eagle is like Arsenal football club deciding that the cockeral, roaring lion or pair of hammers would be a good new look logo. Or maybe Manchester United started playing in light blue with a pair of liverbirds. Ipswich Town incorporating a canary into their logo.

    The badge itself looks like the sort of symbol created by some banana republic - such as UDI Rhodesia..... The similarity with to the Selous Scouts is partoiculary unfortunate. Is this an association that will win Britian friends across the globe?

    The modern term Rangers is used by the armed forces of many nations as a copy of the US Rangers. But the US picked the term rangers (aided by Dudley Clarke) for their version of the Army Commandos. So Logically there is an existing capbadge for the Rangers concept.....
    [lmg]https://images.app.goo.gl/UQWZ5h56YzguCmUB9[/lmg]
    The commando daggger is not used as a cap badge - though SS might be misinterpretated. But that raises the issue of what exactly distinguishes "Rangers" From the other elites that make up the British Armed Forces - paras, SAS, SBS, RM Commandos, RAF Regiment ....

    Going back to the origins of Rangers, there are two units which pioneered the use of the name Rangers in the C18th. In the Seven Years War, Roger's Rangers cap badge was a circle with the name Rogers Rangers. Their successor which fought against them in the American Revolution were the Queen's Rangers. Their cap badge was a shield with the name of the unit, surmounted by a queen's crown
    queens rangers.jpg
    The Crown represents service to the Sovereign. The shield and the words “QUEEN’S RANGERS 1ST AMERNS.” are in memory of the Loyalist military unit formed during the American Revolutionary War. The roses, thistles and shamrocks represent the English, Scottish and Irish composition of the Queen’s Rangers.

    The words "1st Americans" can be dropped.

    A far better badge, firmly British ands arguably a better title. The Queen's Rangers has a more British ring to it. Since it would be the reconsitution of a unit that once existed it should be easy to negotiate protocal with the added advantage of being able to claim precedence from 1776...
     
    Last edited: Nov 29, 2021
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  15. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    It's not an eagle.
    It's a peregrine.
    https://www.army.mod.uk/news-and-events/news/2021/11/ranger-regiment-cap-badge/


     
  16. Sheldrake

    Sheldrake All over the place....

  17. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

  18. idler

    idler GeneralList

    Its style might be an homage to the Parachute Regiment's art deco-ish badge. Of course, that doesn't stop it from being horrible.

    Sad to say, I suspect the risk of having to change it in the near future is behind the absence of the Queen's crown.
     
  19. Sheldrake

    Sheldrake All over the place....

    Eagles are OK for the Army Air Corps and RAF because they are to do with flying.

    Rangers are just another rebranding for light infantry with pretentions
     
  20. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    Quick!
    Someone tell this AAC RSM that eagles aren't part of army iconography!

    mascout_acc1-1-01.jpeg
     
    BrianHall1963 and Owen like this.

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