Army Secretariat Army Headquarters IDL 24 Blenheim Building Marlborough Lines Andover Hampshire, SP11 8HJ United Kingdom

Ref: Army/Sec/16/03/FOI/2017/11467 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.army.mod.uk

Mr Mike Cox 12 December 2017 [email protected]

Dear Mr Cox,

Thank you for your email of 13 November in which you requested the following information:

Can you please supply the following information regarding recent Roulement Tours :

1. FIRIC (Falkland Islands Roulement Infantry Company) Which companies of which battalions fulfilled their FIRIC commitment: 4.2014 - 10.2014 (between 1 Mercian and 5 Rifles tours) 6.2015 -10.2015 (between 2 Rifles and 1 tours) 2.2016 - 5.2016 (between 1 Grenadier Guards and 1 Yorkshire tours) 8.2016 - To date (following 4 Para tour)

2. Operation Elgin (Bosnia) Which units have been assigned to this commitment since 1 Scots in 2014.

3. Operation Toral () If 1 R Anglian tour was Toral 1, what operational name was given to previous commitments by 1 Coldstream Guards and 2 Rifles during the period March 2014 and January 2015.

I am treating your correspondence as a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000. A search for the information has now been completed within the Ministry of Defence, and I can confirm the information in scope of your request is held and is detailed below.

1. Falkland Islands Roulement Infantry Company

The following infantry companies conducted the requested FIRIC Tours:

Ser Date Battalion Company (a) (b) (c) (d) August 2016 – to date 1 10 Aug 17 – to date 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment Dragon Company 2 4 May - 10 Aug 17 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment B Company 3 8 March - 8 May 17 2nd Battalion The Lancashire Regiment Dettingen Company 4 02 Jan - 10 March 17 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards No 1 Company 5 16 Nov 16 - 11 Jan 17 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers X Company 6 14 Sep - 15 Nov 16 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment A Company 7 27 Jul - 22 Sep 16 2nd Battalion B Company February 2016 – May 2016 8 6 Apr - 5 Jun 16 1st Battalion The D Company 9 10 Feb - 6 Apr 16 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment C Company 10 16 Dec 15 - 11 Feb 16 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards No 2 Company June 2015 – October 2015 11 21 Oct - 16 Dec 15 1st Battalion Welsh Guards Prince of Wales Company 12 24 Aug - 23 Oct 15 2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment A Company 13 27 Jul - 24 Aug 15 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment A Company 14 28 Jun - 26 Jul 15 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment C Company 15 6 May - 28 Jun 15 2nd Battalion The Rifles A Company February – October 2014 16 3 Aug - 24 Sept 14 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment A Company 17 4 June - 3 Aug 14 2nd Battalion The Lancashire Regiment Chindit Company 18 9 Apr - 4 June 14 2nd Battalion The Lancashire Regiment Blenheim Company 19 12 Feb - 9 Apr 14 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment A Company

2. Operation ELGIN (Bosnia)

The number of personnel deployed on Operation ELGIN since 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (1 SCOTS) has been minimal. Units supplying infantry after 1 SCOTS were 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment and then 1st Battalion The Rifles. Current practise has a rifle company assigned to Operation ELGIN at readiness to deploy.

3. Operation TORAL 1 (Afghanistan)

Operation HERRICK formally ended on 31 December 2014 and the operational tour that occurred between March 2014 and 31 December 2014 was known as 20.

The UK’s enduring operations in Afghanistan are conducted under the operation name of TORAL. Both operations ran concurrently from 1 October until 31 December and Operation TORAL 1 is defined as the period between 1 December 2014 and 15 August 2015.

The operational tour conducted by 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards fell within Operation HERRICK 20. The Coldstreams handed over to 2nd Battalion The Rifles on 15 August 2014. The Rifles deployed as part of Operation HERRICK 20 but transitioned to TORAL during their deployment; they handed over to 1st Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment on 16 February 2015.

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Yours sincerely,

Army Secretariat