Armed forces in Wales

160th (Wales) Brigade formation sign.

The Welsh Brigade was founded in 1908, and served in both World Wars as part of the 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division. Welsh Brigade is responsible for field operations rather than regimental operations. The brigade is also known for Exercise Cambrian Patrol. The headquarters of the brigade is the 160th (Welsh) Brigade (Welsh: Brigâd 160 (Cymru)) which is responsible for the delivery of UK Ops within Wales.[4]

Located in Wales, within the Brigade:

203 (Welsh) Field Hospital logo.

• 1st Battalion The Rifles
• 3rd Battalion The Royal Welsh
• 14 Signal Regiment (Electronic Warfare)
• 104 Regiment Royal Artillery
• 157 (Welsh) Regiment RLC
• 203 Field Hospital
• Infantry Battle School
• Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers
• Wales UOTCC[9]

Exercise Cambrian Patrol is organised and carried out by the Headquarters of 160th (Welsh) Brigade, based in Brecon. Originally the exercise was designed by a group of Welsh Territorial Army soldiers as a weekend training event including a long march over the Cambrian Mountains, finishing with a shooting match on Sennybridge training area.

Exercise Cambrian Patrol has been held annually since 1959, developing worldwide recognition as NATO’s toughest patrolling test. Regular, Reserve and University Training Officer Corps teams now participate, in addition to 20 patrols representing international armies. The exercise is considered to be unique and at a world-class standard. It is also the largest of this type of exercise. Some foreign entrants must win their won domestic competition in order to gain a place on the patrol.[10]

The Joint Military Command Wales (JMC Wales) based at the Army headquarters in Brecon was active during the response to the Covid-19 pandemic in Wales in supporting NHS Wales. The commander of JMC Wales is the Head of the Army in Wales and the Welsh Brigade, Andrew Dawes.[11][7]

Andrew Dawes. He said in February 2021, "It continues to be a tremendous privilege to support NHS Wales in any way we can during this latest stage of the pandemic response. They have asked us to help crew Welsh ambulances and to deliver the vaccine right across Wales. We currently have several hundred service personnel involved in these tasks. Alongside this there specialist planners and liaison officers in Welsh Government, NHS Wales, the regional Health Boards, as well as supporting the regional resilience networks across the length and breadth of Wales."[11]

Motto: Gwell Angau na Chywilydd / Better Death than Dishonour[12]

Soldiers from the Mobility Reconnaissance Force of 1 Royal Welsh take up a defensive position north of Patrol Base Wahid, Nad-E' Ali, Helmand during a patrol.

The Royal Welsh is a large infantry regiment that was formed on St David's Day 2006 by merging The Royal Regiment of Wales (24th/41st Foot) and The Royal Welch Fusiliers. The regiment was composed of two battalions, one armoured infantry and one light infantry, as well as a reserve battalion. The regiment has a famous goat mascot, which is sometimes referred to as a ranking soldier. In April 2014, the 2nd Battalion was merged into the 1st Battalion to form a single armoured infantry battalion. The 3rd Battalion now serves as light infantry in the Army Reserve.[13]

• April 2006: 1st Bn (Battalion) deployed to Cyprus.
• October 2007–April 2008: 1st Bn deployed to Afghanistan.
• October 2009–April 2012: 1st Bn deployed to Afghanistan for operational tours.
• May 2007–November 2007: 2nd Bn deployed to Iraq during Operation Telic.
• Between 2009 and 2011: 2nd Bn sent individual companies to Helmand in Afghanistan[13]

Since 2011, the Armoured Infantry Battalion has been deployed in operations and training exercises in: Somalia, Estonia, Ukraine, Germany, Kenya, Canada and the United States.[13]

Soldier of The Welsh Cavalry with a 40mm Grenade Machine Gun in Poland as part of NATO's Enhanced Forward Presence.

The regiment is Light Cavalry. It was founded in 1685, and has been described as having a distinguished history of over 300 years. The 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards is the Cavalry Regiment of Wales and the border counties, and is commonly known as The Welsh Cavalry; it is currently based in Robertson Barracks, Norfolk. The regiment specialises in reconnaissance and fights enemy forces for information about the enemy and the environment. The Welsh Cavalry uses Jackal 2 high mobility vehicles and also moves on foot, making the regiment very versatile and adaptable to various environments. Soldiers and officers in the cavalry also train foreign military personnel.[14]

On 9 December 2021, it was announced that the Welsh Cavalry would move to a revamped Barracks in Caerwent, near Newport in Wales in 2028.[15]

• 1991 The Cavalry breaches the Iraqi defensive line in the Gulf War
• 2003-7 Three operational tours in Iraq
• 2008-14 Three operational tours in Afghanistan
• 2018-19 Two tours of Operation Cabrit in Poland[14]

The Welsh Guards in Lashkar Gar, Helmand.

The Welsh Guards were formed in 1915 and have taken part in almost every British army campaign since World War I. The Welsh Guards are a Light Role Infantry, as a mobile and agile attack force. The Welsh Guards also have a ceremonial role in prominent English ceremonies and buildings. The Welsh Guards wear red tunics and bearskin hats.[16] 91% of the Welsh guards are Welsh and permanently wear leeks as a Welsh symbol dating from use by soldiers of Welsh king Cadwaladr.[17]

• The 1st Battalion is deployed to the Falklands War also winning battle honours.
• The 1st Battalion plays a leading role in Operation Panchai Palang in Afghanistan.[16]

Royal Air Force Valley, or more simply RAF Valley is a Royal Air Force station on the island of Anglesey, Wales, and which is also used as Anglesey Airport. It provides both Basic and Advanced fast-jet training using the Texan T1 and Hawk T2 and provides mountain and maritime training for aircrew using the Jupiter T1 helicopter.

MOD St Athan is a large Ministry of Defence site in the Vale of Glamorgan. The RAF’s non-aircraft, ground engineering technicians are trained here.

MOD St Athan is the base for No 4 School of Technical Training, which provides training to personnel from the three branches of the armed forces as well as MOD civilian staff. St Athan is also the base of the University of Wales Air Squadron.[18]

HMS Cambria is the lead Royal Naval Reserve unit in Wales. It is based at Sully near the Welsh capital, Cardiff.

HMS Cambria base, Cardiff.

HMS Cambria was established as the Royal Naval Reserve unit for South Wales in July 1947 and originally occupied buildings in Cardiff Docks. Cambria remained in Cardiff until 1980, when the redevelopment of the docks there precipitated a move to the former service married couples' accommodation at Sully, Vale of Glamorgan. The unit was granted Freedom of the Vale in 2012, but was due to move to Cardiff Bay during 2020.[19]

Over the years Cambria, like many other RNR units, operated a number of seagoing ships; a motor minesweeper – the unit's first tender – was replaced in 1954 by the wooden-hulled minesweeper Brereton, which gave way in turn to Crichton (1961–76); all of these were rechristened HMS St David. In 1978 the unit acquired a converted trawler, which was again renamed St David. The ship's final vessel, acquired in 1984, was the new minesweeper Waveney, which was not renamed. Waveney remained with HMS Cambria until 1994, when a reorganisation of the RNR led to the abandonment of seagoing tenders.[20]

Cambria is one of only three RNR units to have a satellite unit. The Swansea-Tawe Division, based at Swansea, began its life as a Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Wireless unit in 1932. Having originally begun life with just one recruit, the unit had expanded to 48 members by 1970. The unit was briefly commissioned as the stone frigate HMS Dragon from 1984 to 1994, but was subsequently made subordinate to Cambria and rechristened to its current name.

The Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon in the English Channel with a red Welsh dragon on its bow.

HMS Dragon (D35) is the fourth ship of the Type 45 or Daring-class air-defence destroyers built for the Royal Navy. She was launched in November 2008 and commissioned on 20 April 2012.[21] The warship is based in Portsmouth and also has affiliations with Cardiff, Wales.[22] The original red dragons on the bows of the ship were privately funded and were removed during a refit. An appeal by the ship to its supporters in Cardiff and the British Warships Association (BWA), headquartered in Wales, received immediate response and support, and the Welsh dragons were reintroduced to the bows of the ship.[23]

Selection for the Special Air Service (SAS) takes place in Wales, specifically Sennybridge and the Brecon Beacons, selection lasts for five weeks and normally starts with approximately 200 potential candidates.[24]

Candidates complete a Personal Fitness Test (PFT) upon arrival,[25] which includes a march cross-country against the clock, increasing the distance covered each day; this culminates in an endurance test known as the Endurance, in which candidates march 40 miles (64 km) with full equipment before climbing up and down the mountain Pen y Fan (886 m; 2,907 ft) in 20 hours.[24]