1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment is a regular motorised infantry battalion of the Australian Army. 1 RAR was first formed as the 65th Australian Infantry Battalion of the 34th Brigade (Australia) on Balikpapan in 1945 and since then has been deployed on active service during the Korean War, the Malayan Emergency, the Vietnam War, Unified Task Force in Somalia, East Timor, Iraq War and Afghanistan. Additionally, the battalion has deployed on peacekeeping and other operations to a number of countries including Japan, Rifle Company Butterworth, Timor Leste, Solomon Islands, Tonga and the Philippines. 1 RAR remains one of the Australian Army's most readily deployed units sending individuals and detachments to domestic, regional and other enduring operations. The battalion is currently based in Coral Lines at Lavarack Barracks, Townsville, Queensland, where it forms part of the 3rd Brigade.
A 1 RAR soldier on guard duty in Korea during July 1952
1 RAR soldiers take up defensive positions after disembarking US Army helicopters during an operation north of Saigon in July 1965
1 RAR soldiers patrolling near Fire Support Base Coral in June 1968
1 RAR soldiers prepare to board a United States Marine Corps helicopter in Somalia
The Australian Army is the principal land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (CA), who is subordinate to the Chief of the Defence Force (CDF) who commands the ADF. The CA is also directly responsible to the Minister for Defence, with the Department of Defence administering the ADF and the Army.
Australian troops on the Western Front, July 1918
Australian light horse unit in Jerusalem during WWI
Australian troops enter Bardia, January 1941
Soldiers of the Australian 39th Battalion in September 1942