A rifle regiment is a military unit consisting of a regiment of infantry troops armed with rifles and known as riflemen. While all infantry units in modern armies are typically armed with rifled weapons the term is still used to denote regiments that follow the distinct traditions that differentiated them from other infantry units.
Personnel of 1st Battalion, The Rifles on parade in Chepstow, 21 May 2009.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, escorted by a Bermuda Militia Artillery officer in Royal Artillery blue No. 1 Dress, inspects green-uniformed riflemen of the Bermuda Rifles in 1961
A rifleman is an infantry soldier armed with a rifled long gun. Although the rifleman role had its origin with 16th century hand cannoneers and 17th century musketeers, the term originated in the 18th century with the introduction of the rifled musket. By the mid-19th century, entire regiments of riflemen were formed and became the mainstay of all standard infantry, and rifleman became a generic term for any common infantryman.
Green jacketed British Army rifleman aiming a Baker rifle, c. 1803
Afghan National Army riflemen performing safety checks on their M16 rifles at a firing range, 2010
A historical reenactment with the British 95th Rifles regiment.
Uniform of the Robin Hood Rifles depicted on a 1939 cigarette card