8th/9th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment

8th/9th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
Active	31 October 1973 – 30 June 1997 31 October 2007 – Present
Country	Australia
Branch	Army
Type	Infantry
Role	Standard Infantry
Part of	7th Brigade
Garrison/HQ	Enoggera Barracks, Brisbane, Queensland
Motto(s)	Duty First
March	The Brown and Grey Lanyard (Black Bear)
Mascot(s)	Merino Ram named John MacArthur VII" (aka "Stan the Ram)
Decorations
Commanders
Current commander	LTCOL J.A. Hammett
Colonel-in-Chief	HM The Queen (Australian Infantry Corps)
Notable commanders	Peter Leahy
Insignia
Unit Colour Patch

The 8th/9th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (8/9 RAR) is an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was originally formed in 1973 by linking together both the 8th and 9th Battalions of the Royal Australian Regiment. Over the next twenty-four years the battalion would remain on the Australian Order of Battle based at Enoggera Barracks in Brisbane, Queensland, until it was disbanded in 1997 amid a number of Defence-wide cutbacks introduced by the Howard government. In 2006 it was announced that the battalion would be re-raised as part of a plan to expand the size of the Army and since then it established itself as a fully deployable motorised infantry battalion as part of 7th Brigade.

History

8/9 RAR was formed on 31 October 1973 by linking 8th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment and 9th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment as part of cutbacks to the army following the end of the Vietnam War. Upon formation the unit was based at Enoggera Barracks in Brisbane where it formed part of the 6th Brigade. The battalion's first major task came in the wake of the 1974 Brisbane flood, when it assisted with the subsequent disaster relief and cleanup efforts.

During the 1980s the battalion lost a large number of its personnel to the 1st and 2nd Battalions, Royal Australian Regiment as part of the Operational Deployment Force, but nevertheless undertook the task of maintaining the Army's amphibious and urban operations specialisations. In 1990, it took on a further role of training Papua New Guinea Defence Force personnel.

In January 1992, the battalion took on the role of a Ready Reserve unit. Under this scheme Ready Reserve soldiers were posted to the battalion for an initial 12 month full-time period, followed by a further period of four years part-time. On 10 October 1992, the battalion received the Right to the Freedom of Entry to the City of Brisbane. In 1996, the Ready Reserve scheme was abolished by the incoming Howard government, and shortly after this, as part of a restructuring of the Army, 8/9 RAR was disbanded on 30 June 1997.

On 24 August 2006 Prime Minister John Howard announced that the battalion would be re-raised under a new plan to increase the size of the Army. The battalion would continue to be called the 8/9th Battalion and would be based in South East Queensland. On 2 October 2007 the Australian Government announced that 8/9 RAR would be re-raised to be operationally deployable by 2010, and a full battalion by 2011. The battalion would be based in Brisbane at Enoggera Barracks, as part of the 7th Brigade.

The battalion was officially re-raised on 31 October 2007, and was rapidly established as a motorised unit, equipped with Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles. Although originally it was intended that the battalion would consist of two motorised rifle companies, a support company and an administration company, this structure was deemed unworkable and the battalion was subsequently reorganised. By mid-2009, the battalion consisted of 620 personnel organised into one motorised rifle company, one light infantry company, a manoeuvre support company and a combat service support company. Meanwhile, 7th Brigade was transformed into a regular motorised formation, following the transfer of its reserve infantry battalions to 11th Brigade. By 2010, 8/9 RAR was established as a motorised infantry battalion, and with 6 RAR and 2/14 Light Horse (QMI) is one of three deployable Battle Groups in the brigade.

In late-February 2010, 130 soldiers from the battalion's 'A' Company took over responsibility of the Timor Leste Task Group, replacing 2 RAR in East Timor. This force was rotated back to Australia in June 2010 after a four-month deployment, and was replaced by 'B' Company, 8/9RAR. The battalion has also contributed small numbers of personnel to Operations Slipper, Anode, Pakistan Assist, and was heavily involved in search and rescue efforts during the 2010–2011 Queensland floods, deploying to its emergency support force on short notice to Grantham in the Lockyer Valley. As of mid-2011, 8/9 RAR consists of a battalion headquarters, three rifle companies and an operational support company.

In late December 2011 8/9 RAR deployed to Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan as part of MTF-4. They returned home in June 2012.

In 2015–16, 8/9 RAR deployed on two consecutive rotations of Operation Okra in Iraq and Operation Highroad in Afghanistan.

Traditions

Soldiers from 8/9 RAR deployed to Iraq in 2016 commemorate 8 RAR's role in the battles of the Long Hai Hills during the Vietnam War

The battalion lanyard is coloured slate grey and beech brown and these colours are used elsewhere in sporting uniforms and the like. The official battalion march is The Brown and Grey Lanyard but the unofficial march is Black Bear with a boisterous 'OY' inserted in the appropriate places. The 8/9 RAR mascot is a stud merino ram officially named John Macarthur (currently John Macarthur VI), after the Australian wool pioneer, but known affectionately to the diggers as 'Stan the Ram'.

Former Chief of Army Lieutenant-General Peter Leahy is a past Commanding Officer of the battalion.

Current composition

8/9 RAR currently consists of:

• Battalion Headquarters
• Administration Company
• 3 Rifle Companies – 'Alpha', 'Bravo' and 'Charlie'
• Support Company - 'Mortar Platoon', 'Signal Platoon', 'Direct Fire Support Weapons (DFSW) Platoon', 'Reconnaissance' and 'Snipers', 'Assault Pioneers' and 'Pipes and Drums'

Commanding Officers

The following table lists the Commanding Officers of 8/9 RAR:

Former Commanding Officer 8/9 RAR LTCOL K.S. Fegan

Dates	Name
31 Oct 1973 – 27 Nov 1974	LTCOL A. Clunies-Ross, MBE
28 Nov 1974 – 16 Jan 1977	LTCOL E.A Chitham, MC, OAM
17 Jan 1977 – 13 Dec 1978	LTCOL T.H Holland AM
14 Dec 1978 – 7 Aug 1980	LTCOL E.F Pfitzner
8 Aug 1980 – 17 Dec 1982	LTCOL J.R Brett
18 Dec 1982 – 20 Dec 1984	LTCOL R.E Thornley
21 Dec 1984 – 9 Dec 1986	LTCOL G.W Hurford, AM
10 Dec 1986 – 15 Dec 1988	LTCOL M.J Edwards
16 Dec 1988 – 14 Dec 1990	LTCOL G.J McKay, MC
15 Dec 1990 – Dec 1992	LTCOL P.F Leahy, AC
Dec 1992 – Dec 1994	LTCOL D.S.M Roche, CSC
Jan 1995 – Dec 1996	LTCOL J.A Robbs
Jan 1997 – 30 Jun 1997	LTCOL J.F Edwards
31 Oct 2007 – 09 Dec 2010	LTCOL S.A Stuart, AM
10 Dec 2010 – 13 Dec 2013	LTCOL K.S. Fegan, DSC
13 Dec 2013 - Present	LTCOL J.A. Hammett

Regimental Sergeants Major

The following table lists the Regimental Sergeant Majors of 8/9 RAR:

Dates	Name
31 Oct 1973 – 13 Sep 1975	WO1 J. Allen, OAM
14 Sep 1975 – 17 May 1976	WO1 G.J. Sutherland, OAM
18 May 1976 – 28 Mar 1979	WO1 P. Cowan, MBE
29 Mar 1979 – 13 Apr 1980	WO1 J.P. Henderson
14 Apr 1980 – 18 Dec 1981	WO1 K.S. Wendt, BEM
19 Dec 1981 – 21 Dec 1983	WO1 W.J. Burns, OAM
22 Dec 1983 – 12 Dec 1985	WO1 G. Willman
13 Dec 1985 – 16 Jan 1988	WO1 R. George
17 Jan 1988 – Dec 1989	WO1 R. Briais
Jan 1990 – Dec 1991	WO1 R. Slater
Jan 1992 – Dec 1994	WO1 S. Paulson
Jan 1995 – Dec 1996	WO1 E. Hutchinson
Jan 1997 – Jun 1997	WO1 M. Levine
Oct 2007 – Dec 2009	WO1 W. Lampard
Jan 2010 – Nov 2012	WO1 I.A. D'Arcy
Dec 2012 – Dec 2014	WO1 D. Trill
Dec 2014 - Present	WO1 M. Retallick, CSM

8th/9th Battalion Association

The Battalion Association was created to perpetuate the memory of the unit when it was initially disbanded in 1997. With resurrection in 2007, the association now serves as the conduit for past, present and future members.

Alliances

• United Kingdom – The Parachute Regiment

Gallery

• 
  List of the members of the 8th Battalion killed in Malaysia 1967/69 and Vietnam 1969/70. Shown at Regimental Square, Sydney.
• 
  List of the members of the 9th Battalion killed in South Vietnam 1968–1969. Shown at Regimental Square, Sydney.

References

• "8/9 RAR Combat Team Deployable in Late 2009". Australian & NZ Defender (63). Brisbane: Fullbore Magazines: 55. 2008. ISSN 1322-039X.
• Belham, David; Denham, Peter (2009). The Blue Diamonds: The History of 7th Brigade, 1915–2008. Puckapunyal, Victoria: Department of Defence. OCLC 525034269.
• Chant, Christopher (2013) [1988]. Handbook of British Regiments. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-64724-8. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Horner, David; Bou, Jean (2008). Duty First: A History of the Royal Australian Regiment (2nd ed.). Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1-74175-374-5.
• Smith, Hugh (2006). "High Time for the High Readiness Reserve". Defender: The National Journal of the Australia Defence Association (Winter). North Melbourne: Australian Defence Association: 35–37. ISSN 0811-6407.

External links

• 8/9 RAR Association