2 R IRISH - Army Reserve renamed

The Defence Reform Act 2014 received Royal Assent on 14 May 2014. Part 3 of the Act concerned the Reserve Forces and included the renaming of the Army Reserve and the Territorial Army as the Regular Reserve and the Army Reserve. The 2nd Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment (2 R IRISH) came under operational command of Headquarters 160th Infantry Brigade by the end of 2014 as part of the transformation of the British Army from 2020 and beyond (Army 2020). The 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment, based in Shropshire*, also came under command 160th Infantry Brigade, leading the development of the British Army’s new Light Mechanized concept, utilising the latest light armoured vehicles.

The Brigade became, under Army 2020, an Adaptable Force brigade and was assigned a region of the world for Defence Engagement and this meant a shift in focus for 2 R IRISH from Africa to Eastern Europe.

*
The antecedent 86th Regiment of Foot, later the 2nd Battalion The Royal Irish Rifles, was raised by Major General Cornelius Cuyler and was first known as ‘General Cuyler’s Shropshire Volunteers’.