| The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) |
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Cap badge of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards |
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| Active | 2 July 1971–Present |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | British Army |
| Type | Line cavalry |
| Role | Armoured |
| Size | One regiment |
| Part of | Royal Armoured Corps |
| Garrison/HQ | RHQ - Edinburgh Castle Regiment - Fallingbostel, Germany |
| Nickname | Scotland's Cavalry |
| Motto | Nemo me impune lacessit (Nobody touches me with impunity) Ich Dien (I Serve) Second to None |
| March | Quick (band) - The 3DGs; (pipes & drums) - Hielan' Laddie Slow (band) - The Garb of Old Gaul; (pipes & drums) - My Home |
| Anniversaries | 13 April (Nunshigum) |
| Commanders | |
| Colonel-in-Chief | HM The Queen |
| Colonel of the Regiment |
Brigadier S R Allen |
| Insignia | |
| Tactical Recognition Flash | |
| Arm Badge | Prince of Wales's feathers from 3rd Dragoon Guards (Prince of Wales's) |
| Tartan | Royal Stewart (Pipers kilts and plaids) |
| Abbreviation | SCOTS DG |
The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) (SCOTS DG) is a cavalry regiment of the British Army, and the senior Scottish regiment. It was formed on 2 July 1971 at Holyrood, Edinburgh, by the amalgamation of the 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of Wales's Dragoon Guards) (themselves the product of the amalgamation in 1922 of 3rd Dragoon Guards (Prince of Wales's) and 6th Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers)), and The Royal Scots Greys (2nd Dragoons).
The regiment has won numerous battle honours and three Victoria Crosses, and, through the Royal Scots Greys, is the oldest surviving Cavalry Regiment of the Line in the British Army. The pipes and drums have also distinguished themselves, most recently winning the award for Album of the Year at the 2009 Classical Brits.[1]
The regiment is currently based in Bad Fallingbostel, British Forces Germany, as part of the 7th Armoured Brigade ('The Desert Rats'). In 1998, it became the first regiment in the British Army to operate the Challenger 2 main battle tank.
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The regiment is one of five Type 58 armoured regiments in the Royal Armoured Corps, currently organised into three armoured Sabre Squadrons, each equipped with 14 Challenger 2 MBTs, as well as other support vehicles including a dedicated Samaritan ambulance with a medic and a fitter section consisting of various recovery and repair vehicles. From the Strategic Defence Review in 1998 until 2003, the regiment had four armoured Sabre Squadrons, but since the 2003 Defence White Paper, B Sqn has been re-roled to become a Medium Armour (MA) Squadron scaled to be equipped with 14 CVR(T) Scimitars, until the Future Rapid Effect System enters service.
In addition, the regiment also fields a Close Reconnaissance Troop consisting of eight CVR(T) Scimitars. The Reconnaissance Troop belongs to the large Headquarters Squadron, which also supplies ammunition, fuel, and rations, and includes specialist technicians, mechanics and artisans, as well as clerical and medical staff. The Headquarters Squadron also includes the Command Troop which is equipped with a number of armoured vehicles including a further two Challenger 2 tanks (normally commanded by the Commanding Officer and Regimental Second in Command), for a current total of forty-four in the regiment. The majority of these and the other armoured vehicles are held externally to the Regiment and issued when required for exercises and operations.
The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards is also affiliated to A (Ayrshire (Earl of Carrick's Own) Yeomanry) & C (Fife and Forfar Yeomanry/Scottish Horse) Squadrons of the Queen's Own Yeomanry regiment of the Territorial Army, who train to provide personnel to operate in in the Formation Reconnaissance role and are equipped with CVR(T) vehicles, including the Scimitar and Spartan
The regiment has deployed on four tours of Northern Ireland in 1972, 1974, 1976 and 1980, suffering one fatality in 1972, when Trooper Ian Hunter Caie, was killed by a bomb in a beer barrel that exploded in the path of his Ferret scout car in Moybane, near Crossmaglen County Armagh.[2]
It saw active service during OP GRANBY (the Gulf War in 1991), in Bosnia as part of SFOR in 1996–97 and deployed to Kosovo twice, in 2000 and 2001, as part of KFOR.
It recently deployed to Iraq, first during the Iraq War of 2003, (Britain's contribution being known as Operation Telic). The bulk of the regiment deployed as part of the Scots Dragoon Guards Battle Group (SCOTS DG BG) with a single squadron (A Squadron) detached to the First Battalion The Black Watch Battle Group (1BWBG). All deployed elements of the regiment took part in the advance on Iraq's second largest city, Basra. Prior to reaching Basra, A Squadron (with 1BWBG) fought in and around Az Zubayr and C Squadron was detached from the SCOTS DG BG to fight with 3 Commando Brigade (3 Cdo Bde) south of Basra that included Britain's largest tank engagement since the Second World War, when 14 Challenger 2 tanks, engaged and destroyed 14 Iraqi tanks (the so-called '14–0' engagement). A and B Squadrons each conducted raids into Basra prior to the city being taken on 6 April, an action in which all SCOTS DG Squadrons were involved. All elements of the regiment left Iraq shortly after the war was officially declared over on 1 May.
More recently in 2006–7 and again in 2008 the majority of the regiment has returned to Iraq (in 2008 one squadron was detached from the regiment and deployed to Afghanistan).
The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards have a regimental museum situated at Edinburgh Castle.[3] Opened in 2006, the exhibits include uniforms, medals, weapons, regalia, music and a captured enemy standard from the Battle of Waterloo.
The regiment's official abbreviation (as listed in Joint Service Publication 101 (Service Writing)) is SCOTS DG (note all capitals and the space), the format of which follows the traditional Cavalry line whereby, for example, The 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards was abbreviated 4/7DG, and the Royal Scots Greys was abbreviated GREYS.
The cap badge features an eagle, which represents the French Imperial Eagle that was captured by Sergeant Charles Ewart, the Royal Scots Greys at Waterloo, from the French 45th Regiment of Foot. It is always worn with a black backing in mourning for Tsar Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia, who was their Colonel-in-Chief at the time of his execution. The cap badge also has the crossed carbines of the 3rd Carabiniers at the rear of the eagle.
The regiment is permitted to wear the Prince of Wales's feathers as an arm badge on ceremonial dress; this comes from the 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of Wales's), who wore this device as its cap badge.
As a royal regiment, the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards is permitted to wear the Royal Stewart tartan, which was a privilege granted by HM King George VI, and is worn by the regiment's pipers. In addition, the Regiment's officers are permitted to wear the Black Stewart tartan.
The regimental beret is in remembrance of the colour of the grey horses ridden in former times. In No.1 and No.2 dress uniform, a Peaked cap with the regimental capbadge and distinctive yellow Vandyke pattern (yellow zig-zag on a dark blue background) cap band is worn.
Full dress uniform consists of a bearskin hat with white hackle, scarlet tunic, blue overalls with double yellow stripes down the seams, boots and spurs. The bass drummer of the Pipes and Drums however wears a distinctive white bearskin with a red hackle. The white bearskin was given to the Regiment by Tsar Nicholas II in 1894, on his becoming Colonel in Chief of The Royal Scots Greys. With the Royal Stuart kilt and plaid, the pipers wear a dark blue doublet and feather bonnet with a white hackle and yellow Vandyke cap band.
The regiment has its own Pipes and Drums, who were first formed in 1946 and tour widely, performing in competitions, concerts and parades. Their most famous piece is "Amazing Grace", which reached number one in the charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, Canada and South Africa in 1972. The track sold over seven million copies by mid 1977, and was awarded a gold disc.[4] The band released a new CD in late November 2007 through Universal Music, featuring a number of classic pipe tunes along with some modern arrangements. The album Spirit Of The Glen, was produced by Jon Cohen and released by Universal on November 26, 2007. Spirit Of The Glen was officially launched at Edinburgh Castle[5] and won Album of the Year at the 2009 Classical Brits.[1]
| Preceded by 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards |
Cavalry Order of Precedence | Succeeded by The Royal Dragoon Guards |
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