 Cap badge of the Royal Green Jackets The Royal Green Jackets is an infantry regiment of the British Army, one of two within the Light Division (the other being The Light Infantry). It was formed in 1966 by the amalgamation of the three separate regiments of the Green Jackets Brigade:
- 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd)
- 2nd Green Jackets (The King's Royal Rifle Corps)
- 3rd Green Jackets (The Rifle Brigade)
Their motto is "Celer et Audax," which means in English, "Swift and Bold" and as they are used as shock troops and marksmen, they had to get to the front line of battle as fast as was possible; as a result the RGJ marches at 140 paces per minute whereas other regiments march at just 120. Until recently no other regiment has devoted so much time to becoming highly proficient with the rifle, even though it has been part of standard army issue for 140 years, because of this whereas the lowest rank of other regiments (after a recruit) is Private, the RGJ's lowest rank is a rifleman.
The regiment is classed as a 'rifle' regiment, having its lineage in the regiments of foot that were equipped with the first rifles. Traditionally, rifle regiments have worn green tunics instead of the red jackets worn by line infantry, which is where the Royal Green Jackets gets its name. Also, the regiment carries no colours, as traditionally rifle regiments, being skimishers and sharpshooters, had no need to identify where their fellows were on the battlefield. So, the battle honours of the Royal Green Jackets are worn on the regiment's cap badge. Infantry in the regiment wear a beret with the badge behind the left eye towards the side of the head, traditionaly to show that they don't need to hide behind their colours to show how good the regiment is. One further tradition is that the Green Jackets do not have bayonets; although today they are an ordinary infantry regiment, the first rifles could not be fitted with bayonets, so riflemen were issued with swords for close combat. Today, the bayonets that riflemen are issued with are still known as 'swords'.
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