Formation (South West Pacific) 2 RAR was formed originally as the
66th Battalion, 2nd AIF at the end of
World War II on 16 October 1945 as a regular infantry force raised from volunteers from the
9th Division for service with the
British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan. The battalion was formed first at Labuan in British North Borneo, before being moved to the large Australian base on Morotai, Netherland East Indies and joining the other two newly formed battalions (65th and 67th Australian Infantry Battalions).
Japan (1946-1948) The battalion was stationed primarily at
Hiro as part of the
34th Australian Infantry Brigade from February 1946 to December 1948, when they returned to Australia. A month earlier, on 23 November 1948 it was renamed the
2nd Battalion, Australian Regiment with the Royal regimental prefix being granted on 31 March 1949. In between attacks, artillery and mortar attacks were launched during the day to soften up the defences. Throughout the two-year tour the battalion was based at
Minden Barracks on Penang Island, although it spent large periods of time in the jungle conducting operations and exercises that frequently lasted weeks at a time. These operations were primarily long-distance patrols in and around jungle areas searching for the Communists and providing perimeter security for the '
New Villages'. Many of the battalion's members had recently served an eighteen-month period overseas in Malaysia and Borneo. This restriction would mean that many personnel would only be able to serve a six-month tour and, as such, 2 RAR was brought up to full strength by accepting a draft of
national servicemen from Australia. and as a result over the twelve months that 2 RAR was deployed contact was significantly less than had been experienced during the first tour, sustaining half the number of casualties. New Zealand casualties over both tours were 10 killed and 57 wounded. Balanced against this, the Battalion was credited with having killed 297 VC and captured a further 23. The deployment was focused upon providing humanitarian assistance and medical care for sick and injured civilians and as such a combat role was not envisaged, however, a rifle company was sent also in order to protect the medical team and command elements. As a part of this deployment, the Australian force was charged with restoring peace and security and facilitating the provision of humanitarian assistance. 2 RAR was one of the first units deployed once the airfield at
Dili had been secured by elements of the
Special Air Service Regiment. Arriving in Dili on 20 September 1999 having been flown in from Townsville, they immediately started the process of restoring order to the capital so that it could be used as an operational base from which further operations could be launched in the surrounding countryside. With two M-113 APCs from
3/4 Cav to provide fire support, 'C' Company began moving towards the docks, but found the way blocked as they encountered a number of platoon-strength roadblocks that had been set up by the Indonesian military
TNI. Initial operations focused upon carrying out building searches, setting up roadblocks and vehicle checkpoints, gathering intelligence from locals and finding and disarming the local militias that had largely been responsible for the violence. On 27 September, 'D' Company, 2 RAR, conducted an airmobile operation into Liquica, west of Dili, before the battalion returned to the capital to continue the task of making the city safe. Working closely with other units in the area from New Zealand and Britain, the northern border area was secured before pushing further inland to Maliana, Bobonaro and Suai, which were considered important towns in the western area of the country. For his leadership under fire, Corporal Paul Teong, commander of the lead section in the forward platoon during the contact, was awarded the
Distinguished Service Medal. in 2007
East Timor (2001 - 2002) In October 2001, 2 RAR returned to East Timor, known as AUSBATT V of UNTAET, taking over from
4 RAR (AUSBATT IV) and serving a relatively uneventful tour, handing over to
3 RAR (Para) (AUSBATT VI) in April 2002. The mission in East Timor concluded for the RAR Battalion's in 2004.
Solomon Islands (2003-2004) In July 2003, amidst an outbreak of lawlessness, violence and civil unrest in the Solomon Islands, 2 RAR was deployed as part of a Combined Joint Task Force following a request for assistance from the Solomon Islands government. during this initial rotation which included, BHQ, C Coy, elements of Admin Company and Support Company's Plus D Company CHQ plus 10 PL from 2 RAR with Tongan and Papuan PL's to make Pacific Islands Coy. This rotation concluded in November 2003. A further rotation based around B Coy CHQ and 6 PL from 2 RAR as part of RESFOR Coy from November 2003 to May 2004 occurred. The last rotation from 2 RAR A Coy CHQ and 2 PL as part of Response Force Company (RESFOR Coy) from May 2004 till December 2004.
Iraq (2003-2019) Following the
invasion of Iraq in 2003, 2 RAR provided Platoons to the security force protecting the Australian embassy in
Baghdad –
SECDET. The first deployment came in May with 2003 when 5 Platoon, B Company deployed on SECDET 1 with elements of
2nd Cavalry Regiment. 1 Platoon, A Company deployed on the next rotation, SECDET II over the period September 2003 - January 2004 before handing over to A Coy,
3 RAR. during SECDET II, it was reinforced with a section from 3 RAR and this started the A And B rotations to SECDET allowing overlap. In May 2006, 2 RAR's Headquarters, support company and a rifle company deployed to Iraq as part of the third rotation of the
Al Muthanna Task Group. The battalion provided a sniper pair to SECDET XIV and then battalion conducted a final SECDET in 2009-2010 when 2 RAR Bravo Company (minus) deployed as SECDET XV. With shift to training missions in IRAQ, the battalion contributed a sniper pair to Task Group Taji 6 (TGT 6) in 2017 to 2018 and then provided a platoon to TGT 8 in 2018 to 2019. Rotations to Iraq by soldiers of the RAR concluded with TGT 10 in 2020.
Border protection (2004) From July to November 2004, 2 RAR provided troops to OP RELEX II – Transit Security Element 34 (TSE 34), consisting of 54 persons from A Coy from 2 RAR (3PL and 1 section from Bravo Company, 2 RAR plus an MP SGT, CPL and LT and A Coy 2IC and CSM), then a few were re-tasked to OP CRANBERRY for a short time.
Timor Leste (2006 until 2010) In May 2006,
Timor Leste (as East Timor has since become) asked for Australian assistance once more. As a part of Australia's continued commitment to the fledgling nation, a battle group, known as Battle Group Faithful was created, due to the manpower shortage in the RAR at the time. This had been forewarned and practised the year before (2005) with 2 RAR as the mounting unit, however in 2006, 2 RAR BHQ and A Company were being committed to a battle group in southern Iraq, so the mounting unit was 3 RAR, who provide most of BHQ and Admin Company. A company came from 1 RAR A Coy, B Company came from 3 RAR B Coy, C Company came from 2 RAR C Coy, D Company was made from 2 RAR SPT Coy, Support Company was made up of combined elements with 3 RAR CHQ. As an example, the sniper cell was made up by a supervisor and 2 pairs from 2 RAR, a pair from 1 RAR and a pair from 3 RAR. Truly a RAR effort to field the battle group. The battle group downsized and handed over to a 6 RAR led battle group (TLBG 1). Timor Leste Battle Group 1. Elements of C Company 2 RAR remained into TLBG 1 2 RAR deployed a sniper pair into the 1 RAR led TLBG 2 followed by a 2 RAR led TLBG 3 Battle Group
Samichon. This battle group based upon 2 RAR deployed to Timor Leste between September 2007 to April 2008. The battalion deployed for a further tour in May 2009 as Timor Leste Battle Group-VI this
ANZAC Battle Group, it had a company of Kiwis deployed as part of the rotation, conducted security and stability operations as well as training for deployment to Afghanistan the following year.
Afghanistan (2006 to 2020) 2 RAR first deployed troops into Afghanistan with the first rotation to Afghanistan of RAR soldier on RTF 1. 2 RAR sent a sniper pair as part of this rotation. During RTF 2, a requirement of mortars eventuated and 2 RAR rapidly deployed a section of mortars to support the 1 RAR led RTF 2. These soldiers remained and served supporting RTF 3. From September 2007 to May 2008, elements of the battalion deployed to Afghanistan on Operation Slipper as part of RTF-3. The Security Task Group (STG) was made up of infantrymen from C Company 2 RAR, mortarmen and snipers from Support Company 2 RAR, IMV crews from
6 RAR and B Squadron, 3/4 Cavalry Regiment, cavalrymen from
2/14 LHR(QMI) and gunners from 4th Field Regiment. Elements from these units combined with elements of the 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment to form a combat team. The role of the STG was to provide the firepower and mobility necessary to facilitate the engineers' protected reconstruction. Intimately supported by combat engineers, construction engineers and explosive ordnance disposal technicians to make up Combat Team (CT) Spear, the STG was the fundamental enabler for the protected reconstruction effort. The combat team conducted five major operations during its deployment, effectively expanding the ISAF and ANSF's permanent influence in the Chora Valley and into the Baluchi Pass. The combat team sustained casualties early in the deployment with Trooper David 'Poppy' Pearce being killed by an IED in the Dorufshan and Sergeant Michael Lyddiard being seriously wounded whilst defusing an IED in the Chora Valley. The combat team was able to take the fight to the enemy during several engagements, most notably in the Sorkh Morghab region where all elements of the combat team engaged the enemy over several days allowing the construction of a patrol base and the Afghan Army to move into an area previously considered a Taliban stronghold. In June to September 2009, 2 RAR deployed a composite security section (SECDET) to provide support to Special Operation Task Groups 9 and 10 (SOTG IX and X) Rotation for CAMP Russell Security. In June 2011, the battalion deployed to
Urozgan Province, Afghanistan as the Battle Group Headquarters and Combat Teams of Mentoring Task Force Three (MTF-3). This included the
Battle of Doan as well as many other engagements with the Taliban. The battalion returned to Australia in February 2012. MTF 3 handed over responsibility for the mission to the soldiers from the Brisbane-based
8/9 RAR who made up MTF 4 on 24 January 2012. Two members of the battalion, Private Matthew Lambert and Lance Corporal Luke Gavin, were killed during this rotation. LCPL Gavin was killed during the largest green on blue experienced by Australian Forces. In August 2019 in support of OP HIGHROAD, 2 RAR (Amphib) provided 3 Platoon, A Coy, 2 RAR (Amphib) to 8/9 RAR's led rotation of Force Protection Element 12 (FPE 12) – Plus 4 soldiers to the TAC – Air element. FPE 12 was replaced with FPE 13 in February 2020. Due to COVID and the further downsizing of Operations in Afghanistan, only a section from 2 RAR (Amphib) deployed as part of a to a 5 RAR Platoon. This last formed element of 2 RAR (Amphib) returned from Afghanistan in September 2020. 2 RAR and 2 RAR (Amphib) have deployed some individuals to Afghanistan on rotations, with the most notable being CPL Justin Huggett M.G. who was on EX Long Look and deployed with his exchange Unit, The Grenadier Guards as part of Operation Herrick. For his Actions on this deployment he was awarded a MG. The last person from 2 RAR (Amphib) to deploy was the XO at the time who helped with the withdrawal in 2021
Restructure under Plan Beersheba Under a restructuring program known as
Plan Beersheba announced in late 2011, 2 RAR has formed the core of the Army's amphibious force. This has seen 108th Battery relocate from
4th Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery to 2 RAR as a sub-unit, being the only full-time infantry battalion with its own organic artillery battery. On 15 October 2017, 2 RAR (Amphib) transferred from the 3rd Brigade to report directly to the headquarters of the
1st Division. The battalion remains based at Lavarack Barracks in Townsville, and became the division's specialist amphibious infantry Battalion. The battalion's primary role is to provide specialist capabilities to conduct pre-landing activities for other elements of the Army. It includes small boat operators and reconnaissance and sniper teams as well as command, communications and logistics elements. 2 RAR has a strength of around 350 personnel, which is smaller than the other RAR's infantry battalions. A 2017 article in the
Australian Infantry Magazine stated that in its specialist role, 2 RAR "will be responsible for amphibious reconnaissance and surveillance, small boat operations, battle space shaping and limited scale raiding in support of a Joint Amphibious Task Force". The battalion's main function will be to collect information for the commander of the ADF's Amphibious Task Group and other decision-makers. It is to be responsible for reconnoitering and seizing beaches, helicopter landing zones and airfields for the
Australian Amphibious Force's main ground combat element. Following the completion of amphibious operations, the battalion will either re-embark or remain ashore as a reconnaissance unit. In the latter role, it is to be capable of conducting reconnaissance patrols well behind enemy lines and providing information to other units. As part of this change, 2 RAR (Amphib) transitioned to a new structure in January 2018 which comprises a battalion headquarters, a security company with four infantry platoons, a support company and an administration company. The battalion is planned to generally deploy as the main element of the Australian Amphibious Force's Joint Pre-Landing Force (JPLF). It is planned that the 2 RAR (Amphib) elements generally assigned to the Pre-Landing Force (PLF) will be a command and control node, elements from the Reconnaissance and Sniper and Small Boat Platoons, two infantry platoons, a joint fires team and a signals detachment. The JPLF will also comprise Army geospatial and survey teams, electronic warfare teams, amphibious beach teams, Royal Australian Navy
clearance divers and other specialist elements. Other elements of the Army, including an infantry battalion, form the Amphibious Ready Group's Ground Combat Element (GCE), and rotate through this role on an annual basis.
DCAC - OP Yasi Assist (2011) 2 RAR rear details assist in the Cyclone Yasi aftermath
Fiji (2016) (2020-2021) In 2016 as part of OP Fiji Assist, Joint Task Force 635 (JTF 635), 2 RAR (Amphib) deployed BHQ, Admin and SPT Coy to join with Engineers from Brisbane Units to help after the devestation of Cyclone Winston. In 2020/2021 as part of OP Fiji Assist 20-21, B Coy, 2 RAR (Amphib) was recalled with only 6 Platoon (Small Boats) deployed along with Command Element (Coy 2IC and Amphib WO) to Fiji on HMAS Adelaide to help after Cyclone YASA impacted.
DCAC - OP Queensland Assist (2017) Soldiers allotted to this Engineer led group for clean-up in Airlie Beach after Cyclone Debbie
Papua New Guinea (2018) Some 2 RAR (Amphib) soldiers deployed on OP APEC 18 Assist, these were 4 Platoon from A Coy, 2 RAR (Amphib), which deployed on HMAS Canberra in Support of APEC in Port Moresby
DCAC - OP North Queensland Flood Assist (2019) 2 RAR (Amphib) is recalled, and 83 members are allotted to JTF 658 to assist with flooding in Townsville, most notable, small boats rescues over 400 people from flood-stricken houses in Idalia. All members allotted are granted a Group Gold level commendation for their efforts
Philippines (2019) 2 RAR (Amphib) provided members to the Land Mobile Training Team (Land MTT). 2 RAR (Amphib) provided a HQ element, A Platoon of CB Shooting Instructors, A Sniper Pair Training Team and some support personnel. In three rotations.
South Pacific (2020) 2 RAR (Amphib) provides 14 soldiers as part of the annual Operation (OP RENDER SAFE 2019) from Alpha Coy, 4 Platoon (Small Boats). They deploy HMAS Adelaide and HMAS Canberra (mostly), to the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Fiji
Tonga (2022) A Task force was dispatched after the eruption of underwater volcano Hunga Tonga- Hunga Ha’apai on 15 January. 3 Platoon (Small Boats) from 2 RAR (Amphib) was dispatched as part of a JTF
DCAC - OP NSW Flood Assist (2022) 25 combined members from 4 and 5 platoon, B Coy with the 2IC of B Coy as the Commander attached to JTF 629.1\
Vanuatu (2023) As part of OP VANUATU ASSIST 2023, 6 Platoon (Small boats) deployed as part of a JTF to deliver more than 100 tonnes of humanitarian aid, including food, shelter and medical supplies, to the country in the wake of Tropical Cyclones Judy and Kevin ==Current composition==