Description

4th/3rd Battalion, The Royal New South Wales Regiment (4/3 RNSWR) is a Reserve light infantry battalion of the Australian Army, one of four battalions of the Royal New South Wales Regiment, and is currently a Reserve unit attached to the 5th Brigade, 2nd Division.The Battalion is currently based at Sutherland, with sub-units located at Holsworthy, Wollongong and Canberra.The lineage of 4/3 RNSWR can be traced from The Newtown Volunteer Rifle Corps (1862), the Goulburn Volunteer Rifle Corps (1869) and the Ashfield Volunteer Reserve Corps (1885). New South Wales soldiers served in the Sudan (1885) and the Boer War (1899 – 1902).The 3rd Battalion and the 4th Battalion, 1st Australian Imperial Force (AIF) were raised in 1914 as part of the 1st Brigade of the 1st Division for service overseas during the First World War. Both Battalions saw service throughout the Gallipoli campaign, and subsequently served with distinction in the France and Belgium from 1916 through to 1918.The 3rd Battalion and the 4th Battalion, 2nd AIF (2/3 Bn and 2/4 Bn, 2 AIF) were raised at Ingleburn in 1939 as a part of the 16th Brigade of the 6th Division for service overseas during the Second World War. Continuing the ANZAC tradition and spirit established a generation earlier, both Battalions served with distinction in North Africa, Greece, Crete, Syria and New Guinea.The 3rd Battalion was re-raised in Canberra in 1948 while the 4th Battalion was re-raised from existing Riverina District units in 1957. The restructure of 1960 resulted in the 4th Battalion, together with C Company (The Werriwa Company) 3rd Battalion RNSWR, the 34th Battalion (Illawarra Regiment) and the 45th Battalion (St George Regiment), being incorporated into the 3rd Battalion RNSWR. The 3rd Battalion and the 4th Battalion were reformed in 1965 as separate Battalions prior to finally being linked on 26 September 1987 as 4/3 RNSWR.4/3 RNSWR soldiers of today continue the tradition of serving overseas with distinction, either as individuals or in teams, whether it is in Malaysia, the Solomon Islands, East Timor, Afghanistan or in a diverse range of challenging environments.Operation Resolute is commanded by the joint civilian-military Border Protection Command and the Australian Defence Force (ADF) contributes Royal Australian Navy ships, Royal Australian Air Force aircraft and patrols from the Australian Army’s Regional Force Surveillance Units as required. Soldiers from 4/3 RNSWR have been regularly deployed on Operation Resolute.Operation Anode is the ADF’s role in supporting Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI). Soldier’s from 4/3 RNSWR has supported RAMSI in multiple brigade led deployments as a peacekeeping force to assist local and international police force’s in the re-stabilisation of the Solomon Islands in conjunction with the New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Tongan defence forces.