Hundreds of army reservists in Norfolk to train for UN peace keeping mission

Hundreds of army reservists have been in Norfolk to mark the start of their training for a UN peace keeping mission in Cyprus.

It's the British Army's largest ever deployment of the Army Reserve in a single, formed unit under its own command.

7th Battalion The RIFLES is the Reserve Infantry Battalion of London and the South and today at a special ceremony soldiers got to wear their Blue Berets for the first time.

The Battalion is comprised of 500 part-time soldiers from a wide variety of backgrounds and has bases in London, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Wiltshire and they are conducting their training at the STANTA Training Area in Thetford before they take up their duties on April 1st 2020 for 6 months.

The soldiers are from both the 7th and 5th battalions. The Battlegroup is 7 RIFLES led but there is a mix of approximately 60% 7 RIFLES and 40% 5 RRF (Royal Regiment of Fusiliers).

The battlegroup will be based at Thetford, in Norfolk, for around two months of pre-deployment training (PDT), which will see them learn and practice the skills they need to keep the peace on Cyprus’ Green Line.

Cyprus became a divided island in 1974 following an extended period of tension and violence between the Greek and Turkish communities. The British soldiers’ mission will see them patrol the no-man’s-land between the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish north to ensure that both sides continue to abide by the terms of the ceasefire agreement.

Approximately 240 Reservists will be deployed - the first time a fully formed Reservist unit will be operationally deployed under Army 2020.