18 (UKSF) Signal Regiment is a

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

of the

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...

in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

that provides Communications and Information Systems (CIS) support to the

United Kingdom Special Forces United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF) is a directorate comprising the Special Air Service, the Special Boat Service, the Special Reconnaissance Regiment, the Special Forces Support Group, 18 (UKSF) Signal Regiment and the Joint Special Forces A ...

(UKSF). The regiment is under the operational command of the Director Special Forces and includes signal squadrons from both the Royal Corps of Signals and the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

History

The regiment traces its lineage to 18 Signal Regiment formed in 1959 in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

as part of the Far East Land Forces (FARELF) which was disbanded on 1 December 1971. 18 (UKSF) Signal Regiment was established in April 2005 at the same time as the

Special Reconnaissance Regiment The Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR) is a special forces unit of the British Army that provides advanced and specialist surveillance and special reconnaissance capabilities. It was established on 6 April 2005 and is part of the United King ...

(SRR). The establishment of the SRR was announced by the

Secretary of State for Defence The secretary of state for defence, also known as the defence secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Ministry of Defence. As a senior minister, the incumbent is a member of the ...

in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

. The regiment was formed around the existing communication capabilities of the

Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling, and in 1950 it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terr ...

(SAS) and

Special Boat Service The Special Boat Service (SBS) is the special forces unit of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The SBS can trace its origins back to the Second World War when the Army Special Boat Section was formed in 1940. After the Second World War, the Roy ...

(SBS), namely 264 (SAS) Signal Squadron based at

Stirling Lines Stirling Lines is a British Army garrison in Credenhill, Herefordshire; the headquarters of the Special Air Service, 22 Special Air Service Regiment (22 SAS), Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR) and 18 (UKSF) Signal Regiment. The site was form ...

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

, SBS Signal Squadron based at

RM Poole Royal Marines Base Poole (RM Poole) is a British naval base located in Napier Road in Hamworthy, a suburb of Poole, Dorset, England on the Poole Harbour and is the centre for Royal Marines Commandos activities. History The base was built in ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

and 63 (SAS) Signal Squadron (V) of the Territorial Army (now known as Army Reserve). 264 (SAS) Signal Squadron was formed in July 1966 to support 22 SAS and traces its lineage to a signal troop formed in 1951 for the Malayan Scouts. 63 (SAS) Signal Squadron (V) was formed on 1 April 1967 to support 21 SAS and

23 SAS 23 Special Air Service Regiment (Reserve) (23 SAS(R)) is a British Army Reserve special forces unit that forms part of United Kingdom Special Forces. Together with 21 Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) (Reserve) (21 SAS(R)), it forms the ...

from elements of 41 Signal Regiment, 63 Signal Regiment, 327 Signal Squadron and 115 Field Squadron

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

. The regiment also incorporated 267 (SRR) Signal Squadron to support the SRR and a new squadron 268 (UKSF) Signal Squadron. 267 Signal Squadron had been formed on 18 December 1987. 268 (UKSF) Signal Squadron incorporated the strategic communications element from 264 (SAS) Signal Squadron which provided long range strategic communications. 63 (SAS) Signal Squadron (R) was re-designated as 63 (UKSF) Signal Squadron circa 2014.

Cap badge

The regimental cap badge endorsed on 18 August 2020 is a

Xiphos The ''xiphos'' ( ; plural ''xiphe'', ) is a double-edged, one-handed Iron Age straight shortsword used by the ancient Greeks. It was a secondary battlefield weapon for the Greek armies after the dory or javelin. The classic blade was generall ...

sword and three signal flashes representing the three supported regiments: SAS, SBS and SRR.

Role

The regiment is tasked to deliver the "military CIS capability to enable UK Special Forces operations worldwide in support of Government, Foreign, Security and Defence Policy" with operators providing close support to the SAS, the SBS and the SRR. The regiment served in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

and

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

with several operators killed on special operations.

Selection and training

Regular members of all three services of the

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

and members from the Army Reserve are eligible to apply to join the regiment. An applicant is required to successfully pass a 5 day Briefing Course and then successfully complete a 25 week UK Special Forces Communicators Course (UKSFCC) to become a Special Forces Communicator (SFC). Prior to attempting the UKSFCC, applicants have the option of attending a 3 week SFC Preparation Course. The Special Forces Communicators Course consists of six phases: technical trade assessment, general support communications, physical aptitude, close support communications, conduct after capture, military training and special forces parachute training. Applicants for reserve service in 63 (UKSF) Signal Squadron have to successfully pass an Assessment Course conducted over three weekends and then complete a two week Royal Signals Communications Training course to be eligible to be accepted as Fit for Appointment to the squadron. The applicant is then posted to the squadron to carry out a probationary year completing mandatory courses and a two week training exercise to achieve Fit for Mobilisation.

Component sub-units

The regiment comprises: *SBS Signal Squadron *264 (SAS) Signal Squadron *267 (SRR) Signal Squadron *268 (UKSF) Signal Squadron *63 (UKSF) Signal Squadron

References