The 7th Signal Regiment is an

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...

signals intelligence Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is the act and field of intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly u ...

(SIGINT) unit. Drawing lineage from the Australian Special Wireless Group (ASWG), which was raised during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the regiment's history includes service in the Allied campaigns in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, on

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

and in

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

before taking part in the fighting against the Japanese in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

. After the war, the ASWG was redesignated the 101 Wireless Regiment, deploying detachments overseas during the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War, was a guerrilla warfare, guerrilla war fought in Federation of Malaya, Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Arm ...

and

Confrontation Confrontation is an element of conflict wherein parties confront one another, directly engaging one another in the course of a dispute between them. A confrontation can be at any scale, between any number of people, between entire nations or cu ...

. In the mid-1960s, the unit became the 7th Signals Regiment, taking part in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. The unit is currently part of the 1st Division.

History

World War II

The regiment traces its lineage back to a unit that was raised as part of the

Second Australian Imperial Force The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial strength of one ...

(2nd AIF) during

. The Australian Special Wireless Group (ASWG) was formed as signals intelligence group on 18 May 1942 at

Bonegilla, Victoria Bonegilla is a town of the City of Wodonga local government area in north-east Victoria, Australia, east of Wodonga, and around north-east of Melbourne. At the , Bonegilla and the surrounding area had a population of 610. History Bonegill ...

. With a war establishment of 1,000 personnel, the ASWG was raised out of a smaller unit, No. 4 Australian Special Wireless Section, which had been raised at

Seymour, Victoria Seymour () is a town located in the Southern end of the Goulburn Valley in the Shire of Mitchell, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia and is located north of Melbourne. At the , Seymour had a population of 6,569. The township services t ...

, in 1940 and had served in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, and

, before being withdrawn back to Australia after Japan's entry into the war. From August 1942, females were also recruited into the ASWG. Personnel undertook four months of training, before being formed into

sections Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

and deployed to various locations in remote parts of Australia or in

. The ASWG was headquartered at Kalinga, in Brisbane during the war and eventually 11 field sections were raised in total. By the end of the war, the ASWG had around 4,300 personnel. Parts of the group were later absorbed into the

Central Bureau The Central Bureau was one of two Allied signals intelligence (SIGINT) organisations in the South West Pacific area (SWPA) during World War II. Central Bureau was attached to the headquarters of the Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area, Ge ...

Post 1945

After the conclusion of hostilities, the ASWG was relocated to Cabarlah, Queensland, north of

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( ), nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar', is a city on the border of South East Queensland and Darling Downs regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoom ...

. In February 1947, it was redesignated the "101 Wireless Regiment", with an authorised strength of two officers and 22 other ranks. Over the next two years, the regiment was expanded and between 1951 and 1959, the regiment deployed a detachment to Malaya in support of Commonwealth forces deployed during the

. During the early 1960s, the regiment deployed to Borneo during

, intercepting and decoding Indonesian communications. A further name change came in December 1964, when it became the 7th Signal Regiment, subsequently deploying a

troop A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Troo ...

– 547 Troop – as part of Australia's contribution to the Vietnam War. The unit continues to exist within the Australian Army today as part of the 6th Brigade, providing an electronic warfare capability. From the 1990s, the regiment provided support for Australian Army deployments to

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

Multinational Force A multinational force is a multinational operation which may be defensive, offensive, or for peacekeeping purposes. In multinational operations, many countries form an alliance to carry them out. Multinational forces include: * Supreme Headquar ...

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

East Timor Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

, Bougainville,

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. It is currently based at Borneo Barracks, at Cabarlah and has an establishment of around 250 personnel. The majority of its personnel are members of the

Royal Australian Corps of Signals The Royal Australian Corps of Signals (RASigs) is one of the 'arms' (combat support corps) of the Australian Army. It is responsible for installing, maintaining, and operating all types of telecommunications equipment and information systems. The ...

. In June 1995, then Governor-General Bill Hayden was the Reviewing Officer for the regiment's 48th birthday parade held at Borneo Barracks, Cabarlah. When the 6th Brigade was disbanded in December 2024 the 1st Intelligence Battalion was temporarily assigned to the direct command of the 1st Division. It will transfer to the 10th Brigade in late 2025.

Structure

As of 2016, the 7th Signal Regiment comprised the following sub-units: *71st Squadron *72nd Squadron *73rd Squadron *138th Squadron *Operations Support Squadron

History

World War II

Post 1945

Structure

See also

References

Further reading