The Prince of Wales made a visit to 1 Mercian Regiment at their Bulford base, where he held discussions with female personnel about their experiences serving in the Armed Forces.
As Colonel-in-Chief of the regiment, Prince William’s trip followed his journey to see the unit during their posting in Estonia last year.
The soldiers have since completed their six-month stint on Operation Cabrit, which forms Britain’s contribution to Nato’s Forward Land Forces stationed in Estonia and Poland.
Currently, women represent around 12 per cent of the UK Regular Forces, with military leaders aiming to boost this figure to 30 per cent by the end of the decade.
Prince William shines a light on women serving in Armed Forces with special outing
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During his visit, the father-of-three toured the regiment’s purpose-built urban training facility, where troops are currently testing and experimenting with drone technology for city-based warfare.
He watched soldiers carry out urban combat drills and was given the chance to operate a drone himself, seeing firsthand how the aircraft supports infantry sections during operations.
The Mercian Regiment, established in September 2007, draws its recruits historically from the five counties of the ancient kingdom of Mercia, earning them the title of The Heart of England’s Infantry.
Prince William is Colonel-in-Chief of the Regiment
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The battalion ranks among the Army’s most battle-tested units, having undertaken more than 15 operational deployments since its creation.
William then joined officers, soldiers and their families from B Company for a coffee morning held in the Officers’ Mess, where they shared stories from their recent six-month deployment to Estonia.
The gathering offered the 43-year-old an opportunity to hear directly from those who had served on the Nato mission and their loved ones who supported them from home.
Women represent around 12 per cent of the UK Regular Forces
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The Prince of Wales presented Long Service and Good Conduct medals to three soldiers
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To round off his engagement with the regiment, the Prince of Wales presented Long Service and Good Conduct medals to three soldiers in recognition of their dedicated military careers.
The Mercians specialise in close-quarters combat, operating weapons systems from the SA80 A3 rifle to the Warrior armoured vehicle.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.gbnews.com ’
