18 (UKSF) Signal Regiment is a

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

of the

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

in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

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

United Kingdom Special Forces The 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 Force ...

(UKSF). The regiment is under the operational command of the

Director Special Forces Director Special Forces (DSF) is the senior British Armed Forces officer responsible for Special Forces. The post is a senior role within the Ministry of Defence (MoD). As Director, the incumbent is responsible for the provision of United Kingdom S ...

and includes signal squadrons from both the Royal Corps of Signals and the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

History

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

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

as part of the

Far East Land Forces The Far East Command was a British military command which had 2 distinct periods. These were firstly, 18 November 1940 – 7 January 1942 succeeded by the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command ( ABDACOM), and secondly, 1963–1971 succeeded ...

(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 reconnaissance unit of the British Army. It was established on 6 April 2005 and is part of the United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF). The regiment conducts a wide range of classified activitie ...

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

Secretary of State for Defence The secretary of state for defence, also referred to as the defence secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the business of the Ministry of Defence. The incumbent is a membe ...

in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the 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 parliament. ...

. 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-terro ...

(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 Roya ...

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

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

, SBS Signal Squadron based at

RM Poole Royal Marines Base Poole (RM Poole) is a British naval base located in Hamworthy a suburb of Poole, Dorset, England on the Poole Harbour and is the centre for Special Boat Service activities. History The base was built in 1942 with the creatio ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

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 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

and 23 SAS 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 a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

. 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.

Capbadge

The regimental cap badge endorsed on 18 August 2020 is a

Xiphos The ''xiphos'' ( grc, ξίφος ; plural ''xiphe'', grc, ξίφη ) 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. ...

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,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

with several operators killed on special operations.

Structure

The unit is organised as follows: *Regimental headquarters (RHQ) **3 close support signal squadrons (one assigned to each of SAS/SBS/SRR) ***264 (SAS) Signal Squadron ***SBS Signal Squadron ***267 (SRR) Signal Squadron ***Each squadron has up to four close support signal troops - supplying one to each squadron in the SF unit to which the close support signal squadron is assigned **268 (UKSF) Signal Squadron - specialises in delivering Information Communication Systems **Training/support squadron ***Training wing ***Transport/power ***Garrison Support ****Medical, Cat, Gym, LAD ***Quartermaster ***Communication Systems Engineer Troop (CSE Tp) ***Command Support ****Regimental Administration Office (RAO), Operations, CDA *63 (UKSF) Signal Squadron, supporting UKSF

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. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

and members from the

Army Reserve A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. 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

{{United Kingdom Special Forces Regiments of the Royal Corps of Signals Military units and formations established in 2005 Special forces of the United Kingdom 2005 establishments in the United Kingdom