The Territorial Army - Challenging Opportunities

Celebrating 100 Years of Service by The Territorial Army
With its Headquarters at Brecon, 160 (Wales) Brigade is at the hub of the Army in Wales.  Dating back to 1908, the Brigade has a proud history at the centre of Army activity in the Principality for nearly a century.

Within 160 (Wales) Brigade area are some of the Army’s top training sites, including the Infantry Battle School at Brecon and Sennybridge Training Area.  Indeed, most British infantry soldiers visit these sites at some stage during their career.  The SAS carries out much of its training in Wales’s tailor-made rugged terrain.
Other important training establishments in Wales include Castlemartin Range, The Royal Artillery Range Manorbier and the Joint Services Mountain Training Centre on Anglesey.

Visiting units of all descriptions exercise over both MOD and private land, supported by Brigade staff who maintain strong links with Welsh
landowners and stakeholders, including farmers, the National Park Authorities and the National Trust.

Paradoxically, such an active training environment provides an ideal habitat for a wealth of flora and fauna, already lost in other parts of the country.  For example, the Waxcap fungi, the red kite and the chough would be under serious threat in more intensively managed areas.

The Army’s premier patrolling exercise, ‘Cambrian Patrol’, has been run annually by the Brigade, taking place in the rugged mountainous terrain of mid Wales.  Open to all British Army units, Regular and TA, the Royal Navy and the RAF, the exercise also has attracted many foreign teams.
The Brigade area is home to three Regular Army and six TA units comprising Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers, Infantry, Royal Logistics Corps, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and Royal Army Medical Corps.  Wales Universities Officer Training Corps, Cadet Training Teams and Army Youth Teams are also based in Wales.  In all, over 8,000 military and civilian personnel.
Welsh Regiments recruit from Wales with some 6% of the Army being consistently recruited from the Principality and Cadets are also well served, with over 3,000 youngsters from the Army Cadet Force spread throughout Wales.

Important developments in recent years have included the posting of 1st Battalion Welsh Guards to Wales for the first time in their history and the formation of The Royal Welsh Regiment in March 2006.
Ceremonial duties are an important part of the Army heritage in Wales: 104th Regiment Royal Artillery (Volunteers), for example, fires five Royal Salutes in Cardiff each year, while the five Welsh Regiments have the Freedom of 19 towns and cities between them.