{"id":45791,"date":"2021-05-25T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-25T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/05\/25\/why-the-uk-is-investing-in-a-new-ranger-regiment\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:04:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:04:05","slug":"why-the-uk-is-investing-in-a-new-ranger-regiment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2021\/05\/25\/why-the-uk-is-investing-in-a-new-ranger-regiment\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the UK is investing in a new ranger regiment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The decision by the United Kingdom to create a new ranger regiment<\/a> was driven by a need to place long-term special operations capabilities in partner countries, with a key focus on the African continent, according to the chief of the British Army.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gen. Mark Carleton-Smith, the Army\u2019s chief of the general staff, told Defense News during a recent visit to Washington that the creation of the new unit is based around the fact that \u201cthe future is growing unpredictability, and [with] uncertainty and volatility.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new regiment, made up of four battalions, is expected to come online before the end of the year. U.K. officials said the group is actively modeled on the American Green Berets. Britain\u2019s recent integrated review<\/a> of defense, security, foreign policy and international development called for \u00a3120 million (U.S. $170 million) over the next four years for the unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked why Britain would create the unit now when the country and the U.S. are jointly focused on great power competition and drawdowns in the Middle East, Carleton-Smith pointed to the experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, which he described as being \u201cengaged in a campaign of proxy management,\u201d one where the allied special forces focused on building local partner capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a long-term game and a long-term investment, but it\u2019s also a specialist sport, particularly with respects to the cultural dimension. It\u2019s also become almost a house style,\u201d Carleton-Smith said. \u201cAnd we think in the future that house style is going to have greater applicability in regions of the world such as Africa, which continues to incubate violent extremist threats. And we therefore needed to build greater capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The challenge will be building partners\u2019 capabilities while transforming Britain\u2019s existing \u201ctier one\u201d special operations forces to prepare them for great power challenges, the general said. \u201cIn order to find that time and the resources for that [transformation], they will need to relinquish some of the responsibilities that have been their daily diet in the post-9\/11 world and hand off responsibility to the conventional force,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hence, the rangers, who will \u201cgive us the capacity for raising, training, mentoring, advising and accompanying local surrogates in high-threat and hostile environments, a role that was previously almost the exclusive preserve of our tier one special forces, but we now need within the conventional force as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t