2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
| 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment | |
|---|---|
| Active | 16 October 1945 – 15 August 1973 1 February 1995 – present |
| Country | Australia |
| Branch | Australian Army |
| Type | Amphibious light infantry |
| Role | Reconnaissance Pre-landing Force Operations |
| Size | 350 |
| Part of | 1st Division |
| Garrison/HQ | Townsville |
| Nickname(s) | Boys in Black |
| Motto(s) | 'Second To None' |
| Colors | Black |
| March | Ringo (Band) Back in Black (Pipes and Drums) |
| Anniversaries | 16 October (battalion birthday) |
| Engagements | Korean War
|
| Decorations | Gallantry Cross Unit Citation (South Vietnam) |
| Insignia | |
| Unit Colour Patch (UCP) | |
| Tartan | Australian (Pipers kilts and plaids) |
The 2nd Battalion (Amphibious), The Royal Australian Regiment (2 RAR (Amphib)) is an amphibious reconnaissance battalion of the Australian Army part of the 1st Division Amphibious Task Group based at Lavarack Barracks in Townsville.
2 RAR was initially formed as the Australian 66th Australian Infantry Battalion, 2nd AIF in 1945 as part of the 34th Brigade (Australia) and since then it has deployed to wars and conducted operations during Japan, the Korean War (As well as Post-Armistice Service), The Malayan Emergency (Two Tours of 1955-1957 and 1961–1963), Vietnam War (Two Tours 1967-1968 and 1970–1971), Rwanda, Border Protection, East Timor, The Iraq War (2003), The Solomon Islands, The Afghanistan War, Domestic and Foreign Assistance operations due to Flood, Cyclone, etc. In 2011, 2 RAR was selected to be the Army's Trial Battalion to be part of Amphibious Ready Element Landing Force embarked on the Navy's new Canberra-class amphibious assault ships. The conversion process was officially completed on 16 October 2017 when the battalion took on this specialist role and was renamed 2 RAR (Amphib), which incorporated its speciality in the name. The battalion now provides a world class pre-landing force (PLF) capability to the ADF.