Kent has a long-standing and proud association with several regiments of the British Army.

Here reporter Chris Price looks at the facts behind our troops.

Royal Gurkha Rifles

The Gurkhas' reputation precedes them wherever they deploy.

Whilst technically a standard infantry unit, the Gurkha Rifles’ legendary toughness, skill and tenacity earns them the status of an elite fighting force.

Their professionalism is shown by the fact that out of 28,000 applicants last year, only 230 soldiers were enlisted to the Royal Gurkha Rifles.

The Gurkhas have only been eligible for the Victoria Cross since 1911. During this time 26 have been awarded, 13 to British Officers and 13 to Gurkha Soldiers.

A product of Britain’s colonial past, Gurkha soldiers are recruited from Nepal, which is independent from the UK and not part of the Commonwealth. Nepalese tribesmen distinguished themselves when fighting against British-backed forces in the early 19th century. The British were so impressed with their fighting prowess and spirit they began hiring them as mercenaries. Then dedicated Gurkha regiments were formed within the British Indian Army.

There are two battalions of the Royal Gurkha Rifles. The First Battalion of the Royal Gurkha Rifles (1RGR) is currently based in Brunei as part of Britain’s commitment to maintaining a military presence in South East Asia. The Second Battalion of the Royal Gurkha Rifles (2RGR) is in Sir John Moore Barracks at Shorncliffe near Folkestone. Three of the four companies from 2RGR are deployed in Afghanistan (A, B and D company).

Since 1996 1 and 2RGR have been the sole infantry regiment of the British Army Gurkhas.

The regiment was formed in 1994 from an amalgamation of four regiments (2nd King Edward VII’s Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles), 6th Queen Elizabeth’s Own Gurkha Rifles, 7th Duke of Edinburgh’s Own Gurkha Rifles and 10th Princess Mary’s Own Gurkha Rifles). There was a 3RGR but this amalgamated with 2RGR in 1996.

The Gurkhas fought for the British during the Second World War in the Pacific, North African and European theatres. They were deployed to the Falklands during the 1982 conflict.

The six-month tour of Afghanistan for 2RGR began in October and is due to end around March or April.

Princess of Wales Royal Regiment

Known as the Tigers, the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment is the most senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army.

It was formed in 1992 by the amalgamation of The Queen’s Regiment and The Royal Hampshire Regiment and holds the oldest battle honour in the British Army (Tangier, 1662).

It gets its tag as the most senior line of English infantry through its ancestry via the Queen’s Regiment to the Queen’s Royal Regiment (West Surrey).

It is also the most decorated of all British Army regiments, with 57 Victoria Crosses including the VC awarded to Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry in 2004 for his gallantry in Iraq.

As well as being based in Kent the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment is also based in Sussex, Surrey, London, Middlesex and Hampshire. It is also the only infantry regiment that recruits from the Channel Islands.

The regiment comprises three battalions (First Battalion Armoured Infantry, Second Battalion Light Role and Third Battalion Territorial Army Infantry). Its headquarters (RHQ) is in Canterbury. There is also a single Territorial Army company, B (Queen’s) Company of the London Regiment.

When it was formed in 1992 HRH The Princess of Wales and HM The Queen of Denmark were Allied Colonels-in-Chief of the PWRR. When the Princess divorced HRH The Prince of Wales, she resigned as Colonel-in-chief and the Queen of Denmark has remained its Colonel-in-Chief ever since.

The regiment’s First Battalion served a six-month tour of Iraq in 2004 with a second tour following in 2006.

The First Battalion of PWRR, as part of 20 Armoured Brigade, is deployed in Afghanistan.

The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders

Based at Howe Barracks in Canterbury, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (5SCOTS) is an air Assault Battalion.

It is part of 16 Air Assault Brigade - Britain’s Rapid Reaction Force.

It was formed in 1881 by the merger of the 91st (Princess Louise’s Argyllshire) Regiment and the 93rd (Sutherland Highlanders) Regiment.

The regiment is one of the six Scottish line infantry regiments, and wears a version of the Government Sett as its regimental tartan. It also has the largest cap badge in the British Army. The uniform includes the Glengarry as headgear.

In 2004, as part of the restructuring of the infantry, it was announced that the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders would be merged with the other Scottish infantry regiments into the single Royal Regiment of Scotland. The battalion primarily recruits from Argyll and Stirlingshire, with the Battalion Headquarters and Museum located at Stirling Castle.

Troops served in the First and Second World War as well as the Korean War.

During a tour of Iraq in 2004, two platoons of Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in Land Rovers were ambushed by Iraqi insurgents near Majar al-Kabir, south of Amarah. The 20 men ran out of ammunition and were forced to resort to charging the 100 insurgents with their bayonets. They killed many of them, but only suffered three casualties.

The regiment has recently returned from Afghanistan where they were serving as part of 16 Air Assault Brigade.

Corps of Royal Engineers

The Royal Engineers trace their origins back to the military engineers brought to England by William the Conqueror and claim more than 900 years of unbroken service to the crown.

Known as the Sappers, the Royal Engineers serve all over the world. Their motto Ubique signifies this, meaning everywhere.

All Royal Engineers are soldiers first. They are also combat engineers and tradesmen.

A point of some pride to the Sappers is their name takes the form Corps of Royal Engineers rather than, for example, Royal Engineer Corps. They say the distinction is every Sapper is Royal in his own right, rather than simply being a member of a Royal Corps (such as the Royal Corps of Signals or the Royal Regiment of Artillery).

The Regimental Headquarters and the Royal School of Military Engineering are in Chatham.

There are several different units of the Royal Engineers, with 36 Royal Engineer regiment based at Invicta Park Barracks in Maidstone.

The Regiment consists of a Headquarters Squadron, 2 Field Squadrons and a Field Support Squadron, namely 50 Headquarter Squadron, 20 Field Squadron, 69 Gurkha Field Squadron and 70 Gurkha Field Support Squadron.

In April 2008 36 Engineer Regiment returned from a six month tour in Afghanistan on Operation HERRICK 7.