March north for Adelaide soldiers confirmed
An Edinburgh-based army unit and personnel will progressively head north after the federal government announced a strategic restructure of Australia’s armed forces, but Adelaide will become a hub for long-range missile capabilities.
The Adelaide-based 7th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (7RAR) will progressively be redeployed as part of the changes amid “challenges in Australia’s strategic environment”.
Announced today by Defence Minister Richard Marles, the 5th Battalion and the 7th Battalion will become 5th/7th Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment, and will be based in Darwin.
The 1st Armoured Regiment will become an “experimental unit to deliver and integrate emerging technologies” and will remain at its present location in Adelaide.
Personnel will move to new locations as their planned postings end or earlier if they choose. This will see most personnel moving between December 2024 and January 2025.
The 10th Brigade, based in Adelaide, will operate rocket and missile launching systems as part of the move for the northern suburbs site to “become future-focused, with key future long-range strike capabilities consolidated here”.
The changes will mean Adelaide’s defence personnel number will drop but they are expected to return to current levels from 2028 onwards.
“These changes to Army are about responding to the recommendations of the Defence Strategic Review to maintain peace, security and prosperity in our region,” Marles said.
“Our Army has always played a vital role in the defence of our nation and will continue to do so as it adapts to the challenges of our times.
“These changes involve some hard decisions. But these decisions are necessary to build the Army Australia needs.”
Premier Peter Malinauskas said the changes had “implications for South Australia”, and that any movement of troops needed a “par result” for the state.
“It is clear that there is going to be a withdrawal,” he said.
“Thankfully that is going to be replaced by a brand new Brigade… that will be the backbone of the Defence Force’s long-range firing strategy.
“Our aspiration is to be the home of the high-tech sector associated with Defence.”
Malinauskas said the changes “in terms of movements in and movements out, will have an impact of around 400 people at its worst”.
“This will end up being a net better outcome for SA in the long term,” he said.
