The Royal Pacific Islands Regiment (RPIR) marked its 75th anniversary with the Trooping of the Regimental Colours yesterday, commemorating the regiment’s diamond jubilee since it was formed in 1951.
Deputy Chief of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force, Brigadier General Opa Lari, thanked members of the media for covering the significant event, describing it as an important moment in the regiment’s history.
Brigadier General Opa explained that the Trooping of the Colours is a long-standing military tradition carried out on special occasions, particularly on the regiment’s birthday.
He said the Regimental Colours may also be displayed when dignitaries visit the unit or when foreign army generals visit the regiment. However, the full trooping ceremony is conducted only on the regiment’s birthday.
The Deputy Chief said the regiment holds two colours: The King’s Colour and the Regimental Colour.
He explained that the King’s Colour is only trooped when a member of the royal family is present on parade or when a representative of the sovereign, normally the Governor-General, is in attendance.
Because the sovereign’s representative was not present at the anniversary celebration, only the Regimental Colour was trooped.
Brigadier General Opa also highlighted that the regiment received new colours from the Duke of Edinburgh last year. He said this year’s ceremony marks the first time the colours have been trooped on the regiment’s birthday since they were received.
He said the King’s Colour is a rare privilege granted to regiments that have distinguished themselves in battles or conflicts, reflecting long-standing Commonwealth military traditions.
Brigadier General Opa noted that members of the British royal family are traditionally appointed as Colonel-in-Chief of certain regiments. Up until the reign of His Majesty King Charles III, he held the honorary title of Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Pacific Islands Regiment.
He said it is not yet clear who will inherit that title.
Meanwhile, the Regimental Colour carries the battle honours of the unit. Brigadier General Opa said the honours recognize the contributions of the Pacific Islands Battalion and the Papua New Guinea Infantry Battalion during the Second World War.
He said the battles and campaigns in which they fought successfully are inscribed on the Regimental Colour.
Currently, eight battle honours are displayed on the colour.
Brigadier General Opa added that new battle honours could be added in the future if the 1st Battalion or the 2nd Battalion is deployed in an active campaign and achieves success in those operations.
