When the Scottish infantry regiments amalgamated to form the Royal Regiment of Scotland on 28 March 2006, the Royal Scots Battalion and the King's Own Scottish Borderers Battalion initially maintained their identities as separate battalions. However almost immediately the Ministry of Defence moved to amalgamate the two battalions. This was not a new idea: the origins of the combined entity, Royal Scots Borderers, dates from the 1990 Options for Change review, when it was initially announced that the Royal Scots and King's Own Scottish Borderers would amalgamate. That amalgamation was subsequently rescinded. The Royal Scots Battalion and King's Own Scottish Borderers Battalion duly amalgamated on 1 August 2006 – upon their amalgamation, the new battalion took the name The Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland. Since the amalgamation, the battalion has been deployed several times both to Iraq on Operation TELIC and to Afghanistan on Operation HERRICK, most recently to Afghanistan in September 2012 on HERRICK 17 as the Brigade Advisory Group and Operations Company. In September 2014, B Company deployed to Sierra Leone on Operation GRITROCK to help fight the outbreak of Ebola and in September 2015, the 1 SCOTS Battlegroup deployed on Operation TOSCA to Cyprus as part of the ongoing UN peacekeeping operations. A written statement in December 2016 stated that it will be a Specialised Infantry battalion, reconfigured to provide an increased contribution to countering terrorism and building stability overseas. Following this change of role, the battalion will be assigned to the Specialised Infantry Group. Following the Army 2020 Refine, the battalion will move to Aldershot and join the Specialised Infantry Group. In October 2017 the battalion officially joined the group, and are to move by 2020. Another change was the reduction of size, with the battalion losing their support company, and many other positions.
Uniform and traditions
Uniform
The battalion wears a flat black hackle behind the Royal Regiment of Scotland cap badge on the TOS to distinguish itself as the Royal Scots Borderers.
Recruiting & Links
It recruits its soldiers from Dumfries and Galloway, Edinburgh, the Lothians, Borders and parts of Lanarkshire, which was traditionally the recruiting ground of the Cameronians until they were disbanded in 1968. The battalion home headquarters and museums are based at Edinburgh Castle for the Royal Scots and Berwick for the King's Own Scottish Borderers. A Company of 52nd Lowland, 6th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland maintains an affiliation to the 1st Battalion.
