Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry

Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
Cap badge
Founded	10 August 1914
Country	Canada
Branch	Canadian Expeditionary Force Canadian Army
Type	Infantry
Role	Mechanized infantry (two battalions) Light infantry (one battalion)
Size	Three battalions
Part of	Royal Canadian Infantry Corps
Garrison/HQ	RHQ: Edmonton 1st Battalion: Edmonton 2nd Battalion: Shilo 3rd Battalion: Edmonton
Nickname(s)	The Pats, Patricia's, The Patricia's, VP, The Picklies or Princess Pat's, Dirty Patricias, The Vicious Patricias
Colours	2nd Battalion entitled to wear US PUC streamer on regimental colour
March	Quick: "Has Anyone Seen the Colonel/Tipperary/Mademoiselle from Armentières" (medley) Slow: "Lili Marlene" 1st Battalion: "The Maple Leaf" 2nd Battalion: "March Winnipeg" 3rd Battalion: "Imperial Echoes"
Engagements	First World War Second World War Korean War War in Afghanistan
Decorations	US Presidential Unit Citation (2nd Battalion) Commander-in-Chief Unit Commendation: 2nd Bn PPCLI Battle Group: Medak Pocket, Croatia, Operation Harmony, 1993 Commander-in-Chief Unit Commendation: 3rd Bn PPCLI Battle Group: Afghanistan, Operation Apollo, 2002 Commander-in-Chief Unit Commendation: 1st Bn PPCLI Battle Group: Afghanistan, Operation Archer, 2006
Battle honours	See #Battle Honours
Website	www.ppcli.com
Commanders
Colonel-in-Chief	The Rt Hon Adrienne Clarkson PC CC CMM COM CD
Colonel of the Regiment	Brigadier-General R.R. Romses, OMM, CD
Abbreviation	PPCLI

Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI, generally referred to as the Patricia's)^{[a 1]} is one of the three Regular Force infantry regiments of the Canadian Army of the Canadian Armed Forces. Formed in 1914, it is named for Princess Patricia of Connaught, daughter of the then-Governor General of Canada.^[1] The regiment is composed of three battalions, for a total of 2,000 soldiers. The PPCLI is the main lodger unit of Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Edmonton in Alberta and CFB Shilo in Manitoba, and attached to 3rd Canadian Division; as such, it serves as the "local" regular infantry regiment for much of Western Canada. The Loyal Edmonton Regiment (LER), a Reserve Force battalion, is affiliated with the PPCLI but is not formally part of it. As part of this affiliation, the LER carries the designation '4th Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry'.

The PPCLI is a "British-style" Regiment which serves as the spiritual home and repository of customs and traditions for a number of battalions that do not necessarily serve together operationally. Its three battalions are independent operational entities, within 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (1 CMBG). The regimental title is honorific: two of the battalions are mechanized infantry and the unit has never been organized as a traditional light infantry regiment.^{[a 1]}

The PPCLI was raised on the initiative of Captain Andrew Hamilton Gault in 1914 as part of the British Empire's war effort for the First World War. It was the first Canadian infantry unit to enter the theatre of operations, arriving in France on December 21, 1914. The regiment served with both the British and Canadian Expeditionary Forces, and was retained as a regular infantry regiment after the war. The regiment mobilized again in the Second World War, provided three battalions in succession for the Korean War, and most recently fought in the War in Afghanistan. The regiment has also provided units for numerous NATO operations and United Nations peacekeeping missions.^{[b 1]} The regiment has received 39 battle honours, three Commander-in-Chief Unit Commendations and the United States Presidential Unit Citation.^{[b 1]}

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