Happy 128th Birthday to the Royal Canadian Regiment

Ray Romano, Kiefer Sutherland, Andy Dick, Samuel L. Jackson, Phil Donahue, Chris Evert, Frank Zappa  & Jane Fonda what do they all have in common? well all have birthdays today and chances are if you use Twitter at some point today you will see one of the following names trending with a "Happy Birthday" in front of them.

I bet if anyone were to mention all of these names to you that you could tell me at least one thing about them, no disrespect to Ray Romano as everybody loves him right but how many Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan can you name that served with the Royal Canadian Regiment?

No disrespect to any of the following above celebrities mentioned, I'm going to tell you about a more significant birthday today..........................

On  December 21st, 1883 The Royal Canadian Regiment came into being. Of course, it was called the Infantry School Corps, with three companies, one each in Fredericton, New Brunswick, St John's, Quebec and Toronto, Ontario.

The Royal Canadian Regiment (The RCR) is an infantry regiment of the Canadian Forces. The RCR is the senior infantry regiment in the Regular Force, but its 4th Battalion (formerly the London and Oxford Fusiliers) is ranked 11th in the order of precedence among Reserve Force infantry regiments. The regiment consists of four battalions, three in the Regular Force and one in the Reserve Force (militia). The regiment's four battalions are stationed in Ontario and New Brunswick.

With many of its soldiers drawn from Ontario and the Atlantic Provinces in recent decades, the regiment maintains a general connection as the "local" infantry regiment for eastern Canada. The RCR maintains a Regimental Headquarters (RHQ) in Petawawa, Ontario, which has no operational command role but handles regimental affairs outside the responsibility of the individual Battalions.

The Royal Canadian Regiment Museum is also located in London, in the historic Wolseley Hall. Wolseley Barracks in London has been continuously occupied by some element of the regiment since construction of Wolseley Hall was completed in 1888. At various times Wolseley Barracks has been the home of the 1st and 2nd Battalions, and remains the home of the 4th Battalion today.

I want to wish the RCR a Happy Birthday and thankful for all the amazing soldiers I know from this regiment.