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Territorial and Reserves

Private Robert Willis, a TA frontline medic, in Afghanistan.

The Territorial Army, or TA as it is usually known, is part of Britain's reserve land forces.  Together with the Regular Reserve the TA provides support to the Regular Army at home and overseas.

It is fair to say that throughout its history, almost every major operation has seen TA soldiers operating alongside their Regular counterparts.

The TA is the largest of all the Reserve Forces, the others being the Royal Naval Reserve (RNR), the Royal Marines Reserve (RMR) and the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR).

Covering the United Kingdom, the TA is divided into three types of unit; National, Regional and Sponsored. Anyone thinking of joining usually has a choice of at least two types of unit, depending on how far they are prepared to travel to attend training.

Generic TAQ Logo

TAQ SDSR Bulletin

The latest edition of TAQ (Territorial Army Quarterly) looks at the implications for the Territorial Army in the light of the Strategic Defence and Security Review.

TAQ SDSR Bulletin

TA soldier

More about joining

Joining the Army as a Territorial means that you do all your training and military duties in your spare time. It makes it possible to get many of the benefits of Army life and combine them with your civilian life and career.

Joining the TA