Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment The Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment is the main combat unit in the regular New Zealand Army . History . The regiment was formed on 9 January 1947 as the New Zealand Regiment with a single infantry battalion as part of the newly created infantry corps . By 1 August 1947 the regiment was augmented by the reorganisation of the Jayforce ( the New Zealand occupation force in Japan ) : The 2nd and 3rd Battalions were disbanded in 1948 following their return to New Zealand . The honours and traditions of the 22nd Battalion , NZEF were then perpetuated through the Wellington ( City of Wellington ' s Own ) Regiment , the Hawke ' s Bay Regiment and the Wellington West Coast and Taranaki Regiment . The 2nd Battalion was raised again in 1959 and saw service in Malaya before converting to a depot for the 1st Battalion in 1963 . The regiment received its present name on 1 April 1964 , when all of the Territorial Force battalions were absorbed into its structure , receiving battalion numbers : In 1973 , the regiment gained an additional regular battalion , when the Regimental Depot was redesignated as 2 / 1st Battalion , RNZIR . This structure was in place until 1999 , when the TF regiments resumed their separate identities following the re - organisation of the army structure . Today , the RNZIR has two regular battalions : The 3 / 1st Battalion , RNZIR was a planned TF mobilisation unit , a concept which arose during 1990s reorganisation planning which did not go beyond ' paper ' status . Previously , under the three - battalion plan , upon mobilisation of TF infantry units from the six battalion groups , each of the regular battalions would be augmented by a company , while the remaining four would be used to form 3 / 1st Battalion . In addition , the RNZIR contributed two companies to the ANZAC Battalion in Vietnam between 1968 and 1971 . It is this that has provided the RNZIR with its only battle honour thus far , which is the only battle honour awarded to a New Zealand unit since World War II . On 17 March 2013 the six TF battalions were amalgamated into three with the 2nd Battalion ( Canterbury and Nelson - Marlborough and West Coast Regiment ) combining with 4th Battalion ( Otago and Southland Regiment ) to form the 2nd / 4th Battalion , Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment , the 3rd Battalion ( Auckland [ Countess of Ranfurly ' s Own ] and Northland Regiment ) combining with 6th Battalion ( Hauraki Regiment ) to form the 3rd / 6th Battalion , Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment ( 3 / 6 RNZIR ) and the 5th Battalion ( Wellington West Coast and Taranaki Regiment ) and 7th Battalion ( Wellington [ City of Wellington ' s Own ] , Hawkes Bay Regiment ) combining to form the 5th / 7th Battalion , Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment ( 5 / 7 RNZIR ) . Organisation . In the New Zealand Army , an Infantry Platoon is commanded by a second lieutenant or a lieutenant with a Platoon Sergeant ( holding the rank of sergeant ) , a Platoon Signaller and a medic ( where relevant ) comprising the Platoon Headquarters . The Platoon is sub - divided into three sections of between 7 – 10 soldiers , each commanded by a corporal with a lance corporal as the Section second - in - command ( Section 2iC ) . Each section can be sub - divided into two fire - teams , commanded by the Section Commander and 2iC respectively , as well as normal two man Scout , Rifle and Gun Teams . In recent years the section organisation consists of the two fire team concept , where the section is divided into two fire teams with a Gun team in each and one commanded by the section corporal and the other section lance corporal with a section marksmen in each team and the leftover riflemen divided equally among the two fire teams . The section corporal is still in overall command and is in contact with the other fire team via radio if the situation changes . There are three platoons in a Rifle Company , which is commanded by a major , and three rifle companies within an infantry battalion , which is commanded by a lieutenant colonel . An infantry battalion will also contain an organic Support Company including a signals platoon , mortar platoon ( mortars now officially under the Artillery corps but still used by Infantry on deployment ) , Direct Fire Support Weapons Platoon which includes 7 . 62 mm MAG 58s in the sustained fire role , 84 mm Carl Gustav recoilless rifle , Browning . 50 Caliber machine - guns , Reconnaissance Platoon and Sniper cell , and a Logistics Company ( transport and stores ) . It used to include an Assault Pioneer platoon , but this was removed due to government cost cutting . The battalion totals around 400 to 500 soldiers depending on retention levels . Individual rifle companies might be given a speciality to focus on for training purposes for example " enhanced infantry " special forces support , or extreme cold weather environments . The above organisation is a greatly reduced battalion strength , as a full strength battalion should field 800 to 1 , 000 soldiers . This is due to consecutive governments downsizing the New Zealand military to reduce costs . Battle honours . Because it is recruited on a nationwide basis , and has no specific regional links , the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment claims descent from the old New Zealand Regiment and all previous Territorial Infantry Regiments of the New Zealand Army . As a consequence , it is permitted to display a selection of 105 battle honours awarded to ten separate regiments :