Falkland Islands Defence Force The Falkland Islands Defence Force ( FIDF ) is the locally maintained volunteer defence unit in the Falkland Islands . The FIDF works alongside the military units supplied by the United Kingdom to ensure the security of the islands . History . The first volunteer unit in the Islands was formed in 1854 during the Crimean War to guard against possible Russian aggression . Not given an official title , this unit was sometimes known as the Stanley Volunteers . However , the modern unit traces its direct lineage back to 1892 . The previous year , a steamer owned by one of the groups involved in the Chilean Civil War docked at Stanley . Although ostensibly there to carry out repairs to its engines , the presence onboard of 200 armed soldiers was considered a security threat . So , the Governor , Sir Roger Goldsworthy , ordered that an armed volunteer force be formed . The first draft of men of the new Falkland Islands Volunteers were sworn in at a ceremony at Government House in June 1892 . During the First World War , members of the Volunteers were mobilised to man military outposts around the Islands , while 36 Falklanders enlisted in the armed forces . At the end of the war , the Falkland Islands Volunteers was renamed as the Falkland Islands Defence Force . The FIDF was mobilised again during the Second World War , manning defensive outposts around the Islands . At this time , a mounted rifles unit was raised . In 1939 , a group called the " Tabaris Highlanders " arrived on the islands for a brief two months . They were from the Anglo - Argentine community , and were supposed to defend the islands from a German attack during WWII , and were enrolled into the FIDF . Many of this group were rugby players , including Cpl Thomas Dawson Sanderson , who was president of a rugby club . After the end of the war , the presence of Royal Marines as part of the Islands ' defence led to the FIDF adopting RM dress and drill styles . During this period , one of the first significant hijacking incidents occurred , when an Argentine extremist group staged a symbolic invasion of the Islands by landing a DC - 4 on Stanley Racecourse . The FIDF , alongside the Royal Marines , employed tactics that led to the group surrendering without incident . Following this , the FIDF was on heightened alert until February 1967 . Falklands War . On 1 April 1982 , alongside the Royal Marines party , the FIDF was mobilised to defend the Islands from the Argentine invasion . The following day , Sir Rex Hunt ordered them to surrender . The Argentines confiscated all of the FIDF ' s equipment and declared them to be an illegal organisation . For the duration of the war , some members of the FIDF were kept under house arrest at Fox Bay until the Argentine Surrender . The FIDF was reformed in 1983 . Terry Peck , a former member of the Defence Force , spied on Argentine forces in Stanley , then escaped to become a scout for the 3rd Battalion , Parachute Regiment , with which he fought at the Battle of Mount Longdon . Funding . The Falkland Islands Defence Force today is funded entirely by the Falklands government . Organisation . The FIDF is organised as a light infantry company . It is manned entirely by the local population , following British Army doctrine , training and operations . In an agreement with the British Ministry of Defence , a Royal Marines Warrant Officer 2 is seconded to the Force as a Permanent Staff Instructor . Roles . The FIDF operates sniper / reconnaissance , machine gun , close combat , amphibious and logistic support units , co - ordinated by a central command . It has the capability to mount its own armed defence against illegal fishing in Falkland waters . It also fulfills the role of a mountain rescue agency for the archipelago .