Reserve soldiers from Northern Ireland are to be deployed to the Falkland Islands.

2 Royal Irish will join the 1st Battalion of the Welsh Guards for a three-month operational tour of the south Atlantic islands.

Nine reservists are currently completing their final training before flying to the Falklands in mid-May to work alongside the guardsmen as part of the Falkland Islands Roulement Infantry Company (FIRIC).

Based at RAF Mount Pleasant, the FIRIC is a rotational Army infantry unit that is part of the 1,200 personnel from all the services that make up the permanent garrison.

2 Royal Irish commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Simon Baxter, said: “This short notice deployment to the Falkland Islands builds on our recent highly successful operational tour of Cyprus; and exemplifies the sense of duty members of 2 Royal IRISH have in supporting wider army commitments.

“It also further demonstrates the utility of the army reserve and how, and where, we fit in to the recent announcement around the restructuring and transformation of the British Army, under [the] Future-Soldier programme.”

One of the rangers deploying, who is from Portadown, said they were looking forward to it.

“Conducting long rang patrols using helicopters whilst meeting, supporting, and providing reassurance to the islanders will be incredibly rewarding and very interesting,” they said.

The reservists are due to return in August.