Next year, The Green Howards will undergo the most dramatic change in its 316 years when it merges with two battalions to become the Yorkshire Regiment. In the last of three articles on the Green Howards on exercise in Belize, Olivia Richwald asks how they will cope.

THE news came like a bombshell while the battalion was on peacekeeping duties in Afghanistan.

It was July 2004 and the soldiers were devastated to hear the Government was re-structuring the Army and that their battalion was in jeopardy.

Looking back, the commander of The Green Howards, Lieutenant Colonel Jim Willis, admits it was a bad time for troops to discover the regiment they signed up to could be disbanded.

Battalion pride is part of the fuel that drives the Army, and life under threat was bad for morale.

So, after months of turmoil, when the news came in December that the Green Howards would merge with The Duke of Wellington's Regiment, from Halifax, and The Prince of Wales's Own Regiment, from York, to form a Yorkshire Regiment, it was considered the lesser of two evils. Each battalion would retain its name under the new regimental banner.

Four months later and The Green Howards are taking part in Exercise Tropical Storm in Belize, Central America.

They are here training in the clammy heat and gritty dust to become better soldiers, and much of the shock and disappointment of last year has been replaced with grim acceptance.

Views among the soldiers, however, vary tremendously.

Younger soldiers, new to the battalion, are less perturbed by the changes than longer-serving men, especially non-commissioned officers.

Major Simon Fovargue, second commanding officer of The Green Howards, says there is still lot of resentment. "We think we have done quite well out of this, because at least we are not losing our regiment," he says.

"However, it is difficult to justify retaining five out of six Scottish battalions when the facts suggest they can only recruit for three."

The Green Howards, raised in 1688, is one of only two English regiments to have never been merged with another unit.

The idea of the infantry restructuring is to create tightly manned battalions - because, at the moment, many are understaffed. However, there will be some redundancies among senior soldiers.

The new Yorkshire Regiment will form in the summer or autumn next year. A committee has been formed to resolve emotive issues such as the new cap badge, colours and dress.

Sergeant Major Al Thomas, 43, represents The Green Howards on the committee.

It is not a responsibility he undertakes lightly and, even though he will have retired by the time the changes come into effect, he is determined to get a deal that suits the battalion to which he has devoted the past 20 years.

He says: "I find it terribly sad. It comes at a time when the Army is involved in several major conflicts around the world, but the Government is cutting back on people with valuable experience. It does not seem right.

"The cuts mean we will do more operational tours, but that is not fair on the families. I do blame the Labour Government."

Maj Fovargue says: "This is a sense of injustice because the Army is busier than it has been for a long time and we cannot get our heads around why they are reducing the infantry at a time like this."

Sgt Maj Thomas says the Yorkshire Regiment cap badge is a priority because it needs to be approved by all three battalions and then get royal approval. A design company in London is coming up with some ideas.

He says: "It is a bit of a minefield, because we would not want to get it wrong. It must have the Yorkshire Rose and the words 'Yorkshire Regiment', but then flowers are not very war-like and it cannot look like anyone else."

The Green Howards are based in Chepstow, Wales, but will be given a new base from autumn 2007.

Where this will be is to be decided, but there are several options, including Salisbury, Germany, Catterick North Yorkshire, Cyprus, and Lancashire. They will rotate around a number of bases.

The overwhelming favourite among the soldiers is Catterick, because it will bring them back near their friends and families in the North-East and North Yorkshire.

But as Corporal Stephen Elstob, 27, from Darlington, says: "We would like to be based in Catterick, but that is a million to one."

Private Daniel English, 19, says: "As long as we get posted to Cyprus, I will be happy, although I do feel that 300-odd years of history will be wasted away."

Still reeling from the restructuring, many believe that where they want to go will not be a factor in the decision.

The Green Howards is known as a family regiment, but senior officer are confident the merger will not affect loyalty.

Second Lieutenant Nick Mantell, 24, followed his father into The Green Howards, despite being from London.

He says the merger will provide more opportunities for promotion and settling down.

A ceremony will mark the formation of the new Yorkshire Regiment next summer. A date of June 6 is being mooted because it is the anniversary of D-Day, which is the only time the three battalions have fought together.

Sgt Maj Thomas says: "We would be happy with that, because we were the only regiment to win a Victoria Cross that day."

Ceremony, tradition and pride like this are part of the foundations of the military, and each battalion is determined to retain its history throughout the restructuring and into the future.

Most of the soldiers seem to accept that to remain the best fighting force in the world, they must adapt to changing times.

Private David Plevey, 29, who has spent 12 years in The Green Howards, is taking a pragmatic view.

He says: "I was gutted when they said we were going to be binned. But the way I look at it, we are just changing our name, it will still be the same lads."

Lt Col Willis says: "We have always been very proud of our roots. The fact is that the infantry has got to reorganise, and I think the soldiers appreciate we have to change and with that comes some difficult decisions.

"We have put the disappointment and the sadness behind us and we are looking now to create the Yorkshire Regiment. We do believe the time for moping is over with."