7 guards is a nice amount, 6 seems to little nowadays, and I appreciate the thinly spread soldiers and the great show they put on, and that 8 guards is no longer achievable, but why not meet in the middle and have 7? on average each regiment has 600 in their battalion, + another 150 or so in their incremental company, and with the Irish guards having 2 incremental companies surely they can reform the 2nd battalion. and back to the numbers, that's on average about 700 in each battalion, or 3500 guards in total serving these days. Each 'Guard' has 70 guards and 3 officers, a company has enough to form 2 guards (6 platoons or 144 men+ 6 LTs to lead them and a major + captain in company command) so surely there are enough guards to form 7, let alone 8, which is probably perfectly achievable. I just don't see why they don't really, perhaps it comes down to the battalion and only a battalion being able to commit 1 or 2 guards? I don't have a problem with the guards either, many people moan about their physical appearance and drill, but nowadays a fit soldier is going to be quite muscular as they have to carry alot of kit, whereas back then a fit soldier was extremely skinny, id go as far as saying underweight to todays standards, and having only a single battalion leaves less time for drill practise. I think if they reform the 2nd battalions by doing what the Irish guards have done and having another incremental company, the 2 could be merged to technically make a 2nd battalion, a small one at 300 or so strong, but nether the less a battalion that could commit multiple guards to a parade.
Got this to come in September. I've stayed on Antigua previously, but my next flight stops here first, and then onto St Kitts. So a 10.5 houred flight with stop off. Not for everyone.
I hope so too. It’s nice here plus you can always come back. It’s a small airport. The runway is about 5462 feet give or take. The airport terminal is due to be rebuilt shortly so when you visit, you’ll see the area is undergoing construction
