SOUTH East Cornwall is set to welcome the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery which is making a special visit later this month. The event will offer residents the chance to meet the horses and mounted gunners of the troop who form the Queen's ceremonial saluting battery. The visit takes place on Wednesday, September 17, when the troop will parade from Fore Street in Torpoint through the town to Thanckes Park. When the troop reaches the park there will be the opportunity for people to talk to the riders. Based in Woolwich, London, each of the unit's soldiers is also a superb equestrian. Duties include the firing of royal salutes in Hyde Park on anniversaries and state occasions, and providing a gun carriage and team of black horses for state and military funerals. Though primarily a ceremonial unit, the King's Troop has an operational role as part of the defence of the United Kingdom. Six men or women from the unit are deployed in Afghanistan or Iraq at any one time, and when the Army mobilises, the King's Troop provides truck drivers, who deliver ammunition.