Army Commandos

[Littoraldifficulty]

We also got a Sqn of SDG at one stage when the 'counter attack' came down from AL Faw town. Not sure if they ended up with daggers or not.

Seems a bit petty not to let C Sqn keep the emblem. THat is the sort of thing that build ethos and heritage. Look at the PWRR and thier little french thing they wear. Not an official medal, but everyone wears it. It strikes me that the shoulder flash was given in good faith for excellent work (The track change in front of the date palms with BRF!) and while presented to individuals it should cascade down through the Sqn. 50 - 100 years time when we are all long gone none of the lads will be reading the war diary - but they would remember the battle if they wore the flash.

A little bit of imagination and a miniture shoulder flash could easily be sorted... fancy a bit of staff work?

 

[Andy_O]

Living here in the Colonies, I do not profess to have too much knowledge of this latest debate, but I can add some points that may have people re-thinking their positions.

Until 1956? not all Royal Marines were commando trained. One was trained as a Royal Marine, thereafter, if they were required for service in a commando unit they completed a commando course. I can't think of any major operation during my time where we did not rely on artillery, armoured, engineer or air support from the other services, and they were good at what they did.

When the decision was made to have designated artillery batteries and engineer squadrons, there were similar concerns being aired. Yes, there were teething problems initially, but as today's RM will concede, the RA and RE commando trained people attached to the Corps fit in very well.

This latest proposal will take time, but I think that it will eventually work out to be quite satisfactory. Having said that, Royal Marines will always be Royal Marines.

Andy O.

 

[Morse]

Andy.. You questioned the year (1956) I am not certain of the actual year that Commando Training became compulsory for all RM Recruits, but it was in effect in 1954 when I did my training. Aye Morse

 

[Andy_O]

Hi Morse,

I stand corrected. Hence the question mark, the old memory is not what once it was. :lol:

Andy O.

 

[cdox]

A question for floppy jocky. Firstly i would like to say thanks for bringing this topic up for debate. I find the feedback intresting from the responses but am intrested why you think this is, quote" Elitism at its worst".

I would expect any regiment or unit to have an identical response on this topic and historically it has. I don't brand myself with the elitism title but the general public are precieved by this.

People vote in the masses. They support and title organisations to make them comfortable in their day to day living. "Elitism at its worst" i think not but "Caution at its greatest".

Regards my friend

Cdox

 

[In_my_day]

CDOX wrote; "[No matter what fancy method they will be trained and bolted onto 3 CDO BGD there will always be THEM and US ( the latter RM). What ever level you want to comment on this remember the under lined highlighted quote.

Send them up too FPGRM in Scotand which will enable RM who have been trained through CTCRM and wear the coverted Green with no Skeletons in the locker to be intergrated within 3 CDO BGD where they belong.[/quote]

Sorry CDOX but your talking Bollox, do the RM look upon 59, 29, 131, QDG, JCBRNR, etc as them and us. No because they have been accepted as proffesional organisations with a deserved place in the ORBAT. Yes it will take time to produce an AACC trained Bn, yes there will be some suspicious looks, yes there will be the unwillingnes on the part of some to accept them but as you said, a 4th manouevre unit can only be a good thing for the Bde. When was the last time the Bde was able to deploy with 3 full Units (I mean together rather than split as on TELIC 1) Its been a long time I believe and this extra CDO UNITrather than an Inf Bn could be a boon. Integration may not be that difficult if you remain open minded (ask the guys in Dover!).

IMD

 

[Deeps]

Ref ''IN_MY_DAYS'' he is spot on . One of the things that so impressed my unit (QDG) on telic 1 was the acceptance of all ranks in the RM . We were use to paras with there''Hat'' crap yet the royals were a good bunch of blokes who gave us a bit of respect . Its a known fact that the average Royal Marine is a lot more switched on and more battlespace aware than your average para .So i am sure after the initial ''banter'' whatever army regiment is attached to the RM they will be made welcome

 

[Andy_O]

As I said previously. Similar discussions went on when the Brigade were about to receive designated artillery batteries and engineer squadrens. As will be seen, they are very much accepted as part of the Brigade. If there is any elitism, and I say IF, it is with the commando trained RA and RE people who view themselves differently from their other RA and RE counterparts.

I also mentioned that it was sometime in the 50s before all RM ranks were commando trained. I would not have wished to be the one to tell a non commando trained RM that he was inferior. In the days of the blue beret marine and the green beret marine, we were referred to as cabbage heads by our blue beret collegues. When one returned from commando service, and join a RM establishment, one had to remove their green berets and replace it with a Royal Marines beret.

This latest policy will have it's teething problems, but they will eventually be ironed out.

Andy O.

 

[Floppyjocky]

A question for floppy jocky. Firstly i would like to say thanks for bringing this topic up for debate. I find the feedback intresting from the responses but am intrested why you think this is, quote" Elitism at its worst".

Good question. It was purely a personal point of view, not about an organisation but based on some of the individual quotes in the article. When any RM/Army banter has died down I think you will find that most guys have a very healthy, and deserved respect for the Royal Marines, but from my point of view (and that's all it is) that same respect should be afforded to frontline infantry units that have been in and out of action on a very regular basis, doing some sterling work. Yes there are many differences, training and equipment is just two, but for individuals to dismiss the idea out of hand is slightly blinkered. I suppose a lot of my thinking stems from the fact I work in a completely joint environment and I am one of the "believers" that we can do more together.

I'm not sure I've really answered the question but having just driven 800 miles I'm hanging out. I may return to edit !

 

[ThePunisher]

Now that a Crab has the top job, how long until we see the RAF Servicing Commandos being re-formed?
Seriously, what a lot of people seem to forget is that the bog-standard British infantry soldier is tougher and better trained(if not equipped)than 95% of the rest of the world's so-called "elite" units. But I suspect that this is the Government trying to get Marines "on the cheap", rather than simply expanding the RMC. Or, indeed, reforming the Army Commandos.
A bit like replacing real police officers with Tackleberries(PSO'S).

 

[SILVER_FOX]

I vaguely recall on more than one occasion hearing about the Army's interest in absorbing the Royals into their fold. Since they haven't been able to do this so far the cynic in me suspects this is the first step in tackling the issue from another angle.

 

[avoiding_action]

With Viking well and truely established and the training unit at Bovington surely there is a lot the Pongo's and Royal can teach each other?

After all aren't we rather new to this manoeuvre warfare and the flexibility Viking brings?