COMMANDO & CONQUER
Corps set up for hardest missions
IN the early days of the Second World War, Prime Minister Winston Churchill demanded special troops for his most perilous missions.
The call went out for men willing to undertake “service of a hazardous nature” and 80 years ago this month, the first Royal Navy commando unit was formed.
The men – wearing the coveted green beret – trained at Achnacarry in the Scottish Highlands, though Royal Marine cadets today cut their teeth on the toughest commando course in the world at Lympstone, Devon.
Its final test is “the 30 Miler”, a yomp across rugged terrain on Dartmoor carrying 11kg of equipment and an SA80 rifle, which recruits must finish in under eight hours.
Commandant General Royal Marines Lt Gen Robert Magowan said: “The nature of operations is always changing but the spirit of the commando is a constant, through the decades.
“Commandos thrive in uncertainty, they embrace going into the unknown. It is the lifeblood that fuels them – to be first out the door, to understand a rapidly changing environment and adapt to it. “Commandos never give up, they can cope with anything, and they prevail.” The Royal Marines were founded on October 28, 1664, when King Charles II ordered the formation of the 1,200-strong Duke of York and Albany’s Maritime Regiment of Foot for the Second Dutch War. Over the centuries the corps has taken part in more battles on land and at sea than any other branch of the armed forces, with 10 soldiers awarded the Victoria Cross. Retired Royal Marines officer, Gen Sir Gordon Messenger wrote in Monty Halls’ 2022 book, Commando: “Proportionally, the Royal Marines have suffered more fatalities and life-changing injuries in recent deployments than any other capbadge; the symptom of an instinctive willingness to confront the toughest of challenges and a recognition that commanders allocate their highest risk missions to their most capable units.”