Arbroath-based 45 Commando’s Zulu Company have swapped the Angus November chill for the steamy jungles of Belize.

ARMED FORCES: Angus-based outfit using new kit and technology in Belize

Angus-based Royal Marines have left behind the plummeting mercury of the county to test their combat and survival skills in the humidity of a Central American jungle.

Zulu Company of Arbroath’s 45 Commando have been contending with the sticky climes of Belize, where heavy rain has added to the training challenge faced by the elite unit.

They took over the mantle of lead commando group from 40 Commando earlier this year, a role which puts them at high readiness to deploy anywhere in the world.

While Zulu Company concentrates on the jungle, fellow Royal Marines of 45 Commando are preparing for the deep freeze of the Arctic next year by undergoing mountain training in the Scottish Highlands.

New kit and cutting-edge technology has been utilised in the jungle deployment following acclimatisation at Price Barracks, the base of the Belize Defence Force and home of British Army Training Support Unit Belize (Batsub), located just outside Belize City.

Marine Will Thomas said: “I was surprised how dense the jungle was in the area we were working and how difficult this made it to operate.

“It is rainy season here, which made the ground underfoot very muddy during the field firing.”

The exercise was designed to teach all exercising troops to survive, move and fight in a jungle environment, operating from small four-man teams all the way up to a 30-man troop formation.

During a live-firing exercise, 24 Commando Royal engineers also conducted a jungle demolitions package. They practised creating clearings for helicopter abseil and emergency landing operations.