The United Kingdom Commando Force: An Introduction
By Maj Eric Todorski, USMC
Greetings and happy New Year from the Connecting File’s Foreign Correspondent! This overseas dispatch will review the status and future ambition of the United Kingdom’s Royal Marines. Like the USMC, they are going through an aggressive modernization program, which is not without its detractors or controversial force structure choices.
This article will lay out a brief overview of the Royal Marines and some observations on the new company structure in both its organic and reinforced ‘Company Group’ form. Additionally, it is the first in a series from this side of the pond and is intended as an orientation and primer for future works. Please note, as we are discussing current force capabilities, we must unfortunately keep some of below observations intentionally vague as the Connecting File is published ‘in the clear’ on the open internet.
Key Takeaways:
1. The Royal Marines have moved from a traditional naval light infantry force to a special operations capable amphibious advanced force.
2. The modern Royal Marine Company Group is a combination of a USMC Recon Company, half of the legacy Weapons Company, and a platoon of enablers. Everyone in the company, to include all the enablers, is Commando trained.
3. The increased focus on specialization comes at a cost to traditional mass. An ‘organic’ company isn’t much bigger than a reinforced rifle platoon, and the Company Group is of similar size to a USMC company.
The Royal Marines
The illustrious 359-year history of the Royal Marines is outside the scope of this article, but you need some basic facts for context. There are approximately 6,000 Royal Marines and they serve in a variety of places across the UK’s Ministry of Defence. The two largest concentrations are in the United Kingdom Commando Force (UKCF - formerly 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines) and the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines (CTCRM). The UKCF is the operational arm of the Royal Marines, it is brigade sized with nine subordinate battalions. CTCRM is the home of the Commando Course and almost all Royal Marine formal schooling.
The Royal Marines are a fully subordinated ‘fighting arm’ of the Royal Navy, as opposed to a separate service like the USMC is. There is no ‘HQRM’ like there is a HQMC and the position of Commandant General of the Royal Marines is held by whoever is the highest-ranking active-duty Royal Marine officer at the time. Given their tight naval integration, they are much more amphibious focused and ‘naval aware’ than we are.
The Commando Course
You have probably heard of the ‘Commando Course’, but there are three courses that all conduct the same ‘Commando Tests’ that the original World War Two commandos did. Enlisted Royal Marines go through Recruit Training, which is a ~36-week commando course. It combines the function of our recruit training and ITB, graduating a fully trained ‘Commando Duties’ RM. Officers go through the Young Officers Course, a 15-month commando course which is OCS, TBS, and IOC all combined into one.
All modern Royal Marines are Royal Marine Commandos, but there are also British Army, Royal Navy, and Royal Air Force commandos. They are combat support personnel assigned to serve in the UKCF and they attend the All-Arms Commando Course (AACC). The AACC is a 13-week course designed to prepare support personnel to serve in a Commando unit. It is focused on individual fieldcraft, small unit tactics, physical fitness, and commando skills. AACC attendees conduct the same Commando Tests that the Royal Marines do and earn their green berets. The AACC is open to USMC personnel and a USMC Captain was recently the honor graduate and class choice.
Looking for a personal challenge? Going for your quad body? The AACC goes in January, May, and October but you should do the one-month prep course in the UK beforehand to reduce your risk of injury on the WWII-vintage obstacle courses. The Connecting File cannot help you get onto the course, so don’t ask us, but there are 1-3 spots for USMC personnel in every class. Talk to your 3 shop. Good luck.
The United Kingdom Commando Force
The Littoral Strike concept of employment, which is the guiding idea behind the ‘Future Commando Force’ transformation, calls for a littoral raiding force to conduct strategic shaping. Royal Marines moved from a traditional amphibious light infantry force to a special operations capable amphibious advanced force to fulfill this need. They dramatically restructurted their organization and significantly cut the size of some units to enable greater investment into a leaner, more agile force. In addition to this change in concept of employment, the Royal Marines provide several maritime security missions to the Royal Navy, they are the UK MoD’s service leads on Mountain & Cold Weather Warfare (M&CWW) and are required to hold a certain number of units ‘at readiness’ for worldwide crisis response employment.
The operational component of the Royal Marines, 3 Commando Brigade RM, has been renamed and restructured into the United Kingdom Commando Force (UKCF). UKCF is a joint formation, commanded by a RM Brigadier General. It has nine subordinate units of roughly battalion strength and several associated units. UKCF deploys several different force elements, but the headline ones are the ‘Littoral Response Groups’ which are like mini-MEUs based around a company sized GCE. The LRGs will be the subject of a future article at a later time. Note: All unit numbers are pronounced individually except 30 and 40 Commando i.e. 24 Commando is ‘Two Four Commando”, but 40 Commando is “Forty Commando”.
24 Commando Royal Engineers – One of the two Army Commando units, similar in structure and employment to a USMC Combat Engineer Battalion. Also, home to EOD-style divers, working dogs, and other enablers.
29 Commando Royal Artillery – The second Army Commando unit, home of the 105mm howitzer light gun batteries. They are similar in structure and employment to a USMC howitzer battalion and house the UKCF’s ‘Air Defence’ (think LAAD) capability.
148 Battery – A subunit of 29 Commando, they provide special insert capable JTACs and Artillery/Naval Gunfire Observers to the force. They have a close relationship with the ANGLICO community.
30 Commando Information Exploitation Group – 30 Commando is like the MIG and functions as the HQ battalion for the UKCF’s brigade-level headquarters. Contains communications, intelligence, logistics, and other enablers. 30 Commando also contains two key specialist subunits:
Surveillance & Reconnaissance Squadron (SRS) - The formation level ground reconnaissance asset of the UKCF, SRS provides special insert capable (parachute and scout swimming but no subsurface) reconnaissance teams. They have significant technical training and experience in M&CWW. SRS has specialist reconnaissance engineers from 24 Commando and frequently work with 148 Battery from 29 Commando.
Y Squadron, an electronic warfare unit like a USMC Radio Reconnaissance company.
40 Commando Royal Marines – 40 Commando is one of the two ‘line’ battalions. They conduct reconnaissance, raiding, and crisis response operations. The ‘sunshine commando’, they have a focus on desert and jungle warfare.
42 Commando Royal Marines – 42 Commando was the third ‘line’ battalion but is now a specialized maritime security unit. They generate and deploy Royal Marine Boarding Teams (RMBTs), Maritime Sniper Teams (i.e. heli-snipers), and other specialized formations.
43 Commando Fleet Protection Group Royal Marines – 43 Commando is like the USMC’s Security Force Regiment and has a long-standing exercise series with them. They protect the UK’s nuclear deterrent.
45 Commando Royal Marines – 45 Commando is the second line battalion. They conduct reconnaissance, raiding, and crisis response operations. They are the primary M&CWW battalion.
47 Commando Raiding Group – 47 Commando is a Landing Craft battalion reinforced that also administers all the landing craft MOS formal schooling and amphibious testing. They operate everything from CRRCs to LCUs. This is a unique feature of the Royal Marines, where they operate both small boats and larger landing craft.
Commando Logistics Regiment – CLR is a joint unit of Royal Marine, Army, and Navy Commandos. They provide combat support and combat service support across the force. They also have a company of Viking armored vehicles in the Armored Support Group.
The Associated Units
700X Naval Air Squadron: Provides UAS training to individual Royal Marines and administratively controls all the large UAS detachments.
4 Assault Squadron Royal Marines (4ASRM). The second landing craft unit, they operate landing craft from the UK’s L-class ships. Unlike 47 Commando, they are a part of the ship’s crew and not under UKCF’s tasking authority.
The Commando Helicopter Force. Operate Mk4 Merlin and Wildcat helicopters in support of the UKCF and Royal Navy. Similar to 4ASRM, they are a part of Joint Helicopter Command and not organic to the UKCF. Some pilots and aircrew are Royal Marines in addition to Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm pilots/crews.
The United Kingdom Special Forces. The Royal Marines have a close linkage, both historically and operationally, with UKSF. There are Royal Marines serving in several capacities across the force and ~47% of all ‘badged’ UKSF operators started their careers as Royal Marines, despite the Royal Marines being only ~4% of the total workforce of the UK’s military.
The Company Group - A ‘Corps of Specialists’
The UKCF perform a wide range of specialist missions, but their main ‘warfighting’ tasks under Littoral Strike are focused on what the UK calls FIND and STRIKE missions, i.e. reconnaissance and battlefield shaping. Hunting and destroying high value targets, such as anti-access area denial systems, to enable access for a follow-on force is the primary offensive mission of the company group. To do this, the new company task organization calls for each Marine to hold a primary specialist job and multiple secondary specialties. Primary specialties include Anti-Tank Gunner, Sniper, etc. Secondary specialists include UAS operator, Medic, Radio Operator. No one has ‘rifleman’ as their billet. This is a point of contention on par with removing tanks from the USMC and reflects the move to a more special operations team style force structure. The below breaks out some of the capabilities of the ‘organic’ line company, as well as the capabilities of the reinforced ‘company group’.
FIND
The modernization shift puts a much larger emphasis on reconnaissance operations. The legacy battalion structure had a ‘Recce Troop’ like our Scout Sniper Platoons, but reconnaissance operations are now one of the primary missions for the line companies.
Dismounted, all weather, ground reconnaissance – All Royal Marines do basic reconnaissance training at entry level training, but the new task organization puts Mountain Leaders and school trained Reconnaissance Operators in every company.
Mountain Leaders have done at least one 30+ week reconnaissance focused mountain warfare course that is a combination of Assault Climber, Summer Mountain Leaders, and Winter Mountain Leaders.
‘Recce’ operators have done an additional reconnaissance course that is like the patrolling package at our Basic Reconnaissance Course.
UAS – There are a variety of UAS platforms in trial and as programs of record, ranging from small quadcopters to the RQ-21B PUMA. Autonomous systems are a key part of the modernization program and include more than just ISR platforms.
STRIKE
This is battlefield shaping by controlling joint fires, fires from the company’s fire support weapons, and company raids.
FOs and JTACs – Each company gets a Fire Support Team from their associated 29 Commando battery, which at full-strength contains multiple JTACs plus a TACP. There is no equivalent ‘Joint Fires Observer’ program so there is a huge dependency on 29 Commando’s JTACs.
Indirect Fire – The Company Group has 81mm mortars and 105mm light guns attached, but the ‘organic’ company has no indirect fire weapons. Loitering munitions like USMC’s Organic Precision Fires program are integral to the modernization plan with larger models slated to replace most of the 105s.
Direct Fire – The company has organic anti-tank guided missiles (Javelins and NLAWs) and the same complement of machine guns that the USMC does (a 7.62 GPMG, 50cal HMG, and 40mm GMG). They are also trialing the Carl Gustav as a direct fire support weapon. The Company Group attachments include Air Defence Marines, who the use their anti-air weapons aggressively and not just for defense of critical assets. They will push forward into the screen line to ambush enemy air, especially rotary wing assault support, while the aircraft are well short of their objective area.
Raids
While a subset of the ‘STRIKE’ mission set, raiding deserves its own heading as it is the Royal Marines’ primary offensive tasking. The organic company is capable of a Recon-style ‘limited scale raid’ but you need the company group to assault a fortified objective.
Close Quarters Battle – The Royal Marines have a formal ‘Close Quarter Battle Instructor’ AMOS and it is one of their core competencies. 42 and 43 Commando have inhouse CQB courses tailored to their unique mission sets and the formal schoolhouse at CTCRM has a good relationship with UKSF. All this knowledge spreads quickly given how small the UKCF is.
Explosive Breaching and Anti-Structure Demolitions. Demolitions has been a commando task since WWII and there are Royal Marine Combat Assault Breachers organic to every company. They can do explosive breaching in support of the raid force and conventional demolitions. At the Company Group level, attached engineers from 24 Commando provide specialist demolitions support, including the excellently named tactical task of ‘sabotage’.
Snipers. The RMs are going the opposite way of the USMC, putting a sections worth of snipers at the company level. Their employment is more along the lines of the new Recon Sniper MOS than the traditional Scout Sniper Platoon. They want them to be able to conduct multi-sniper engagements in support of a raid or put multiple sniper teams out on different OPs. In addition to the snipers, there is a ’sharpshooter’ in each squad armed with a 7.62 (soon to be a 6.5 Creedmoor) semi-auto DM rifle.
The snipers, while trained observers, are expected to be shooters first as there are different individuals (the Recce Operators and MLs) who are expected to be the primary reconnaissance element.
Mobility
The RMs have invested in the MRZR, with larger platforms such as the JACKAL still in use to provide mobile fire support with the company’s heavy machine guns.
Protected Mobility – The Armored Support Groups’ Viking all-terrain vehicles provide protected mobility, but there is nothing like the JLTV. The Royal Marines are getting a Future All-Terrain Vehicle replace the Viking, but the other mobility platforms are all light vehicles.
M&CWW Mobility – The Royal Marines deploy at scale to Norway every winter for a M&CWW concentration. In the fall they do a Mountain package, either in the UK or at MWTC as they did this past year, then go to Norway for the Artic/Cold Weather package. They do winter survival, skiing, snow shoeing, snow mobiles, etc. As mentioned previously, M&CWW competency at the formation level is a statutory requirement for them.
Vertical Assault – Though often lumped in with mountain warfare, the MLs also provide vertical assault capability to the company. This includes cliff assaults (either from landing craft or inland) and urban vertical access. The MLs can act has lead climbers for company mobility or rig suspension systems for CASEVAC, logistics movement, etc.
Surface Mobility – A unique aspect of the Royal Marines is their Landing Craft MOS, which operates everything from CRRCs to LCUs. They do CRRC raids during entry level training and small boat operations are a unique selling point. Any boat operations require LCs, who are a low-density high demand MOS. Most other similar formations, such as our Recon battalions or the 2d Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment, have CRRC coxswaining as a common skill or put the coxswains into the line battalions. The upside of having it as its own MOS in its own unit is than Royal Marines can do some creative stuff with their larger craft like FOBing off LCUs with CRRCs and RIBs, moving the whole flotilla every few days independent of the L-class ships. The downside is that it is a small community, and the company has no organic surface lift, not even CRRCs, without them.
Observations and Challenges
Any bold plan will invite criticism, and the Future Commando Force is no different. There are a few key challenges facing the Royal Marines as they implement their modernization program:
Retention and Recruiting – Retention is also a key issue. It takes a decade a train a fully qualified NCO and the Royal Marines are so small that MOSs have only 10 or 15 NCOs. If one or two ‘put their chit in’ and ‘go outside’, it has a big effect. I have never seen “Is this retention positive?” as a COA comparison metric before, but it is brought up in every exercise confirmation brief. Recruiting has traditionally been an afterthought as historically there have been many more qualified applicants than positions available. Recently however, the UK Military is facing a recruiting crisis which is having a follow-on effect to the Royal Marines.
TO/TE
Tightly Coupled Task Organization between units – The Royal Marines are too small and too busy to have a 6-month composite period like we do for the MEUs. Further, while they function very well with a ‘whole force’ approach, many of their key enablers are one of one which limits integration training with their gaining commands.
Flexible Company Task Organization – I have described a lot of capabilities above, but I have intentionally not provided a traditional wire diagram task organization. Firstly, this exceeds what we can publish in the Connecting File, and secondly, the task organization is very flexible. The companies are arrayed in such a way as to give the company commander maximum flexibility to task organize for the mission at hand. This is a great freedom for the commanders, but the bespoke approach limits their ability to provide a standardized set of capabilities across the board at every unit size.
Special Reconnaissance training and equipment – Special Reconnaissance is special because it requires special insertion/extraction capabilities and specialist equipment, not because the guys who do it can crush pullups and ruck run super-fast. You can’t get from ship to shore on foot and you can’t send an objective sketch in a Rite in the Rain back to the LFOC. There are limited special insert capabilities and reconnaissance equipment suites (i.e. DSLR Cameras, Toughbook’s, etc) in the UKCF, which affects their ability to conduct disaggregated special reconnaissance across the formation. Going from five reconnaissance platoons to multiple companies’ worth is a lot of growth and will take time to fully work out.
In Closing
It is an exciting time to be in the UKCF. A 6,000-person organization can move a lot faster than a ~180,000 person one and the pace is “breathy”. Regardless of where you are the USMC, you will run into commandos from the UKCF. They have a high operational tempo and contribute a disproportionally large effect to the UK MoD. Hopefully this introduction has piqued your interest, as there will be more coming about the Royal Marines and our other allies!
United We Conquer.
Major Eric Todorski is an editor of the CxFile and currently serving on the Personnel Exchange Program with the United Kingdom Commando Force. He can be reached at etodorski@gmail.com. Interested in serving as a PEP? Be on the lookout for the PEP solicitation MARADMIN which is usually released the first week of April.
This was a very informative read. Thank you.
As a former Royal Marine it's nice to see something about us on this site. Thanks for sharing.