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Royal Marines of 40 Commando and Army Commandos taking part in PROJECT HERMOD LIVEX.
PROJECT HERMOD was a capability demonstration to mark the Defence Integrated Review (IR).
Taking place on RFA Mounts Bay and at Bovington training area, it displayed Multi-Domain Integration (MDI) within Defence as part of a transformation programme.
Trained for rapid worldwide deployment, the troops of 40 Commando are highly skilled, adaptable, and capable of combating a wide range of threats.
The unit are at the forefront of innovation as commandos go back to their roots as raiders from the sea and embrace new technologies to help their specialised operations around the world.
Since its formation in 1942, 40 Commando has served in every major British conflict, playing a pivotal role in several notable campaigns and operations.
Photos: LPhot Phil Bloor
Credit: UK Ministry of Defence 2021
Pictured: British Army Commando from 7 (Sphinx) Commando Battery , 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery.
HMS Albion’s embarked royal Marines from X Coy 45 Cdo RM operating in Estonia in the main amphibious element of Exercise Spring Storm 2023.
Royal Marines conduct beach raid in Estonia during NATO exercise.
Around 100 marines from 45 Commando conducted an exercise to stage an amphibious raid at a beach in Estonia, as part of a major NATO exercise Members of 45 Commando deployed from the Royal Navy amphibious assault ship, HMS Albion, under the cover of darkness on Saturday.
The commandos manoeuvred their Inflatable Raiding Craft, which can travel at speeds of up to 20knots, through the waves to close in on the beach at Kaberneeme, on the north coast of Estonia.
The beach raid is just the latest in a series of planned scenarios the UK Armed Forces are exercising as part of a 14,000-strong deployment from 11 NATO countries for Exercise Spring Storm.
The beach raid scenario saw 45 Commando facing off against Estonia’s Armed Forces, with an Estonian naval missile unit acting as the marines’ target.
Photo: LPhot Bill Spurr
Royal Marines from M Company 42 Commando making an helicopter insertion into the Mojave Desert. The troops where flown my Merlin helicopter during the initial stages of the week long final exercise of exercise Black Alligator.
Photographs by L(Phot) Jason Ballard Crown Copyright 2012
Mortar Troop from 42 Commando Royal Marines
Images captured show Mortar Troop from 42 Commando Royal Marines illuminating enemy positions in the mountains of the Mojave Desert during the week long final exercise of Black Alligator – 2nd December 2012
Photos: PO (Phot) Sean Clee - MOD Crown Copyright 2012
Royal Marines of 40 Commando and Army Commandos taking part in PROJECT HERMOD LIVEX.
PROJECT HERMOD was a capability demonstration to mark the Defence Integrated Review (IR).
Taking place on RFA Mounts Bay and at Bovington training area, it displayed Multi-Domain Integration (MDI) within Defence as part of a transformation programme.
Trained for rapid worldwide deployment, the troops of 40 Commando are highly skilled, adaptable, and capable of combating a wide range of threats.
The unit are at the forefront of innovation as commandos go back to their roots as raiders from the sea and embrace new technologies to help their specialised operations around the world.
Since its formation in 1942, 40 Commando has served in every major British conflict, playing a pivotal role in several notable campaigns and operations.
Photos: LPhot Phil Bloor
Credit: UK Ministry of Defence 2021
The old and the new: the 4th Battalion (Commando), the Royal Australian Regiment, (4 RAR [Cdo]) Beret and the 2nd Commando Regiment (2 Cdo Regt) Beret in front of the new 2 Cdo Regt sign at the name change ceremony at Holsworthy Barracks, Sydney.
Mid Caption:
Army’s 4th Battalion (Commando), The Royal Australian Regiment (4 RAR [Cdo]), has been officially renamed as the 2nd Commando Regiment (2 Cdo Regt) at a ceremony at Tobruk Lines, Holsworthy, today.
The ceremony, reviewed by Chief of Army, Lieutenant General Ken Gillespie, saw the march-off of the 4 RAR colours and the unfurling of the new 2 Cdo Regt flag.
4 RAR (Cdo) began commando transition in 1996 when the Government directed Army to establish a second commando regiment with the ability to conduct special recovery and strike operations.
Lieutenant General Gillespie said the name 2 Cdo Regt more accurately reflected the roles and capabilities of the commandos and their command structure, which are distinct from the Army’s conventional infantry battalions.
It also reflects the unit’s historical links to the Australian Independent Commando Companies that operated in the Southwest Pacific in the Second World War.
During the ceremony, 4 RAR’s colours were handed over to a School of Infantry Colour Party to be held in perpetuity.
Lieutenant Colonel Gillespie said 4 RAR (Cdo) will remain on Army’s Order of Battle, with its history, colours and traditions preserved for future service as and when required by the nation.
2 Cdo Regt joins the Special Air Service Regiment, Incident Response Regiment, 1st Commando Regiment, the Special Forces Training Centre and the Special Operations Logistics Squadron as part of Army’s Special Operations Command.
Alpha Company 40 Commando Royal Marines on operations in Nahr-e Saraj, Central Helmand.
Photographs by L(Phot) Rhys Oleary – MOD/Crown Copyright 2013
British Royal Marine Commandos provide security for HMS Cumberland in port at Benghazi, Libya, during an evacuation of foreign nationals 28th February 2011
Photo by : JULIAN SIMMONDS
Superbe spectacle pour les commandos percu à Brest dans le cadre de la déambule.
Plus d'info sur www.commandospercu.com/ et www.facebook.com/Les-Commandos-Percu-253120934703670/time...
The 4th Battalion (Commando), the Royal Australian Regiment, (4 RAR [Cdo]) Colour Party hands over the 4RAR colors to the School of Infantry to be held in perpetuity.
Mid Caption:
Army’s 4th Battalion (Commando), The Royal Australian Regiment (4 RAR [Cdo]), has been officially renamed as the 2nd Commando Regiment (2 Cdo Regt) at a ceremony at Tobruk Lines, Holsworthy, today.
The ceremony, reviewed by Chief of Army, Lieutenant General Ken Gillespie, saw the march-off of the 4 RAR colours and the unfurling of the new 2 Cdo Regt flag.
4 RAR (Cdo) began commando transition in 1996 when the Government directed Army to establish a second commando regiment with the ability to conduct special recovery and strike operations.
Lieutenant General Gillespie said the name 2 Cdo Regt more accurately reflected the roles and capabilities of the commandos and their command structure, which are distinct from the Army’s conventional infantry battalions.
It also reflects the unit’s historical links to the Australian Independent Commando Companies that operated in the Southwest Pacific in the Second World War.
During the ceremony, 4 RAR’s colours were handed over to a School of Infantry Colour Party to be held in perpetuity.
Lieutenant Colonel Gillespie said 4 RAR (Cdo) will remain on Army’s Order of Battle, with its history, colours and traditions preserved for future service as and when required by the nation.
2 Cdo Regt joins the Special Air Service Regiment, Incident Response Regiment, 1st Commando Regiment, the Special Forces Training Centre and the Special Operations Logistics Squadron as part of Army’s Special Operations Command.
K COMPANY, 42 COMMANDO RM TRAINING IN MOJAVE DESERT
PLYMOUTH-based Royal Marines have commenced training on extensive live-fire ranges in the Mojave Desert, California.
Working from the US Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Centre in Twenty nine Palms, Kilo Company, 42 Commando RM have been using a mock-up Middle Eastern village in this vast training facility with its 932 square miles of desert terr
ain in which to operate.
One serial saw the Bickleigh-based unit carrying out a Troop Level Advanced to Contact exercise which was carried out at Nobles Pass, 29 Palms.
This involves three sections from Kilo Coy advancing on a target one suppressing one flanking and the third reorganising. The three sections rotate in these roles until the Goal is complete. Nobles Pass is a 100 metre long range with a lot more rolling ground and a lot more cover than the other ranges in the area.
Major Ben Halsted RM, Officer Commanding K said a So far it's going very good, I am very impressed with this range its a great setup. It’s such different terrain it makes a lot of difference for the lads to come and operate slightly differently. The troops are coming together, the guys are still working very hard l and now we are starting to see it come together at troop level.
CROWN COPYRIGHT
Royal Marine Young Officers (RMYOs) on Exercise FINAL NAIL
Royal Marine Young Officers (RMYOs) put their extensive training and skills to the test during final phase training, on Exercise FINAL NAIL conducted in the Argyll forest exercise areas Argyll & Bute Scotland.
Exercise FINAL NAIL represented the culmination of Royal Marines Young Officer (RMYO) training and was the last serial of an arduous 15 month course based at Commando Training Centre Royal
Marines. It was designed to confirm the YOs as fit to command a close combat troop, before their passing out in December 2012. Emphasis was placed on learning to operate within the company context, with trained ranks; Marines from 43 Cdo FPGRM augmenting the YOs to company strength and HQ elements. Use of attached assets added realism and complexity to the exercise; with LCs from 10 Trg Sqn RM manning Inflatable Raiding Craft (IRC) and Offshore Raiding Craft (ORC), and MLs playing the role of BPT for vertical assault elements.
The exercise was spread over four different training areas, each demanding different tactical considerations. The exercise began with a troop amphibious beach assault in Braunton Burrows. The YOs then deployed to the West Coast of Scotland to conduct a company attack onto an airfield and riverine operations in Galloway Forest, before staging amphibious raids on the lochs of Ardgartan Forest. The final attack was a simultaneous company-led attack onto hill-top enemy positions, set against the spectacular backdrop of the Garelochs.
Photographs by CPO(Phot) Tam McDonald - MOD Crown Copyright 2012
Royal Marines held at high-readiness for maritime security operations have pyshed themselves in a vast underground comokex beneath a town in the South West ahead of being deployed to the Mediterranean.
Marines from Juliet Company of Plymouth-based 42 Commando work in small teams on Royal Navy warships around the world, ready to react to emergencies and specialist missions, like counter-piracy and boarding operations.
J Company is also the home of the Fleet Contingency Troop (FCT) – experts in a range of security missions and the UK’s only force trained in opposed boarding operations (known as Level 3 (Opposed)) outside of Special Forces.
The complex of tunnels became a facility for the potential relocation of the government in times of crisis during the 1950s with the threat of nuclear war looming large.
These days, parts of it are a useful training area; a place where the commandos can push themselves in the art of close-quarters combat, testing their well-rehearsed tactics, techniques and procedures to quickly assess and deal with threats in even the trickiest of environments.
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Photos: Royal Navy
U.K. Royal Marines with 45 Commando board an MV-22B Osprey during a combined operation as part of exercise Blue Raptor aboard the U.K. Royal Navy’s HMS Ocean, Nov. 20, 2015. The Allied Maritime Basing Initiative is a proof-of-concept to provide the U.S. and NATO allies a year-round, maritime-based crisis response force by leveraging the amphibious capabilities residing in Europe. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Keonaona C. Paulo/Released)
Miniature warriors from Families across 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, assembled to face Soldiers of the 41st Engineer Battalion during the Commando brigade's second "Nerf Wars" match held inside a makeshift battlefield configured throughout the Magrath Sports Complex basketball court, April 10, 2019, at Fort Drum, New York. Foam darts littered the gym floor during the "just for fun" event as opposing forces fueled by popcorn and cotton candy engaged in a play firefight.
(U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Paige Behringer)
A United Nations plane parks on the runway surrounded by the lush green of Uganda at the old airport in Entebbe, Uganda, Jan. 9, 2011. A few metres away is the terminal building that was the scene of the July 3, 1976 Israeli commando raid on Entebbe. Israel attacked Entebbe under cover of darkness to end the hostage crisis triggered by Palestinian PFLP gunmen and a female West German hijacker who on June 28, 1976 seized an Air France jetliner en route to Paris, France from Athens, Greece. Less than 300 metres away are the shores of Lake Victoria.
Royal Marines’ master the art of urban combat
Royal Marines of 45 Commando used a specialist training camp near Clyde Naval Base to practice the demanding art of urban combat. Green berets of X-Ray Company from RM Condor made use of buildings specifically adapted for house-to-house fighting at Strone Camp, just outside Faslane. 13th March 2012
The men of X-Ray Company, 45 Commando, move in line formation across a road at Strone Camp near Faslane as they show some of the skills learned in Afghanistan.
The Royal Marines from Arbroath are preparing to take over as Britain’s ‘lead commando group’ – a high-readiness contingency force ready to deploy anywhere in the world at any time.
While their Zulu Company comrades were re-learning the art of amphibious warfare in Devon after last year’s six-month tour of duty in Helmand, X-Ray travelled across Scotland to the small camp.
About a mile east of Faslane, just off the Glen Fruin Road, Strone Camp was once home to the Admiralty Hydro Ballistic Research Establishment.
Since the 1980s the disused buildings have been used not for their original purpose, but for modern urban combat training.
The one-time tank building – used to test the hydro-ballistic properties of torpedoes and missiles – has now been converted into a training centre for FIBUA (fighting in a built-up area, known more commonly by troops as FISHing – fighting in someone’s house).
Following their experiences of compound clearance work in Afghanistan, the 45 men are now training for a more complex and industrial urban environment.
Working in groups of between eight and 24, X-Ray Company are practising these skills ahead of a large-scale exercise in early May in Galloway, Scottish Lion.
Miniature warriors from Families across 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, assembled to face Soldiers of the 41st Engineer Battalion during the Commando brigade's second "Nerf Wars" match held inside a makeshift battlefield configured throughout the Magrath Sports Complex basketball court, April 10, 2019, at Fort Drum, New York. Foam darts littered the gym floor during the "just for fun" event as opposing forces fueled by popcorn and cotton candy engaged in a play firefight.
(U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Paige Behringer)
Got to this location early to avoid the coaches and large numbers of visitors. Amazing location with Ben Nevis over looking it, but was chosen as this was where many soldiers did their training.
Very moving experience walking around here.
Nederlandse Antillen, Curacao. 11 februari 2015
De "Optreden Waterrijke Gebieden Specialistenploeg" (OWG-Specploeg) van het Korps Commando Troepen beoefend haar optreden in de wateren rond Curacao.
The 4th Battalion (Commando), the Royal Australian Regiment, (4 RAR [Cdo]) Colour Party parade their colours during the renaming ceremony at Tobruk Lines, Holsworthy, NSW.
Mid Caption:
Army’s 4th Battalion (Commando), The Royal Australian Regiment (4 RAR [Cdo]), has been officially renamed as the 2nd Commando Regiment (2 Cdo Regt) at a ceremony at Tobruk Lines, Holsworthy, today.
The ceremony, reviewed by Chief of Army, Lieutenant General Ken Gillespie, saw the march-off of the 4 RAR colours and the unfurling of the new 2 Cdo Regt flag.
4 RAR (Cdo) began commando transition in 1996 when the Government directed Army to establish a second commando regiment with the ability to conduct special recovery and strike operations.
Lieutenant General Gillespie said the name 2 Cdo Regt more accurately reflected the roles and capabilities of the commandos and their command structure, which are distinct from the Army’s conventional infantry battalions.
It also reflects the unit’s historical links to the Australian Independent Commando Companies that operated in the Southwest Pacific in the Second World War.
During the ceremony, 4 RAR’s colours were handed over to a School of Infantry Colour Party to be held in perpetuity.
Lieutenant Colonel Gillespie said 4 RAR (Cdo) will remain on Army’s Order of Battle, with its history, colours and traditions preserved for future service as and when required by the nation.
2 Cdo Regt joins the Special Air Service Regiment, Incident Response Regiment, 1st Commando Regiment, the Special Forces Training Centre and the Special Operations Logistics Squadron as part of Army’s Special Operations Command.
A U.K. Royal Marine with 45 Commando observes the surrounding area as a part of Integrated Training Exercise (ITX) 2-19 at Range 220, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif. Feb. 9, 2019. ITX creates a challenging, realistic training environment that produces combat-ready forces capable of operating as an integrated Marine Air Ground Task Force. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Conner Downey)
'A Trail of Runners'. What a great backdrop with rain trees stretching their gnarled branches across the 'Green Corridor' path.
Alpha Company 40 Commando Royal Marines on operations in Nahr-e Saraj, Central Helmand.
Photographs by L(Phot) Rhys Oleary – MOD/Crown Copyright 2013
Mortar Troop from 42 Commando Royal Marines
Images captured show Mortar Troop from 42 Commando Royal Marines illuminating enemy positions in the mountains of the Mojave Desert during the week long final exercise of Black Alligator – 2nd December 2012
Photos: PO (Phot) Sean Clee - MOD Crown Copyright 2012
Miniature warriors from Families across 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, assembled to face Soldiers of the 41st Engineer Battalion during the Commando brigade's second "Nerf Wars" match held inside a makeshift battlefield configured throughout the Magrath Sports Complex basketball court, April 10, 2019, at Fort Drum, New York. Foam darts littered the gym floor during the "just for fun" event as opposing forces fueled by popcorn and cotton candy engaged in a play firefight.
(U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Paige Behringer)
TAUNTON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 16: Royal Marines from 40 Commando are presented with their campaign medals following a six-month deployment in Sangin, Afghanistan at Norton Camp Barracks in the presence of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, on November 16, 2010 in Taunton, England. During their deployment to Afghanistan, 14 marines were killed and 11 were seriously injured. About 600 marines from the base at Norton Fitzwarren in Somerset had been serving since April 2010 in the Sangin area of Helmand Province before it was taken over by US forces in September.
PARIS, FRANCE - JULY 14: Soldiers from the Air Infantry and commando (Fusiliers Commandos de l'Air) march down the Champs-Elysees during the annual Bastille day parade on July 14, 2011 in Paris, France. The French National Day celebrates its revolution in the storming of the Bastille in 1789 through various parades and official ceremonies throughout France.
Chris with his camo paint and vibrams looks the part of a commando! He lends a helping hand to participants at the first natural obstacle, a gully with steep muddy slopes and sludge in the middle.
K Company, 42 Commando RM Training in Mojave Desert
Plymouth-based Royal Marines have commenced training on extensive live-fire ranges in the Mojave desert, California.
Working from the US Marine Corps’ Air-Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, Kilo Company, 42 Commando RM have been using a mock-up Middle Eastern village in this vast training facility with its 932 square miles of desert terr
ain in which to operate.
One serial saw the Bickleigh-based marines using ‘simunition’ which enables firing without the risks associated with live ammunition; it still hurts if you are hit though! A bit like paintball, the round contains a small amount of blue or pink dye to indicate a successful shot.
Major Ben Halsted RM, Officer Commanding K Company, is pleased with how the training has gone so far. “Simunition is a halfway house between dry and live firing; in a close quarters environment it’s as close as you can get to the real thing, down to the fact that it does hurt when it hits you in certain places.”
“The pain factor is useful because once the guys have had a few strikes on hands and other sensitive places, they’ll get quite wary. What this is doing is blending the drill with tactical considerations; this will expose any weaknesses in their drills and they’ll learn very quickly from that.”
K Company are set to enjoy a single day of leave in Palm Springs after an intense week of training, despite a 0600hrs departure time on their day off, following which they will continue with their live fire training package.
“They’re really looking forward to it and I think a change of scenery will be extremely welcome and very well earned indeed.”
Image shows members of K Coy in action during their Simunition Training at 'The Village', 29 Palms. CROWN COPYRIGHT
Royal Marines held at high-readiness for maritime security operations have pyshed themselves in a vast underground comokex beneath a town in the South West ahead of being deployed to the Mediterranean.
Marines from Juliet Company of Plymouth-based 42 Commando work in small teams on Royal Navy warships around the world, ready to react to emergencies and specialist missions, like counter-piracy and boarding operations.
J Company is also the home of the Fleet Contingency Troop (FCT) – experts in a range of security missions and the UK’s only force trained in opposed boarding operations (known as Level 3 (Opposed)) outside of Special Forces.
The complex of tunnels became a facility for the potential relocation of the government in times of crisis during the 1950s with the threat of nuclear war looming large.
These days, parts of it are a useful training area; a place where the commandos can push themselves in the art of close-quarters combat, testing their well-rehearsed tactics, techniques and procedures to quickly assess and deal with threats in even the trickiest of environments.
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Photos: Royal Navy
Royal Marines from Reconnaissance Troop 42 Commando conducting Modern Urban Combat (MUC) drills. The training was part of Exercise Black Alligator and was conducted in Area Delta of the Mount Facility at 29 Palms in California, USA.
Crown Copyright 2012
Miniature warriors from Families across 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, assembled to face Soldiers of the 41st Engineer Battalion during the Commando brigade's second "Nerf Wars" match held inside a makeshift battlefield configured throughout the Magrath Sports Complex basketball court, April 10, 2019, at Fort Drum, New York. Foam darts littered the gym floor during the "just for fun" event as opposing forces fueled by popcorn and cotton candy engaged in a play firefight.
(U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Paige Behringer)
Royal Marines from M Coy hone their skills during Royal Marine Boarding Course
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The Marines of M Coy, 42 Commando RM, have been consolidating their tactics, techniques and procedures (TTP) on the final exercise of the RM Boarding Course at Bovington Training Area, Dorset.
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The arduous 8-week course will qualify the Commandos to take the mantle as the Fleet Contingency Troop (FCT) and will see them being held at a high state of readiness for potential deployments to key areas of national interest.
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Image: POPhot Paul Hall
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A U.S. Marine with Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Africa and U.K. Royal Marines with 45 Commando participate in a combined operation part of exercise Blue Raptor in Frasselli, France, Nov. 20, 2015. The Allied Maritime Basing Initiative is a proof-of-concept to provide the U.S. and NATO allies a year-round, maritime-based crisis response force by leveraging the amphibious capabilities residing in Europe. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Keonaona C. Paulo/Released)
TAUNTON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 16: Royal Marines from 40 Commando are presented with their campaign medals following a six-month deployment in Sangin, Afghanistan at Norton Camp Barracks in the presence of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, on November 16, 2010 in Taunton, England. During their deployment to Afghanistan, 14 marines were killed and 11 were seriously injured. About 600 marines from the base at Norton Fitzwarren in Somerset had been serving since April 2010 in the Sangin area of Helmand Province before it was taken over by US forces in September.
Lima Company 42 Commando Royal Marines - Exercise Black Alligator
Images show a dawn raid by Lima Company 42 Commando Royal Marines on to objective Ruby. The mission saw the commando’s clear enemy from buildings and the surrounding terrain. The attack was part of 42 Commando's week long final exercise of Black Alligator.
Photos: PO (Phot) Sean Clee MOD Crown copyright 2012
A friend's Norton Commando 750. Oh those student days..!
Photo taken outside where I lived as a student in Sheffield....1978
Old snapshot scanned and with my pathetic attempts to re-vitalize it
Pictured Lt Tom Lucy of K Company 42 Commando on patrol with his section outside of Patrol Base 5 in Helmand Province, Afhanistan.
Athlete swaps Olympic glory for the Royal Marines.
After winning a silver medal at the Beijing Olympics, Lieutenant Tom Lucy has finally achieved his childhood dream of becoming a Royal Marine.
As if triumphing at the Olympics wasn't enough, Lt Lucy wanted to join the most elite team in the world and become a member of the Armed Forces and deploy to Afghanistan.
At the half-way point of his tour leading the troops of K Company, 42 Commando Royal Marines in Nahr-e Saraj south in Helmand Province, Lt Lucy is facing challenges that are slightly different to those he's been used to.
After helping Great Britain's eight-man rowing crew finish just behind Canada in the Beijing finals in 2008, he decided to fulfil his childhood ambition of joining the Royal Marines and earning the coveted green beret. This meant giving up his chance of rowing in the London 2012 Olympics.
Lt Lucy said:
"Joining the Royal Marines was always my life-time ambition; ever since I was six that's all I've wanted to do. I started rowing when I was fifteen. I had a brilliant time and got as far as I'd ever hoped and dreamed I'd get and after that it was time for a change."
Every day in Afghanistan is different for Lt Lucy and he can find himself patrolling with the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police, to providing security for veterinary engagements.
He said:
"It's very important work and we're helping to build the capability of the Afghan forces every single day. We're always out and about developing our relationship with the local people and deterring insurgents.
Lt Lucy learned some vital strengths during his time as an athlete that are easily transferrably to his current job in the Royal Marines, such as staying fit and working in a team.
With only a year to go until the London 2012 Olympics, Lt Lucy knows he's now where he truly belongs:
"When I come to watch the 2012 Olympics I will feel a pang of wishing I was there, but I know it'll only be temporary.
"I really enjoy the job and my team are doing a fantastic job. Tangible progress is being made and I get immense satisfaction from seeing the differences that we are helping to make for the Afghan people. It's immensely rewarding.
"If I'd carried on rowing for four years it would have made the transition into this career a lot more difficult and also there's no guarantee that you'll get there.
"The four years of Olympiad is frought with dangers of illness and injury and on race day there's no guarantee you're going to achieve the result you want. So I'm happy to be where I am."
However, being the tender age of 23, Lt Lucy hasn't ruled out future competitions and you may see him in Rio de Janeiro in 2016:
"I won't get back into it too soon, as there's still things I want to achieve in the Royal Marines, but I've not written it off at all. If I can get myself back into shape I'll give it another shot in the near future."
Commandos set their sights on close-combat training
Royal Marines of 40 Commando honed their day and night-fighting skills with a week of intense training in mock towns in Kent. The Norton Manor-based commandos practised close quarters battle on special ranges at Lydd and Hythe, trying out an enhanced rifle sight to improve their already-impressive marksmanship.
Royal Marines of 40 Commando stand guard at the façade of a house on the ranges at Lydd and Hythe in Kent as Exercise Hawk – a week of close-combat training – draws to a close.
The commandos decamped from their base at Norton Manor in Somerset to the two training areas on the Channel.
The ranges at Lydd, about five miles west of Dungeness, have been used by troops for more than 150 years, while those at Hythe, a dozen miles to the east, are two centuries old and are dominated by a couple of Martello towers and Grand Redoubt, built to keep Napoleon at bay.
Some 200 years later, the ranges are in use almost daily – and have been adapted to meet the demands of today’s Armed Forces, with a mock modern-day housing estate, complete with roads, roundabouts and cars, built at both, while the Lydd ranges are strewn with wrecked old armoured vehicles.
40 Commando made full use of their week in Kent, from the annual combat marksmanship test to compound clearance and defending forward operating bases.
There was also the opportunity for the Royals to let loose with heavy weapons and each company carried out nighttime live firing.
And for the first time 40 tested the new ELCAN sight – there’s a small red cross for the aiming point – which is easier to use and better in the dark than the existing sights; troops still need to understand its capability, how to mount it on SA80 rifles and how to zero it – all of which was done in Kent.
For close quarters battle (also known as close combat or, in old parlance, hand-to-hand fighting), a separate sight is fitted on top of the ELCAN sight to allow the commandos to rapidly engage their targets.
As well as live firing, the Norton Manor men also used ‘simunition’ – simulated ammunition, which possesses the dynamics of the real thing, minus the lethality – to add an extra layer of realism to Exercise Hawk.
“40 Commando had plenty of time to practise close quarters skills and the simunition added a realistic dimension to the training,” explained Lt Dougal Loadman.