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42 Commando Royal Marines - Exercise Black Alligator
Images 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.
Photos: PO (Phot) Sean Clee MOD Crown copyright 2012
Lima Company 42 Commando Royal Marines - Exercise Black Alligator
Images captured 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. 26th to 30th November 2012
Photos: PO (Phot) Sean Clee MOD Crown copyright 2012
Royal Marines clearing buildings during a Commando Assault onto Sazan Island.
Royal Marines launch amphibious raid on abandoned submarine base
As dawn broke over an abandoned former Cold War submarine base a series of explosions announced the arrival of the Royal Marines as they began a full scale amphibious attack.
As part of Exercise Albanian Lion, the Marines landed on the shores of Sazan island and, amid a scenario based around smugglers, social unrest and the rise of terrorist groups, the Commandos attacked the hostile nation from the sea by climbing cliff faces in darkness to surprise the enemy.
Photos by PO(Phot) Sean Clee
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
Lima Company 42 Commando Royal Marines - Exercise Black Alligator
Images captured 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. 26th to 30th November 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)
Commando level attack on to objective LEAD (Range 200)
Images captured show a Commando level attack on to objective LEAD (Range 200) in the 29 Palms training area of California. Over 500 Royal Marines from 42 Commando were involved in the dawn raid. The mission saw the Commandos clear enemy from buildings and surrounding terrain. The attack was the final phase of the six week long training exercise, Black Alligator – December 2012
Photographs by PO (phot) Sean Clee Crown Copyright 2012
Lima Company 42 Commando Royal Marines - Exercise Black Alligator
Images captured 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. 26th to 30th November 2012
Photos: PO (Phot) Sean Clee MOD Crown copyright 2012
Lockheed Martin MC-130J Hercules (12-5731) of the 67th Special Operations Squadron, 352nd Special Operations Group, USAFE. RAF Mildenhall, 18th January 2017.
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 ter
rain 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 “ So far it’s going very good, I’m very impressed with this range it’s 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
Marines end cold weather training with three hour battle
Images captured show ranks from 45 Commando Royal Marines, Commando Logistics Regiment (CLR) and Commando Helicopter Force (CHF) conducting simultaneous attacks against three enemy positions during the final exercise of the Cold Weather Warfare Course (CWWC). After achieving their objectives the Commandos were extracted by a Royal Navy Sea King helicopter from 845 Squadron and three Norwegian Huey helicopters .The exercise took place in the training area on the Trondenes Peninsular, Norway, and is part of 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines winter training package known as Cetus 13.
Royal Marines have completed six weeks of Arctic training with an all-out assault on one of the relics of Hitler’s vaunted Fortress Europe. The green berets of Arbroath-based 45 Commando, plus the Commando Logistic Regiment from North Devon and their supporting air power, the Commando Helicopter Force at Yeovilton, staged a three-hour attack on a wartime fortress near Harstad in northern Norway – as the climax of Exercise Cetus 13. The marines decamped from their bases in the UK to join the Norwegians at the small port, some 150 miles north of the Arctic Circle for Exercise Cetus 13. There is no harsher environment in which to live, work and fight – deep snow, ice, temperatures fall regularly below -30˚C (and take it down another 20˚C with wind chill). Such conditions test men and machines to the limit. Around 135 green berets from 45 Commando – currently the UK’s lead commando group, who are ready to deploy around the world at short notice should they be required – crossed the North Sea for Cetus 13, using the Norwegian Army camp at Åsegarden, just outside Harstad, as their base. Having mastered the arts of survival in the Arctic – living in snow holes (a man-made ‘cave’ carved out of the snow), skiing, marching on snow shoes for five kilometres (three miles) with 30kg (66lb) of kit on their backs, personal care (such as not touching exposed metal) – it was time to move on to the fighting element of the training.
Photographs by PO (Phot) Sean Clee – MOD/Crown copyright 2013
The Commando Medal is awarded to the man who throughout training, shows to an outstanding degree, the qualities of the Commando Spirit. These are defined as:
Leadership, Unselfishness, Cheerfulness in adversity, Determination, Courage.
42 COMMANDO ROYAL MARINES K COY IN NAHR-E SARAJ SOUTH
K Coy of 42 Commando Royal Marines deployed to Nahre-e Saraj South, Afganistan in April 2011 and were working independantly to 42 Commando Royal Marines who are based in Nadi-e Ali North. Images taken by LA(Phot) Hillhouse BRITISH CROWN COPYRIGHT©2010
MC-130J Commando II from RAF Mildenhall flying under the full moon.
Canon EOS 7D - EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM - ISO3200 1/50 sec f/5.6
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.
Exercise Black Alligator
Images captured show Royal Marines from M Company 42 Commando making a helicopter insertion into the Mojave Dessert. The troops were flown in by Merlin helicopter during the initial stages of the week long final exercise of Black Alligator. 27th November 2012
MOD Crown Copyright2012
45 Commando On Exercise Cold Response
The New Year saw the main body of 45 Commando deploy to northern Norway on Exercise LUPUS 2. This afforded the Commando the golden opportunity to refresh its ‘survive, move and fight’ skills in the Arctic environment in preparation for Exercise Cold Response.
This winter deployment has provided welcome Afghanistan respite and an equally welcome return to the Commando’s roots, grown over three decades of regular Arctic forays. The winter has been hallmarked by unpredictable weather, forcing snow to be ‘chased’; a cohort with much operational but limited cold weather experience; and some compressed timelines. No matter the frictions, as ever, the defining feature of the trip has been Royal Marines rising admirably to every challenge, proving their ability to survive, move and fight in the harshest of conditions.
Summing up the deployment thus far, the Commanding Officer of 45 Commando, Lieutenant Colonel Oliver Lee said:
“This trip has provided a wonderful opportunity to refresh some of our essential core amphibious and cold weather skills in the harshest environment there is. The training has been progressive, challenging, rewarding and fun. 45 Commando Royal Marines has thrived on this deployment and stands ready to fight and win on operations around the world”.
At the invitation of the Norwegian government, Exercise Cold Response is a crisis response operation set in a high intensity, multi-threat cold weather environment and is directed by the Norwegian National Joint Headquarters. The two week long exercise involved a multi-national task group of troops, air assets and a variety of amphibious shipping. One of those multi-national elements attached to 45 Commando was the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and old friendships were rekindled as both embarked together to warm welcomes aboard HMS Ocean and the Dutch warship Johan De Witt.
Major Tim Hiel, the USMC operations officer, said:
“We have been looking forward to Exercise Cold Response and have not been disappointed. For the 200 US Marines participating, this represents several rare opportunities – operating in the Arctic environment, honing our amphibious techniques and, of course, we always enjoy working alongside the Royal Marines. I’m confident that we will return home better prepared as individuals and as a Unit”.
Exercise Cold Response provided for many the inaugural opportunity to live on ship, practice beach landings, project ashore into the fight and thereby witness firsthand the fundamentals of the Royal Marines’ undeniable amphibious utility and flexibility. During the landing phase, Commandos raided ashore by helicopter and landing craft before the main body of Marines were landed. With the beachhead established, 45 Commando out-manoeuvred the enemy, played by the Norwegian army, and delivered a devastating deliberate attack.
Although Royal Marines train in this wonderfully uncompromising environment less than they did, its value endures beyond doubt. The Royal Marines’ cold weather and amphibious skills have been learnt or refreshed such that their flame continues to burn brightly; but deployments such as this also breed teamwork, cohesion and resilience and underpin the Commando’s recent success on operations in Afghanistan.
Soldiers of French Jaubert naval commando take part in an exercise on February 7, 2012, in Crozon, western France.
Royal Marine and Army Commandos practice amphibious beach landings on July 14, 2010, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. HMS Ark Royal, the nation's strike carrier, is leading an international task group during exercise Auriga 2010 a joint US-British amphibious exercise in Onslow Bay, off the coast of North Carolina. Exercise AURIGA is part of a series of training exercises that will build on the UK's ability to conduct small scale focused intervention operations anywhere in the world, delivering amphibious forces supported by air power from the Joint Harrier force.
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)
An Afghan National Army commando from 6th Commando Kandak fires a smoke grenade to mark an insurgent position during a firefight in Gelan district, Ghazni province, Afghanistan, March 22. The ANA commandos conduct counterinsurgency operations throughout Afghanistan to provide stability in the region.
A U.S. Marine with Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Africa and U.K. Royal Marines with 45 Commando capture a simulated high value target during 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)
Commando level attack on to objective LEAD (Range 200)
Images captured show a Commando level attack on to objective LEAD (Range 200) in the 29 Palms training area of California. Over 500 Royal Marines from 42 Commando were involved in the dawn raid. The mission saw the Commandos clear enemy from buildings and surrounding terrain. The attack was the final phase of the six week long training exercise, Black Alligator – December 2012
Photographs by PO (phot) Sean Clee Crown Copyright 2012
Worn by members of 1 Commando Regiment, Australian Special Forces, and features the dagger and boomerang insignia.
I didn't think it could get any weirder than the pocket disposable douches we received. Pocket Commandos are these gnarly felt pieces that you stick in your pants so you can go COMMANDO. If you go to the website, 4 of these bad boys costs 10 bucks. That's how much I spend on a pack of underwear at Costco, and i can re-use those...
Lima Company 42 Commando Royal Marines - Exercise Black Alligator
Images captured 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. 26th to 30th November 2012
Photos: PO (Phot) Sean Clee MOD Crown copyright 2012
Soldiers from the Air Infantry and commando (Fusiliers Commandos de l'Air) march down the Champs-Elysees during the annual Bastille day parade in Paris, on July 14, 2011.
42 Commando Royal Marines J Company went out on Operation Satunki 2. This was an Afgan National Police lead partnered Operation in the area of Ghazni Street, Nadi-e Ali North, Helmand Province, Afganistan. It proved to be a successfull operation as J Company found a number of Improvised Explosive Devices hidden in a large haystack.
Images taken by La(Phot) David Hillhouse. BRITISH CROWN COPYRIGHT©2010
Commando Challenge, today the ships company of HMS Ocean sampled life as a Royal Marine in the Commando Challange. This is an improvised assult course on the flight deck while the ship is in transit towards the Suez Canal on her way home from OP Taurus 09.. Images by LA (PHOT) Bernie Henesy HMS Ocean.
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.
Royal Marines from 40 Commando Royal Marines participate in an assault on Range 210 as part of Exercise Black Alligator 13 aboard the Combat Center Oct. 20, 2013.
Royal Marines from 40 Commando Royal Marines culminated weeks of training and preparation aboard the Combat Center with an assault on Range 210 as part of Exercise Black Alligator 13, Oct. 20, 2013.
They are in the USA to hone their warfighting skills alongside their US colleagues at the sprawling United States Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Centre, which has nearly 1,000 sq miles of ideal training ground.
(Official Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Paul S. Martinez/Released)
Suicide Commando playing live at Festival Kinetik 4.0 in Montreal. Their first live appearance in North America. They have some serious energy on stage.
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
After waiting in vain for the clouds to lift a bit on the Ben, I took a wander out to the Commando Monument at Spean for the sunset. Taken well after the sunset, as the light was really dropping, the last of the colour was fading, and the temperature was crashing too. A fine way to finish a wee wander on a Sunday afternoon.