When this sort of loose and very dangerous talk is going around MOD things tend to stick unless more informed opinion and facts are brought into play.  In that regard, I thought the Commandant General Royal Marines recent speech to the Royal United Services Institute in London should get wide distribution as it so eloquently and succinctly expresses the extreme value UK defence gets from the Royal Marines, and has done throughout the ages.  Most grateful if you could pass this on widely through USMC circles as a cry for help from one Marine to another.

Letter from CGRM; 7th July 2010

“WHAT LESSONS FROM TODAY'S OPERATIONS ARE

SHAPING CAPABILITY IN THE FUTURE?"

Mark Twain described history as ‘a huge Mississippi of falsehood’ - nevertheless I reflect on the fact that:

 

Yesterday marked the 22^nd anniversary (6th july 1088) of the Piper Alpha oil rig explosion, to which the Royal Navy was amongst the first to respond, in the guise of HMS PHOEBE and BLACKWATER

 

Today, in 1932, marked the nadir of the Dow Jones Index – during the maelstrom of the Great Depression

 

We currently grapple with the consequences of the sinking of the DEEP WATER HORIZON - together with a global recession whose full implications are yet to be realised - not least for an island nation state so dependent on international trade

 

All of which suggests that there perhaps really is ‘nothing new under the sun, only history you didn’t know about’ – something to reflect upon when envisaging radical change to time proven capabilities in James Bergeron’s ‘Transitional Age’, where the new rules are poorly understood

 

Today also happens to be the anniversary of a maritime culinary revolution – in 1862, the ‘sea trials’ began of dried potatoes - brackets sliced - and dried meat -  brackets – ground – so eat your heart out Jamie Oliver - the spirit of innovation in the Fleet leaves you astern by a century and a half.  It’s not just the Army which marches on its stomach!

 

[Slide – Significance of Littoral]

Analysis presented in the Future Character of Conflict work coincident with the Defence Green Paper as well as the Foreign Secretary’s remarks, dissected yesterday by Christopher Meyer, indicates that an effective player in the complex; congested, contested cluttered, constrained and connected security environment of the future - must be able to influence through global reach; create time and space for political engagement, and offer scalable capability – from diplomatic to kinetic, to enable and to preserve the maximum range of strategic choices, for as long as possible.

The Secretary of State reaffirmed, here, on the 14^th June, that the primary mission of the Armed Forces is the application of lethal force.

But Littoral Manoeuvre – a concept which encompasses Amphibious and Maritime Strike Operations -  is distinguished by its rheostatic nature.  It is scaleable, flexible and agile – even chameleon in character – it can be employed as a precise and responsive instrument to support our Foreign and Security policy. 

Fundamentally it is about manoeuvre not attrition nimbleness not mass adaptability not fixity discrimination not prescription It offers presence. 

The ability to poise; to influence; to apply ‘force on mind’ through a judiciously calibrated posture – without occupation; to deter and coerce without commitment.  It can PREVENT in the widest sense, whether by direct involvement; by facilitating the business of Other Government Departments, or as a visible, powerful symbol of UK interest.

And, if needs be, it can, as a brigade Theatre Entry Force … smash down the door…albeit elegantly, and mindful of the implications of Feng Shui!

The utility of this instrument is writ large through the 29 deployments involving either specialist amphibious shipping and/or the Landing Force, over the past 10 years, applying a carefully calibrated blend of ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ power across the globe.

 

72.5% of the Royal Marines is deployable and 64% will deploy or be at high readiness to deploy over the next 24 months; others are committed to protecting the nuclear deterrent, SFSG and the Band Service. 70 % of the RMR has deployed for 6 months on Operations since 2003.  

 

Acknowledging the current gaps arising from the HERRICK Main Effort, we retain the fundamental capabilities to deliver a Theatre Entry effect independent of Access, Basing and Overflight limitations.

 

That’s the ‘How’ – now the ‘What’

 

We have an Amphibious Fleet in being comprising of 1 x LPH, 2 x LPDs and 4 x LSDAs.  These assets have a mean age of only 7 years. They cost £1.3Bn to procure and they are projected to remain in service beyond 2032.

 

They can manoeuvre to outflank and strike, with strategic agility, over 300 nautical miles, in 24 hours.

 

The Landing Force - 3 Commando Brigade - has the capacity to land 2 Commando Groups ashore in one cycle of darkness, from over the horizon, up to sea state 4, with a first assault wave of 500 men hitting the target simultaneously in a four Company Group lift, two by surface and two by air.

 

I thought I might now use a couple of vignettes from last year, and the present, to demonstrate the utility of this construct - this joint amphibious team:

 

Starting with my deployable 2* Headquarters, which has been committed on operations for 51% of its 8 year life.

 

Based on staff of about 50, this HQ has now deployed as a Maritime, Land, National and Amphibious Component Command.

 

Last year it deployed to Iraq as the last UK divisional headquarters, to set the conditions for, and to orchestrate the TELIC drawdown and transfer of authority to the Iraqi Army – an undertaking which was distinguished by its focus on Iraqi needs and its cultural sensitivity.

 

3 Commando Brigade was engaged at the outset of the TELIC campaign – conducting an opposed amphibious helicopter assault onto the Al Faw peninsula ahead of the main attack.  So first in - and last out …

 

40 Commando deployed for 6 months, as an Amphibious Ready Group on Exercise TAURUS, developing contingent capability toward BSSFI .

 

It trained, exercised, and engaged with Malta, Turkey, Greece/Cyprus, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, The Maldives, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, and Brunei.   Countries of significant importance to the UK – either by virtue of their priority in CT terms, as part of our wider regional engagement strategy and trading interests; or their utility to the UK for training purposes.

 

Partnering is maritime core business – it is braided throughout the Royal Navy’s 500 year history.

 

The ARG’s activities ranged from the largest scale UK/Saudi Arabia exercise since Operation GRANBY, in 1991, through to individual small boat training in Yemen, and joint multi-agency planning exercises in Bangladesh.

HMS ALBION delivered capacity building training to the Nigerian Navy enhancing the security operations in the Delta not least to the benefit of UK citizens working in the oil industry. Continuation training was delivered earlier this year by 1 Assault Squadron Royal Marines.

 

Throughout the entire period of TAURUS 40 Commando remained poised as the UK’s high readiness reaction force.

 

Meanwhile the bulk of the Brigade was engaged in Helmand. The rigours of this campaign are well understood.  It places immense demands on our people, their individual judgement, determination, resilience, courage and discrimination.  It requires every Marine to be his own general.   The Corps has been committed to HERRICKs 5, 7, 9, 12 (and soon, 14) … and in the case of the Armoured Support Group, many, and the SBS, all in between.

 

These have been ‘hard yards’, the butcher’s bill makes grim reading - pro rata, Lovat warriors have sustained over 2.5 times both the fatal casualties and the grievously wounded of our Khaki comrades.

 

But the ability to cope and flourish amidst complexity and uncertainty – together with familiarity with a joint and inter-agency approach, bred through training in the amphibious environment, has equipped us well for the demands of such messy wars amongst the people. This willingness to adjust, to endure and to seek understanding is a hallmark of our people, and a theme to which I will return.

 

This year, my 2* Staff, having re-roled as a Maritime Component Command through Ex COLD RESPONSE, now forms the core of the EUNAVFOR Operational Headquarters, running the Counter Piracy Operation off the coast of Somalia.  27 Nations collaborating with NATO and Coalition Maritime Forces to safeguard the Global Commons.  Twenty percent of the world’s trade passes through the Babel Mendeb …one LPG tanker every two days en route to Milford Haven – without which the lights of the United Kingdom would within days start to dim.

 

I have already touched upon 40 Commando and HERRICK 12 – they have been much in the press of late, holding the ring in Sangin.  I will not labour this except to say that they are seamlessly integrated into the US command structure.  There have been many references in this conference, to our relationship with the United States … Special or otherwise – and its importance.  But our relationship with the United States Marine Corps – the acme of American military excellence – is genuinely a special one:  Marine to Marine – even brother to brother, which transcends nationality. A link which I would suggest provides disproportionate leverage to the UK.

 

Meanwhile, as Peter [RAdm Peter Hudson RN, COMUKMARFOR] has said, a sizeable chunk of the Brigade Landing Force is embarked and participating in an Amphibious and Carrier Strike exercise – AURIGA – integrated again with US forces – building on Exercises TAURUS, COLD RESPONSE and foreshadowing COUGAR next year, to regenerate contingent capability. 

 

One Maritime Force, consisting of two Task Groups, separable but not separate, providing: Contingent, Expeditionary, Scaleable, Independent, Organic, Flexible, Balanced and potentially Forward Deployed forces.

 

So what of the future?

 

For this maritime force to integrate fully, our surface assault capabilities must have speed and reach, enhancing further our ability to manoeuvre and negate an adversary’s access denial (A2D2) capabilities.  The acquisition of the triad of genuine, fast Over the Horizon assault craft between 2016-19, is a priority.

 

30 Commando IX Group is unique, and is the modem for the 3 Commando Brigade’s precision effect.  It is key to its UNDERSTAND and DISCRIMINATE functions.  It comprises 20% of the UK’s Tactical SIGINT.  It has established excellent relationships with other Intelligence Agencies.  As a model of best practice, we should continue to invest in it and to evolve its ISTAR capabilities.

 

I have neglected so far to mention several of the Defence Lines of Development which underpin the future of the LitM capability. Training is one: Lympstone – the centre which provides all of this: training the airmen, sailors, marines and soldiers – the many, many soldiers, who lean into this Commando challenge. Lympstone, of the 12 training organisations scrutinised by OFSTED last year, was cited as the very clear exemplar in terms of effectiveness and efficiency.

 

In conclusion though and tying the past, present and future together, I would focus briefly on the people engaged in this activity. The moral component – the why we fight: the single most important factor.

 

The FCOC Paper states that ‘the future agile force favours the capability of people (physical and mental robustness, flexibility and a premium on training) over platform numbers.’

 

The activities I have described are undertaken by extraordinarily high-calibre people.

 

The Boys and girls are Bright:

 

Forty percent of Royal Marine recruits are educationally qualified to be officers. Over 10% have university degrees. Two currently in training have Masters Degrees and when I was running the Commando Wing fifteen years ago, two fully qualified vets joined up – we only discovered this when none of their respective troops visited the Sickbay because they were being ‘physicked’ with Horse Drench and Saddle Liniment.

 

I visited 539 Assault Squadron in Plymouth a month ago and talked to a group of coxswains who were about to conduct a long navigation exercise in Off Shore Raiding Craft to the Scilly Isles.  One Marine looked older than the rest and I asked him what his background was.  He explained that he had joined the Corps late and had, to use his word, ‘wasted’ some time working at the ‘Hadron Collider’ – smashing atoms - as a Professor of Sub-Atomic Particle Physics.  I told him not to smash my boat up!

 

Fifty percent of my officers finish in the top ten percent at the Joint Staff College. That said, we have the lowest ratio of Officers to other ranks in the 3 Services.

 

No, the Boys are Resilient, indeed I can reassure Julian [Professor Julian Lindley French, Eisenhower Professor of Defence Strategy, Royal Netherlands Defence Academy], that footballers aside, Tommy Atkins has not become soft - 3 weeks into 40 Commando’s recent tour Sergeant Lee Walters was caught up in an intense fire fight and was shot in the neck, the hand and the foot.  He refused to be listed, and sitting up in bed, informed his anxious wife of his misfortunes himself.  Incidentally, on HERRICK 5, Sgt Walters engaged in another battle, on a pitch-black night, fell down a well.  Which his Mates thought – 3,000 miles from the sea- was taking a commitment to amphibious operations a bit too far.

 

Three weeks ago Captain John White, OC Recce Troop, 40 Commando was blown up on patrol.  Barely conscious, having lost both his legs and one of his arms, he sought to reassure his anxious Marines as they loaded his stretcher onto the MEDEVAC flight.  “Don’t worry Boys, ‘gold’ in the Para Olympics Next!”

 

The Corps numbers 3% of the manpower of Defence, but constitutes 37% of the badged manpower of UK Special Forces.

 

And Finally – my Boys are Imaginative and Innovative - One example:

 

The week I became Commandant General, Recruit Phillip Cain, 6 weeks into training contracted Meningitis, despite repeated multiple amputations to stem the spread of the disease, he very quickly died.  His young and still inexperienced Troop were adamant that they would carry his coffin at his military funeral and were issued with Regimental Blues four months early to do so with exemplary precision and self-control. At the 7 month point, they duly completed their four Commando Tests and were, in time honoured tradition, given their green berets at the end of the 30 Mile March on Dartmoor.  Philip Cain’s father was there too and received a piece of precious green felt from Prince Michael of Kent … for in spirit and soul his boy was also a proud Commando Soldier, since his Mates, on their own initiative, had carried his ashes throughout. 

 

I would suggest that whatever the future may hold, precious DNA such as this, will be of value to Her Majesty’s Government.

 

In 1803, Napoleon remarked of the Corps: ‘How much might be done with a hundred thousand soldiers such as these’

 

Thank you