The book highlights especially the Marines' roles as guards against mutiny and desertion and as an imperial 'rapid reaction force' and provides details of the many and varied actions in which they were involved, worldwide.
The Royal Marines pride themselves on their professionalism, teamwork and the desire to succeed. This insider's guide has been created in conjunction with current serving Royal Marines recruitment staff and is designed to show you how to successfully pass the Commando selection process.
Essential skills for outdoor adventure from the Royal Marines Learn to stay alive with the Royal Marines. Want to know what to do if you met a bear in the woods, how to light a fire in the rain or what to do in shark-infested waters? Get the answers to these and many more questions with the ultimate guide to survival techniques as experienced by the Royal Marines. Pick up survival basics, from staying fit, to planning your expedition and packing essential kit. Discover what to do on a trail, from navigating and using pack animals to hiking or even skiing to your destination. You'll pick up wilderness techniques and learn to make shelters, find water, spot, catch and cook wild food. And when there's an emergency you'll be glad you learned how to mount a rescue, use essential first aid techniques and even how to get found. Learn survival techniques from the men who've been there, done it and survived. And take on the most testing challenges nature can throw at you.
The physical training that all Royal Marines recruits undergo is challenging and demanding, yet also structured and achievable. Here, for the first time, is an official manual to show you in detail how they succeed and how you can mirror all relevant aspects in your own fitness training. Packed with facts and step-by-step instruction accompanied by hundreds of colour photographs, Royal Marines Fitness contains a wealth of guidance for anyone wanting to achieve a higher level of fitness, whether it's preparing for a marathon, losing weight or putting on muscle mass. This manual provides you with all the tools and information you need to put together a training programme specific to your own targets, and to adapt it as you surpass your expectations.
With the authenticity of Jarhead and Bravo Two Zero and the straight-up narrative of Contact Charlie, this military memoir describes what really goes on in the training of an elite soldier and his tours in Afghanistan. In 2004, Jake Olafsen signed up for the Royal Marines Commandos. He left everything behind at home in Canada on the basis of a spur-of-the-moment decision. The Royal Marines have the toughest and longest basic training of any infantry unit in the world. For Olafson, this meant eight months of wet and cold in England and Wales. It was hell, but he came out with the four Commando qualities that the corps look for: courage, determination, unselfishness, cheerfulness in the face of adversity. Olafsen went on to serve for four years as a Commando in the Royal Marines, an elite military unit based in the United Kingdom. He went to Afghanistan twice: in 2006, he went to confront the Taliban in Helmand Province for six months, and in 2007, he was sent to do it all over again. His story is filled with good experiences, like the sense of accomplishment, patriotism, and camaraderie, and the opportunity to travel the world. But all good things come at a price. The sacrifices he made for the Corps are significant; he has killed the enemy and he has buried his friends. And in telling his story, Olafsen hopes that he can make sense of it all. This is an honest, gutsy story about the mud and the blood, the triumphs and the tragedies. From the Hardcover edition.
A first-hand account of the Falklands War from the perspective of the Royal Marine Band Service members who fought in the conflict. The Royal Marines are renowned for their military skill and also for having one of the finest military bands in the world. These highly trained and talented musicians are equally at home parading at Buckingham Palace, playing at the Royal Albert Hall, or on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier in a foreign port. Why then when the Argentines invaded the Falklands in April 1982 did these superb musicians get involved in what became a serious and deadly military campaign? The answer is that, in addition to their musical expertise, the RM Band Service members are trained for military service and fully qualified in a multitude of military and medical skills, providing support to their comrades, the fighting commandos. The Band That Went to War is a graphic first-hand account of the Falklands War as it has never been told before. It describes the roles played by Royal Marine musicians in the conflict; unloading the wounded from helicopters, moving tons of stores and ammunition, burying their dead at sea and guarding and repatriating Argentine prisoners of war. These and other unseen tasks were achieved while still ready to provide morale boosting music to their commando brethren and other frontline troops. These men are not just musicians; they are Royal Marines. Praise for The Band That Went to War “I really enjoyed this account of how the Band of the Royal Marines were involved in the attempt to liberate the Falkland Islands back in 1982 . . . Brian Short’s excellent book is really entertaining.” —Books Monthly
The Royal Marines were originally formed under the auspices of the Royal Navy to guard its sailing ships from harm. They are proud of their history and origins but the Navy heritage is fading. John Parker charts how the units have moved away from their nautical beginnings to develop, over time, into the most versatile force in the British military, containing one of their most elite brigades. The Royal Marines Commandos have, over the past few years, developed into the premier fighting organisation on land, sea and air. This history deals with events associated with the Royal Marines and subsequently in their commando role, starring in all major conflicts including Italy, Malaysia, the Borneo confrontation with Indonesia, and more recently Afghanistan.
Little has been written about Royal Marines rotary aviation, the small and select unit which operated light helicopters between 1965 and 1995. Officer and senior non-commissioned officer pilots had the unique privilege of being both Commandos and aviators, flying from warships and operating ashore in support of the Royal Marines. Initially called Unit Air Troops, which then coalesced into 3 Commando Brigade Air Squadron Royal Marines, they operated in hostile environments, including the Arctic, mountains, jungles and deserts. Robert Wilsey served in the Royal Marines from 1969 to 2000. Having qualified as a pilot he served through much of the existence of the Royal Marines Air Squadron, from a junior pilot right up to becoming its commanding officer. In this unique book, the author tells of the evolution and technological advances of Royal Marines aviation, flying the Westland Sioux, Scout, Gazelle, and, ultimately, Lynx helicopters. He describes the rigorous training undertaken, including flying from ships at sea, and of operating globally from Malta, Northern Ireland, the jungles of Brunei, the Pyrenees, Arctic Norway and, in 1991, Northern Iraq, protecting the Kurds during Operation Haven. Colonel Wilsey also describes the challenges of the British military's basic and advanced rotary flying training, from both a student's and flying instructor's perspectives. He explains the pressures of leading a flying display team and relates stories of accidents and incidents, many amusing, several chaotic and some tragic, previously unknown to the general public. This is a vivid first-hand account of military rotary wing flying which will appeal to aircrew both civil and military, aviation enthusiasts and military historians.
One of the most prestigious and versatile units of the British armed forces, the Royal Marine Commandos were a specialized fighting force, serving in many theaters, including the Korean War (1950-1953), the Malayan Emergency (1947-1960), East Africa, Cyprus, Suez, Northern Ireland and the Faulklands, and performing a number of roles from counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency to conventional combined arms fighting. During the period covered in this account, conscription to the Royal Marines came to an end and the unit became a professional and dedicated force. The author provides a detailed look at the service life of a Royal Marine Commando in a time of great change, exploring the developments that took place in recruitment, training, equipment, weaponry, dress and tactical deployment in the post-World War II period. The elite nature of the Royal Marines is maintained by the toughness of the Commando entry course at Lympstone in Devon - where successful entrants are awarded the distinctive green Commando beret. One major aspect of the course is that squads should work together, supporting the weakest members - a key ethos that is explored in this fascinating story.