1 Assault Group Royal Marines (
1AGRM) provides the
Royal MarinesThe Royal Marines are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service. They are also the United Kingdom's specialists in amphibious warfare, including the operation of landing craft; mountain warfare;...
expertise in
small boat operationsSmall boat operations in military and naval warfare refers to operations in and around the littoral zone, within a certain distance of shore, carried out by small but fast and highly maneuverable crafts. In recent years small unmanned systems have been tested for use in this kind of warfare.The...
in support of
littoralIn coastal environments and biomes, the littoral zone extends from the high water mark, which is rarely inundated, to shoreline areas that are permanently submerged. It always includes the intertidal zone and is often used to mean the same as the intertidal zone...
operations, both
amphibiousAmphibious warfare is the use of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non-contiguous enemy-held terrain...
and riverine activities. It is based at
Royal Marines PooleRoyal Marines Poole is a British naval base in Poole, England and is the centre for the Royal Marines and Royal Navy amphibious and riverine activities.-History:...
in
PoolePoole is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...
,
DorsetDorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town has been Dorchester since at least 1305, situated in the south of the county at . Between its extreme points Dorset measures from east to west and north to south, and has an area of...
.
1 Assault Group Royal Marines comprises a number of individual squadrons:
- 4 Assault Squadron RM providing landing craft
Landing craft are boats and seagoing vehicles used to convey a landing force from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. Most renowned are those used to storm the beaches of Normandy, the Mediterranean, and many Pacific islands during WWII...
support to HMS BulwarkHMS Bulwark is an Albion-class landing platform dock, the UK's newest class of amphibious assault warship and built in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England, UK. For numerous reasons, delays caused the delivery date to be put back, with the ship entering service in December 2004...
. This unit is commanded by Lt-Col Nick Bentham-Green as of 2008.
- 6 Assault Squadron RM providing landing craft support to HMS Albion
The ninth and current HMS Albion is a First-of-Class Landing Platform Dock ship of the Royal Navy built in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England, UK. Albion is one of the newest ships of the Navy and provides an amphibious assault capability. She is the nameship of the Albion class landing platform...
- 9 Assault Squadron RM providing landing craft support to HMS Ocean
HMS Ocean of the Royal Navy is an Amphibious assault ship or Helicopter carrier), the sole member of her class. She is designed to support amphibious landing operations and to support the staff of Commander UK Amphibious Force and Commander UK Landing Force...
- 10 Landing Craft Training Squadron
- 11 Amphibious Test and Trials Squadron RM based at Royal Marines Instow
Instow is a village in north Devon, England. It is on the estuary where the rivers Taw and Torridge meet, between the villages of Westleigh and Yelland and on the opposite bank of Appledore....
, DevonDevon is a large county in England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, although that is an unofficial name, rarely used inside of the county itself and often indicating a traditional or historical context. The county shares borders with Cornwall to the west and Dorset and Somerset to...
1 AGRM has its Headquarters in Devonport Naval Base Plymouth.
1 Assault Group Royal Marines (
1AGRM) provides the
Royal MarinesThe Royal Marines are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service. They are also the United Kingdom's specialists in amphibious warfare, including the operation of landing craft; mountain warfare;...
expertise in
small boat operationsSmall boat operations in military and naval warfare refers to operations in and around the littoral zone, within a certain distance of shore, carried out by small but fast and highly maneuverable crafts. In recent years small unmanned systems have been tested for use in this kind of warfare.The...
in support of
littoralIn coastal environments and biomes, the littoral zone extends from the high water mark, which is rarely inundated, to shoreline areas that are permanently submerged. It always includes the intertidal zone and is often used to mean the same as the intertidal zone...
operations, both
amphibiousAmphibious warfare is the use of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non-contiguous enemy-held terrain...
and riverine activities. It is based at
Royal Marines PooleRoyal Marines Poole is a British naval base in Poole, England and is the centre for the Royal Marines and Royal Navy amphibious and riverine activities.-History:...
in
PoolePoole is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...
,
DorsetDorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town has been Dorchester since at least 1305, situated in the south of the county at . Between its extreme points Dorset measures from east to west and north to south, and has an area of...
.
Squadrons
1 Assault Group Royal Marines comprises a number of individual squadrons:
- 4 Assault Squadron RM providing landing craft
Landing craft are boats and seagoing vehicles used to convey a landing force from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. Most renowned are those used to storm the beaches of Normandy, the Mediterranean, and many Pacific islands during WWII...
support to HMS BulwarkHMS Bulwark is an Albion-class landing platform dock, the UK's newest class of amphibious assault warship and built in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England, UK. For numerous reasons, delays caused the delivery date to be put back, with the ship entering service in December 2004...
. This unit is commanded by Lt-Col Nick Bentham-Green as of 2008.
- 6 Assault Squadron RM providing landing craft support to HMS Albion
The ninth and current HMS Albion is a First-of-Class Landing Platform Dock ship of the Royal Navy built in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England, UK. Albion is one of the newest ships of the Navy and provides an amphibious assault capability. She is the nameship of the Albion class landing platform...
- 9 Assault Squadron RM providing landing craft support to HMS Ocean
HMS Ocean of the Royal Navy is an Amphibious assault ship or Helicopter carrier), the sole member of her class. She is designed to support amphibious landing operations and to support the staff of Commander UK Amphibious Force and Commander UK Landing Force...
- 10 Landing Craft Training Squadron
- 11 Amphibious Test and Trials Squadron RM based at Royal Marines Instow
Instow is a village in north Devon, England. It is on the estuary where the rivers Taw and Torridge meet, between the villages of Westleigh and Yelland and on the opposite bank of Appledore....
, DevonDevon is a large county in England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, although that is an unofficial name, rarely used inside of the county itself and often indicating a traditional or historical context. The county shares borders with Cornwall to the west and Dorset and Somerset to...
1 AGRM has its Headquarters in Devonport Naval Base Plymouth. The training and expertise for 539 Assault Squadron RM, is based in
TurnchapelPlymstock is a civil parish and lower middle class commuter suburb of Plymouth in the English county of Devon.The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon for 'holy place on the river Plym', with the river Plym in turn being named after the neighbouring town of Plympton. Situated on the east bank of the...
in
PlymouthPlymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
, which provides
landing craftThe landing craft of the Royal Marines consist of a varied fleet of transport craft maintained by the Royal Navy and designed to transport the Royal Marines from ship to shore as well as conduct river or estuary patrols. The craft are generally classified according to their role...
amphibious and riverine capability to
3 Commando Brigade3 Commando Brigade is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces and the main manoeuvre formation of the Royal Marines. Its personnel are predominantly Royal Marines, supported by units of Royal Engineers, Royal Artillery, The Rifles, and the Fleet Air Arm, together with other Commando...
Royal MarinesThe Royal Marines are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service. They are also the United Kingdom's specialists in amphibious warfare, including the operation of landing craft; mountain warfare;...
. 539 Assault Squadron is named after the famous 539 Assault Flotilla which landed on Gold Beach during the Invasion of Normandy.
Individual squadrons are commanded by a
MajorIn many European languages, the term Major is a military rank, implying seniority at one of usually various levels of rank. For example:*"General-Major" or "Major-General", denoting a senior ranking general officer....
and are variously equipped with vessels including
hovercraftA hovercraft is a craft capable of traveling over relatively smooth surfaces supported by a cushion of slow moving, high-pressure air, ejected against the surface below, and contained within a "skirt." Although supported by the air, they are not usually considered to be aircraft.Hovercraft are...
(LCAC),
Rigid RaiderThe Rigid Raider is a series of fast patrol/assault boat made by RTK Marine . They are in service with many armed forces, including the British Army and Royal Marines...
motor boats, inflatable raiding craft and landing craft.
Training
10 Landing Craft Training Squadron provide training accredited by the
Royal Yachting AssociationThe Royal Yachting Association is the national governing body for watersports in the United Kingdom. Its involvement includes;* Sailing* Windsurfing* Motor cruising* Sportsboats* Personal watercraft* Powerboat racing-History:...
for candidates to the landing craft specialisation. This training is delivered at various stages in the individual's career:
- LC3 at entry to the specialisation as a Marine
- LC2 at promotion to Corporal
Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and also by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4. The word is probably derived from a medieval Italian phrase capo corporale, meaning "head of a body "...
- LC1 at promotion to Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
Landing Craft Officer Qualifying course (LCOQ) is delivered to subalterns who opt to join the landing craft specialisation and prepares them for command of troops within the various squadrons or positions on the staff of
Commander-in-Chief FleetCommander-in-Chief Fleet is the admiral responsible for the operation, resourcing and training of the ships, submarines and aircraft, and personnel, of the British Royal Navy...
or
3 Commando Brigade3 Commando Brigade is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces and the main manoeuvre formation of the Royal Marines. Its personnel are predominantly Royal Marines, supported by units of Royal Engineers, Royal Artillery, The Rifles, and the Fleet Air Arm, together with other Commando...
.
Additional Training Courses
10 LC Training Squadron also conduct other training tasks.
- Amphibious training for Royal Marines recruits, young officers and the All Arms Commando Course
The All Arms Commando Course lasts for 9 weeks and is run by the Royal Marines at the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines , Lympstone. Members from any of the United Kingdom's Regular Armed Forces and overseas exchange personnel can attend in order to serve with 3 Commando Brigade...
.
- Small boat training for the Royal Navy, Army, Police and Customs.
- Engineering and navigation training for the Assault Squadrons
- Specially-tailored LC Specialist training for 2 Raiding Troop from the Royal Marines Reserve
The role of the Royal Marines Reserve of the United Kingdom is to support the regular Royal Marinesin times of war or national crisis. The RMR consists of some 600-1000 trained ranks distributed among the five RMR Centres within the UK...
.
- Surface Manoeuvre expertise to the wider amphibious community.
See also
- United Kingdom Armed Forces
- Royal Navy
The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of HM Armed Forces . From the beginning of the 18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early...
- Fleet Protection Group Royal Marines
The Fleet Protection Group Royal Marines , formerly Comacchio Company Royal Marines and Comacchio Group Royal Marines , is a commando-sized specialist unit of the Royal Marines responsible for guarding the United Kingdom's Naval nuclear weapons and other security-related duties.-History:On 1 May...
External links