12
NAVY NEWS, MAY 2008
Where heroes once stepped THE annual Achnacarry Commando Memorial Speed March attracted competitors from across the Corps and the Army. The march replicates the route taken by the original commandos who were trained at Achnacarry in the 1940s. On arrival at the station in Spean Bridge, recruits would be given 36lbs of equipment to carry and told they had 60 minutes to cover the seven miles to Achnacarry. After that, the gates would be closed and anybody outside the camp would be returned to their parent unit having failed the initial entry criterion for commando training. Given the challenging terrain and invariably inclement Scottish weather, it was no mean feat – especially when you consider the fact that the men wore hobnail boots and ill-fitting webbing. Around 200 competitors arrived at the isolated station in heavy rain for the 2008 race, including a team from Scotland’s present-day commando unit, 45 based in Arbroath. Among the runners for 45 Commando was Lt Harvie Montgomery RN, the unit’s education officer. Coming to the end of his spell at RM Condor, the green-bereted naval officer was determined to run the speed march – a personal crusade as his grandfather trained at Achnacarry before serving with the Royals in Normandy as a dispatch rider on D-Day. “The history attached to the event certainly struck a chord with all the runners, and it was a humbling sight to see some former commandos who were part of those initially trained at Achnacarry present and walking the route,” said Lt Montgomery. The march begins with a 1½mile climb up a “fairly cheeky” hill to the Commando Memorial. The march then descends past the various lochs which were used for the amphibious phases of original commando training. The undulating route eventually arrives at the gates to Achnacarry Castle, with one more climb and just under a mile to go to the finishing line. We’d love to tell you that the Royals won the march... but sadly the men with maroon caps seemed to be celebrating at the end. Lt Montgomery upheld his family’s proud tradition, crossing the line on 51m 29s – enough to claim an impressive third place overall.
● National stealth service... 3 Commando Brigade’s Sgt Baz Shaw moves through a stream in the Baldy Beacons, Belize, during exercise Tropical Storm
Picture: PO(Phot) Dave Husbands, 3 Cdo Bde
THERE are 600 extra men in 3 Commando Brigade today – but they are not Royal Marines.
1 Battalion The Rifles, part of the Army’s largest regiment, will provide Plymouth-based 3 Commando Brigade with what it calls ‘a fourth manoeuvre unit’ – basically extra bodies on the ground to expand what it can do. 1 Rifles, located in Chepstow, are not commandos nor are they
commando trained – although its infantrymen can volunteer to take the All Arms Commando Course at Lympstone to earn their green berets. As part of 3 Commando Brigade, the soldiers do wear the distinctive commando dagger. The Rifles – the modern-day successor to the regiment made famous by Sean Bean’s Sharpe – are currently in Belize undergoing jungle training. Over the next two years their training will become increasingly
specialised to attune them to the Royal Marines’ amphibious role. Maj Ben Tomkins, 1 Rifles Second-in-Command, added: “Our guys can see the benefits straight away – they get to learn new skills and they also have the opportunity of going to new places usually only used by the Navy.” 1 Rifles will bring extra firepower – a mortar platoon – extra mobility – Mastiff vehicles – extra snipers and will provide additional ‘mentors’ for working
FIVE PAIRS OF TICKETS TO BE WON!
An action packed day of breathtaking air displays featuring Yeovilton based Commando Sea Kings and Lynx helicopters along with other maritime squadrons combining to build an extensive air day flying programme. Fast jets from around the world will appear too, whilst the RN historic flight with their restored Swordfish LS326 will provide an impressive display .Further information and tickets available at www.yeoviltonairday.co.uk
Enter our competition and you could be one of five lucky winners of a pair of adult tickets to this internationally famous naval event. Simply answer the question below, complete the entry form and post to: Yeovilton Air Day Competition, Navy News, HMS Nelson, Portsmouth, Hants, PO1 3HH or e-mail your answer and details to: marketing@navynews.co.uk Closing date: 2nd June 2008 What restored historical plane will feature at Yeovilton Air Day 2008? Answer ................................................................................................ Name ................................................................................................ Address ................................................................................................ ................................................Post Code................................ Phone ................................................................................................ E-Mail ................................................................................................ Entries must reach Navy News office by 12 noon 2 June 2008. Five entries will be drawn at 15.00 on that day. Each lucky winner will be notified by e mail, phone or post and will receive a pair of adult tickets by post direct from the Air Day office. The decision of the judges is final and there is no alternative prize. Employees of Navy News are not permitted to enter the competition.
TICKET HOTLINE: 08445 781 781
with the Afghan National Army when the brigade deploys to Helmand in the autumn as part of Britain’s ongoing battle against the Taleban. Until taking 1 Rifles under its wing, 3 Commando Brigade comprised three battalion-sized fighting formations, 40, 42 and 45 Commandos, plus supporting commando artillery, engineers, logisticians, signals troops and HQ staff. “1 Rifles are not commando trained at the moment, but there are many constituent parts of the brigade that aren’t necessarily all commando trained,” said 3 Cdo Bde’s Commanding Officer Brig David Capewell. “We will find them useful work – interesting and demanding work.” That “interesting and demanding work” attracted some of the men to 1 Rifles. “Hopefully we’ll get to go on the old big ships and have exercises that are a little bit different to what we’re used to and a bit more out of reach, such as Norway, and a few farther reaches which we have not done,” said Sgt Lee French. Sgt Paul Jones added: “The lads are all geared up to join 3 Commando Brigade. The Marines have a great reputation and I can’t wait to work alongside them, especially when we go to Afghanistan later this year.” 1 Rifles spent six weeks in Belize on jungle training ahead of their final test: a six-day exercise,
Tropical Storm, to challenge every man from the most junior rifleman to their CO. That exercise enjoyed added realism thanks to Deployed Tactical Engagement Simulation... or, put simply, lasers. Yes, think Tin Can Alley for the 21st Century: rifles equipped with lasers which replicate the trajectory of a bullet, while sensors on the ‘enemy’ will record whether the soldier has been killed or wounded. The wizardry also ‘tags’ each soldier, sending back details of his position to those in control of the exercise. Such hi-tech kit is all very well and good, but fighting in the jungle is principally about physical endurance, coupled with first-rate navigational skills. “The Belize jungle is a complex, arduous, physical environment with energy-sapping heat, teeming humidity and horrendous hills where mistakes with navigation can have disastrous consequences,” explained Lt Col Peter Germain, in charge of the British Army Training Support Unit Belize. “If you can operate in the jungle, you can operate anywhere. “Training in Belize is not all jungle-focussed – any unit sent out to this part of Central America will also find rocky pine savannah and hilly grassland, not dissimilar to parts of Wales or Scotland but significantly warmer.” With thanks to Sgt Baz Shaw, 3 Cdo Bde.