Royal Marine Force Protection Team

The Royal Marine Force Protection Team is made up of 19 ranks from the Royal Marines whose task is to provide physical protection to the Collation Naval Training Team Base in Umm Qasr, Iraq.

The Force Protection Team provides both mobile and static security to the CMATT training team and all of their assets. The current Royal Marine Force Protection Troop took over from 45 Commando Royal Marines at the start of August 2005. This is unique in that this Force Protection Troop are made up solely from the Royal Marine Reserves who have been mobilised for this task. This is the first time that a Royal Marines Reserves have provided a stand alone unit for an operational tasking without being partially integrated into a regular commando unit. There is a huge cross section of personnel making up the troop whose civilian employment ranges from Firefighters, Police Officers, Farmers, Physiotherapist, construction industry personnel and even a lawyer.

The Force Protection Team is well trained and armed with a range of weaponry from 9mm Pistols through to 40 mm Grenade Launchers.