Royal Marines warm up for Future Commando Force experimentation in Dorset

Royal Marines have limbered up for a busy autumn of experimentation with Future Commando Force exercises at the Bovington Training Area in Dorset.

The marines of Taunton-based 40 Commando took each other on in ‘force-on-force’ battle, which saw the commandos break off into small teams and use developing tactics to outsmart one another.

This is all part of preparations for deployments later in the year, which will see further experimentation and evolution of tactics to shape the commando forces of tomorrow.

Marine Edward Harte said: “It’s exciting times. We are just trialling everything so in regards to small man teams, instead of pushing out as sections we’re going as four-man teams and seeing how it works.

“It can be a bit trial and error at the moment but the marines are going the right way.”

This training put Future Commando Force tactics under scrutiny and shows the advantages and disadvantages of the concepts. 

It saw Bravo Company’s Four and Five Troop, plus Fire Support Group battle it out and strike in small teams to disrupt each other in mock battle.

Future Commando Force is a bold modernisation of the UK’s commando forces, which will see Royal Marines constantly forward deployed ready to respond to crises around the world.

As part of this, they will embrace new technology and weaponry, fight in smaller commando teams and also don a new uniform. 

Marine Matt Doey said: “It’s really exciting, especially because as marines our input from exercises like this and others is being used to help form the concept. You can use what goes well and what goes badly and essentially build that into what we hope to be a really great Future Commando Force concept over the next coming years. 

“The purpose of this week is essentially to trial Future Commando Force concepts and the important part is that it’s force-on-force and that’s where not being seen really comes into play.”