Green Beret Reservists

Take on the Taliban and Insurgents

The previous page was: "Greatest Commando Raid"

Green Beret Reservists; The employed also get deployed into action; and they get blown-up and shot at the same as the regulars do, that is why they are so highly respected.

These are the part time Green Berets, people who work hard during their life in civvy street when called upon the Royal Marine Reservist is skilled in handling devastating weaponry, from .5 calibre heavy machine guns to anti-tank missiles and more.

They do not generally put on a Green Beret, run around and blow up things; although sometimes they do that. But when they go into a country like Afghanistan, they go to help that country. They help by digging a country out of an incredibly dark part of their history usually brought about by a repressive regime.

There is something they do not get in civilian environment and that is the camaraderie of the Commandos...they know when the bullets start flying those guys are going to stand next to you, and when that chap is a bootneck; it makes it even better.

Greatest Commando Raid

These people are really quite special

There are some jobs that demand a lot of you; the Royal Marine Commandos, for one. People who make a success of their careers and support a home life...family and friends, that sort of thing...deserves respect.

Now throw in another dimension...the little matter of a Green Beret. Juggle that little lot and that is impressive, as Lieutenant-Colonel John Herring admits.

Lt Col Herring is the Commanding Officer of the Royal Marines Reserve at Bristol, and he sums up his men in simple terms. "As a regular Royal Marine I think these people are really quite special in that they are able to take upwards of a year out of their working lives and homes to do this."-"I do not know how they do it."

Most aspects of Bristol's Royal Marine Reserve can be reduced to simple facts and statements. For example, as Lt Col Herring says, the role of the unit is "to produce properly-trained Marines ready to be integrated into the regular fighting units of No.3 Commando Brigade."

They earn the green beret

Behind that bald statement is a subtle and powerful piece of military alchemy that converts part-time soldiers seamlessly into front line Royal Marines Commandos and back again. And do not think for a moment that part-time = second-rate.

There is no short-cut to the Green Beret.

Reservists do exactly the same tests as reuglar Royal Marines. They earn the Green Beret and it stands for exactly the same thing.

The intakes tend to be pretty eclectic. A recent group of 35 included two ex-army, two with Masters Degrees, fourteen graduates and six undergraduates with an average age of 25 - "a very, high calibre." according to the Commanding Officer.

The fact that the Unit is scattered across the south-west does not help in terms of team-building, but the use of whole-unit training serials, conference calls and the like ensures that there is a sense of belonging in the detachments. And belonging is one of the key concepts if the all-for-one esprit-de-corps is to be nurtured.

The moral component is important

All of the detachments have a Holding Troop which allows (unpaid) recruits to train, build fitness and feel part of the unit before they formally join one of the biannual intakes.

"The moral component is important." said Lt Col Herring: "They need to feel wanted by the Royal Marines family-and they do."

'Intelligent Selection' means taking people who really do want to be a Marine, and 'intelligent employment' means using them for the tasks in which they trained, which should lead to "a lot of happy and fulfilled Green Beret reservists."

Training is split between two phases, both demanding high levels of energy, commitment and sheer grit. Phase 1. takes around six months, with basic weekly training and weekend exercises at unit level culminating in a two week course at the Commando Training Centre at Lympstone.

Training and helicopter drills

Phase 2. takes perhaps five months but even more commitment in terms of training, and again culminates in fearsome Commando tests at Lympstone, after which the Reservist is awarded the coveted green beret.

After that there is a phase 3. (Continuation Training) depending on a man's specialist qualification, which includes field firing, amphibious training and helicopter drills. He is now a General Duties Marine-A rifleman-and Royal Marines ethos has it that every bootneck, no matter what bolt-on skills he has learnt, remains at heart a rifleman.

This distinction marks the Corps as different from all other infantry and has been tested on operations as recently in Afghanistan-it included chefs, drivers, clerks VMs-the list was endless and it performed with distinction as a Commando fighting company.

Modern-day Pages Fast Boats Pages Joe Wezley Pages

Officers are 'grown' from the ranks

An ongoing skills training carries on throughout the rest of a career, and there are opportunities for specialist training, foreign deployment and deployments alongside the regulars.

Officers are 'grown' from the ranks, and will be expected to have got a tour of duty under their belt before they seek to take that step. RMR units have their own specialisations, and one of Bristol's fortes is heavy weapons (heavy machine guns, Javelin anti-tank missiles), skills which are much in demand in combat.

One element of life in the RMR is entirely down to the individual that on returning to civilian life after a deployment. Having risked life and limb on the front-line, having to deal with piffling 'problems' on Civvy Street can take some adjustment. But the fact that most RMR do cope is helped by the calibre of the troops.

The next link below will be: "Logistics Regiment"

Green Beret Reservists Logistics Regiment

"Pirates Trilogy" $20