Pakistani Marines

Pakistani Marines

The Pakistan Marines (Urdu: پا ک ميرِينز; English IPA: pɑkʰ məriːniz or/ simply Marines; reporting name PM), is an expeditionary and naval warfare uniform service branch of Pakistan Armed Forces that consisted the active duty high-ranking officers and personnel of Pakistan Navy. The Pakistan Marines are responsible for providing force projection from the sea, using the mobility of the Pakistan Navy to rapidly deliver combined-arms task forces. Established in 1990, it is estimated about 2,000 active-duty personnel from the Navy, with plans to grow to brigade strength by 2015.

In a military leadership structure, the Marines are the component of Pakistan Navy, often working closely with the Navy for training, executing expeditionary operations and logistics purposes. The Marines are not the separate branch but a part of Pakistan Navy. The Marines were first formed as an amphibious battalion on 1 June 1971, in East-Pakistan as naval infantry to execute operations; however after producing poor performance in 1971 war with India, the Marines were disbanded from their service in 1974. In 1990, it was re-established by Commander Obaidullah since then it has been a part of Navy, often conducting operations with the Pakistan naval forces.

The Marines are an elite special operations force similar to the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and the United Kingdom's Royal Marines. During the training of the Pakistan Marines at Marines training school, the Marines occasionally conduct their exercises with the U.S. Marine Corps. As their close association with the Navy, the Marines share the same ranks with the Pakistan Navy but the military codes and trainings are the same as in the Pakistan Army. In 2010, Marines, with a close coordination with the Army, Navy, and Air Force, were working around the clock to rescue villagers trapped by the country's worst deluge in 80 years.