Formation and Structure
The overall head of the Royal Marines is Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, in her role as Commander-in-Chief of the British Armed Forces. The ceremonial head of the Royal Marines is the Captain General Royal Marines (equivalent to the Colonel-in-Chief of a British Army regiment). The current Captain-General is Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Full Command of the Royal Marines is vested in the Commander-in-Chief Fleet (CINCFLEET) with the Commandant-General Royal Marines, a Major-General, embedded within the CINCFLEET staff as Commander UK Amphibious Force (COMUKAMPHIBFOR).
The operational capability of the Corps comprises a number of Battalion-plus sized units, of which five are designated as "Commandos":
- 40 Commando (known as Forty Commando) based at Norton Manor Barracks, Taunton, Somerset, England
- 42 Commando (known as Four Two Commando) based at Bickleigh Barracks, Plymouth, Devon, England
- 43 Commando Fleet Protection Group Royal Marines based at HM Naval Base Clyde, Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute (Previously Comacchio Group).
- 45 Commando (known as Four Five Commando) based at RM Condor, Arbroath, Angus, Scotland
- 30 Commando Information Exploitation Group based at Stonehouse Barracks, Plymouth
- Commando Logistic Regiment based at Chivenor, Devon
- Special Boat Service based at RM Poole, Dorset (although Full Command is retained by CINCFLEET, Operational Command of SBS RM is assigned to Director Special Forces).
- 1 Assault Group Royal Marines based at RM Poole, Dorset.
With the exception of the Fleet Protection Group and Commando Logistic Regiment, which are each commanded by a full Colonel, each of these units is commanded by a Lieutenant-Colonel of the Royal Marines, who may have sub-specialised in a number of ways throughout his career. There is also a Mountain Leader Training Cadre based at Lympstone Commando Training Centre, Lympstone, Devon.
Read more about this topic: Royal Marines
Famous quotes containing the words formation and/or structure:
“The moral virtues, then, are produced in us neither by nature nor against nature. Nature, indeed, prepares in us the ground for their reception, but their complete formation is the product of habit.”
—Aristotle (384–322 B.C.)
“If rightly made, a boat would be a sort of amphibious animal, a creature of two elements, related by one half its structure to some swift and shapely fish, and by the other to some strong-winged and graceful bird.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)