Lieutenant Colonel Oliver Denning and Duncan Maddocks RSM 40 Commando board the C-130 bound for Sudan 250423 CREDIT MOD — Lieutenant Colonel Oliver Denning and Duncan Maddocks RSM 40 Commando board a C-130 bound for Sudan (Picture: MOD).

Royal Marines

A look at the Royal Marines' involvement in Sudan evacuation operation

Royal Marines of the UK Commando Force are part of the ongoing evacuation mission in Sudan, with Downing Street saying more than 300 people have been brought out and 130 of those are now back in the UK.

There have been lots of pictures of Royal Marines working to assist the evacuation mission in Sudan - notably Bravo Company of Taunton-based 40 Commando and Commando Logistic Regiment, who are based in Barnstaple.

Speaking about the deployment Major Ric Cole, of the UK Commando Force, said:

"This operation again demonstrates the value of Very High Readiness forces that can operate in complex and politically sensitive situations.

"Elements of the UK Commando Force deployed within hours, integrating seamlessly into a Joint Force package and providing military options to Government decision makers."

They are held at very high readiness for exactly these types of missions and generally, these troops are ready to go anywhere in the world with less than 48 hours notice.

40 Commando Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Oliver Denning briefs the morning of departure 250423 CREDIT MOD — 40 Commando Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Oliver Denning briefs the morning of departure (Picture: MOD).

The commandos are working closely with the Army, 16 Air Assault Brigade and the Royal Air Force to help evacuees as RAF C130 Hercules and A400M Atlas aircraft fly entitled persons out of Sudan.

We also know they are being supported by Headquarters Commando Forces in Stonehouse Barracks in Plymouth.

They will be providing food, water, equipment and anything else the commandos might need to facilitate their mission.

What is clearly key in what we have seen in the past few days is that this evacuation mission is leading to more than a sum of its parts – the RAF and the Parachute Regiment are involved, the Royal Navy looking at other contingency plans.

Personnel from across the Armed Forces, working together to get British nationals in Sudan out of the country.

UK forces have been working with the Americans and other countries – again this can happen so seamlessly because of all the joint training that’s undertaken.

This is the reason that military training is so important.

It is a complex and fragile situation in Sudan and there will be lots of information and intelligence that is being gathered to plan and support this mission.