Royal Marines fast rope into urban environment training on Salisbury Plain
Royal Marine Commandos have taken on urban environment training on Salisbury Plain, tackling combat rescue, tactical insertions and close quarter battle tactics including fast roping onto buildings.
M Company, from 42 Commando Royal Marines, have been training in the simulated urban environment under the mock threat of civil unrest and an enemy force that could strike at any moment.
The mission, and how quickly troops need to move into the areas, can dictate how marines reach their target - it could be by foot, helicopter or fast roping onto buildings from aircraft.
One Royal Marine on the exercise told Forces News there are a lot of "moving parts" in an urban environment, as well as "many more places for the enemy to hide" and "many more threats you need to cover".
"The exercising troops have to focus on their fives and twenties, so their 5 metre space, their 20 metres out in front of them, so they can quickly scan or identify any threats that could impact them on their patrol in or outside the building," he said.
Personnel must also work on casualty evacuation, with maritime snipers providing overwatch as Royal Marine commandos secure and recover their casualty.
The marines are tested in many different ways to reflect the complexities of performing a rescue mission in a built-up urban environment.
A simulated helicopter crash that leaves pilots and civilians in need of rescue, in a residential area where there’s a prolific enemy force, is one such example.
A Royal Marine Commando on the exercise told Forces News Aiding their training gives personnel a "mindset that ensure[s] you know what you're going into and how to deal with situations in a methodical manner".
"We work in environments that aren't just going to be us against the enemy," they said.
"We will be going through and facing people who are curious, facing people who are scared and frightened and want help.
"They might be injured so being able to sort of turn your hand to anything just means that we can adapt and look after civilian populations but also be prepared to deal with any threats that might be in the environment."
That could mean just talking to people in the local population, but it also could involve locating particular items that hold important details to help fight the enemy.
On the exercise, the Royal Marine Commandos also searched for valuable information in a building at night – involving room clearances and searches.
Lieutenant Earl, M Company, 42 Commando Royal Marines, said social media and the internet has made operating in urban environments "more complex".
"Searching buildings, searching cars, interacting with the civilian population is more and more crucial just to gain that intelligence," he said.
The ability to read a situation and take decisive action can never be underestimated for Royal Marines facing a plethora of operations - whether it’s a rescue mission, a noncombatant evacuation operation, overcoming adversaries – or intelligence gathering.
The training may have been on Salisbury Plain, but the skills M Company have practiced can be used across the globe.
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