148 (Meiktila) Commando Forward Observation Battery is a specialist Naval Gunfire Support Forward Observation (NGSFO) unit within

29 Commando Regiment 29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery is the Commando-trained unit of the British Army's Royal Artillery, based in Plymouth. The regiment is under the operational control of 3 Commando Brigade, to which it provides artillery support and gunnery ...

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

of 3 Commando Brigade

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

. The unit provides Fire Support Teams (FST - formerly called Forward Observation parties) to control and co-ordinate Naval fires (

naval gunfire support Naval gunfire support (NGFS) (also known as shore bombardment) is the use of naval artillery to provide fire support Fire support is defined by the United States Department of Defense as " Fires that directly support land, maritime, amphibiou ...

, naval air delivered guided and unguided munitions) from

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

and allied ships, land based air delivered munitions and

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

fire from the gun batteries of 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery, when ashore in support of 3 Commando Brigade. In support of this role, the battery provides FSTs to the Royal Navy when conducting training on a variety of gunnery ranges around the world. 148 Battery's FSTs comprise gunners of the Royal Artillery, already qualified members of the regiment when posted into the battery, augmented by Royal Navy communications personnel (signallers) who are required to undergo the

All Arms Commando Course The All Arms Commando Course (AACC) lasts for 13 weeks and is run by the Royal Marines at the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines (CTCRM), Lympstone. Members from any of the United Kingdom's Regular Armed Forces (e.g. personnel from units atta ...

. All personnel within the battery are also parachute trained. The battery is supported by a Battery Fitter Section from 29 Regiment's attached Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers Workshop, also commando qualified. The battery and its Battery Fitter Section are based at

RM Poole Royal Marines Base Poole (RM Poole) is a British naval base located in Hamworthy a suburb of Poole, Dorset, England on the Poole Harbour and is the centre for Special Boat Service activities. History The base was built in 1942 with the creatio ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

History

Formation

Originally formed during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the unit eventually evolved into the 95 Forward Observation Unit (95 FOU). In 1975 the unit was reduced to its current size and co-located with the SBS at

. It was tasked with providing FO teams to the Royal Marines, the Parachute Regiment; the

ACE Mobile Force (Land) The Allied Command Europe Mobile Force (AMF) was a small NATO quick reaction force, headquartered at Heidelberg, Germany, active from 1960 to 2002. It formed part of Allied Command Europe (ACE), headquartered at SHAPE at Casteau, Belgium. The lan ...

(AMF(L)) and the SBS. The smaller sized unit soon found it was unable to meet its many obligations.

The Falklands War

After the Argentine invasion of the Falklands, the unit deployed to the South

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

where it operated alongside both the SAS and SBS. The skills of the

Commando Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...

-trained unit were in high demand as commanders re-discovered their usefulness. FO teams were relocated about the islands as the British advanced on the capital at

Port Stanley Stanley (; also known as Port Stanley) is the capital city of the Falkland Islands. It is located on the island of East Falkland, on a north-facing slope in one of the wettest parts of the islands. At the 2016 census, the city had a popula ...

. Three British civilians in

were killed by British naval gunfire controlled by the unit, when a ships' gun beacon MIP radar malfunctioned. The three women were sheltering in a part of the town which the FO team officer had been briefed was free of civilians. The FO team were themselves in a very exposed position to the north of the town. The FO officer calculated the ship's error, but the ship's computer system did not indicate anything wrong, so after three rounds were fired the FO officer dismissed the ship from the firing line. The ship's weapons staff spent the next 24 hours going through their system, and discovered their radar had not locked onto the correct datum point, creating an error in firing equal to that calculated by the FO officer. The Argentine military command were very quick to announce this error as a deliberate act of aggression towards the Islanders. The FO team, which was still conducting covert reconnaissance and bombardment, learned of the tragedy from the BBC World Service. FO teams called artillery fire and air strikes onto Argentine positions in support of every major British assault. With the Argentine surrender, the unit returned to their home in Poole.

Persian Gulf 1991

148 provided teams initially in Northern

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

and later assisted in the Scud missile hunt.

Balkan Wars

148 provided fire support to various British formations.

Iraq

3 Commando Brigade conducted an amphibious landing to occupy the Al Faw Peninsula during Operation Telic, the

2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

. On the first night of the operation the unit suffered its first deaths of the war when a US Marine helicopter crashed close to the Iraq Border.

Afghanistan

Lance Bombardier Ross Clark aged 25 from South Africa, and Lance Bombardier Liam McLaughlin, aged 21 from Lancashire, were killed during a rocket attack in the Sangin area of Helmand province on 3 March 2007.

Battery structure

The battery is formed into a number of Fire Support Teams (FSTs), operating ashore or in advance of the Forward Edge of Battle Area, to observe and identify candidate targets, conduct preliminary Battle Damage Assessment, adjust fire or provide target illumination for laser guided weapons. The battery consists of HQ personnel, Fire Support Teams and administrative and logistical support personnel. A FST consists of five personnel; a patrol commander (a

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

), with a Bombardier RA as the second in command (2IC). The rest of the team consists of a (Royal Navy) communicator, RA Lance Bombardier, and Gunner. The team can be split in two with the Bombardier commanding one team and the Captain the other. All unit members are capable of co-ordinating air strikes and directing artillery fire.

Selection and introductory training

Volunteers for the battery must first complete the

, and a basic parachute course. After Commando qualification, unless already Observation Post qualified, they then undergo six months of basic Gunnery Control training and Observation Post operations. Personnel are trained in infiltration and exfiltration, covert observation, target identification and location, voice and data communications, adjusting gunfire from both afloat and ashore, and Forward Air Control (FAC) techniques. Upon completion of the course a new Naval Gunfire Assistant (NGA) will be assigned to a Forward Observation team for a probationary period.

Continuation and unit training

Once a NGA has completed probation the candidate may be selected to undergo further amphibious training beyond that of AACC. During amphibious training, NGAs are trained in over-water parachute infiltration. Training is also conducted in Small/Fast Boat Coxswains; Small/Fast Boat operations and long-range surface navigation. Much of the training is conducted at night with this being the preferred time for covert infiltration and exfiltration. One team member (the team medic) is also cross trained as a combat medical technician with additional medical training in BATLS (Battlefield Advanced Trauma Life Support) and BARTs (Battlefield Advanced Resuscitation). The unit conducts training in various exercises and climates including mountain and arctic, jungle, desert and temperate. It regularly deploys with Royal Marines units to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

for annual cold weather warfare training and to

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

for jungle warfare training. Given the similar skillsets there is a level of training with the

USMC The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...

Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company (ANGLICO) is an airborne fire support and liaison unit of the United States Marine Corps. The mission of ANGLICO is "To provide Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Commanders a liaison capability to plan, coo ...

(ANGLICO) and Netherlands Marine Corps Marine Joint Effects Observer Groups to standardise procedures to assure interoperability.

Equipment

The battery uses the vehicles and standard equipment of 3 Commando Brigade, supplemented with specialist observation capabilities; night vision, voice and data communications and target indication such as Laser Target Designators and

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a Radionavigation-satellite service, satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of t ...

location. Personal weapons are the

L85A2 The SA80 (Small Arms for the 1980s) is a British family of 5.56×45mm NATO service weapons used by the British Army. The L85 Rifle variant has been the standard issue service rifle of the British Armed Forces since 1987, replacing the L1A1 ...

, with the L7 General Purpose Machine Gun ( GPMGs) and Minimi as support fire weapons. As of July 2020, the battery began transitioning to the Colt Canada C8 rifles, similar to that of the UKSF and the Royal Marines adapting the

Future Commando Force The Future Commando Force (FCF) is an in-progress (as of February 2022) modernisation programme and model of the future role and operations of the Royal Marines. The FCF essentially retasks 40 Commando and 45 Commando with implementing the infantr ...

perception.

References

*McManners, Hugh. ''Falklands Commando'', Collins, 2002 {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Royal Artillery batteries Military units and formations of the United Kingdom in the Falklands War Honourable East India Company regiments Bengal Artillery Batteries