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The All Arms Commando Course (AACC) lasts for 13 weeks and is run by the
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 ...
at the
Commando Training Centre Royal Marines Commando Training Centre Royal Marines (CTCRM) is the principal military training centre for the Royal Marines. It is situated near the villages of Lympstone and Exton, between the city of Exeter, and the town of Exmouth in Devon, England. Histo ...
(CTCRM),
Lympstone Lympstone is a village and civil parish in East Devon in the England, English county of Devon. It has a population of 1,754. There is a harbour on the estuary of the River Exe, lying at the outlet of Wotton Brook between cliffs of red breccia.< ...
. Members from any of the United Kingdom's Regular
Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
(e.g. personnel from units attached to the Marines) and overseas exchange personnel can attend to serve with
3 Commando Brigade 3 Commando Brigade (3 Cdo Bde), previously called the 3rd Special Service Brigade, is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces. It is composed of the Royal Marine Commandos, alongside commando qualified sailors, soldiers and airmen f ...
(3 Cdo Bde RM). On completion of the course the successful candidate earns the right to wear the
green beret The green beret was the official headdress of the British Commandos of the Second World War. It is still worn by members of the Royal Marines after passing the Commando Course, and personnel from other units of the Royal Navy, Army and RAF wh ...
, and to wear 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 ...
Dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or popular-use de ...
" on their uniform. The Royal Marines expect that nearly half of the volunteers will drop out or be dismissed before completing the AACC. The primary aim of the course is to give service personnel the core military skills necessary for Extremely and Very High readiness Commando and Littoral Strike operations. The course is open to both men and women. In 2002 Major
Philippa Tattersall Major Philippa "Pip" Joan Angel Tattersall is a Scottish soldier, born 1975 in Tarland, Aberdeenshire. She is the first woman to succeed in the 9-week All Arms Commando Course, joining the main manoeuvre formation, 3 Commando Brigade. Tattersa ...
of the
Adjutant General's Corps The Adjutant General's Corps is a corps in the British Army responsible for many of its general administrative services, named for the Adjutant-General to the Forces (now the Commander Home Command). As of 2002, the AGC had a staff of 7,000 peopl ...
became the first woman to have successfully completed it.


Background

The first formal commando training course was established at
Achnacarry Achnacarry ( gd, Achadh na Cairidh) is a hamlet, private estate (land), estate, and a castle in the Lochaber region of the Scottish Highlands, Highlands, Scotland. It occupies a strategic position on an isthmus between Loch Lochy to the east, a ...
in 1942 and some elements remain exactly the same to this day, such as the "rope regain" and the "Tarzan course", designed to test the courage, agility and determination of candidates. Others have changed in times and distances, such as speed-marching and the endurance course. The specific tests which volunteers are put through are not as important as the fact that their fortitude should be tested to the limit. The basis of the commando ethos can be summed as unity (unselfishness), adaptability, humility (as in non-arrogance), high professional standards, fortitude and humour (cheerfulness in the face of adversity). Since 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 ...
, all the Army Commando units have been disbanded leaving the Royal Marines Commandos to carry on the tradition. Nevertheless, these commando units are supported by a variety of non Royal Marines personnel. In the year 2000, over 1,000 British Army soldiers wore the green beret and supported 3 Commando Brigade. About 30 per cent of 3 Commando Brigade, performing vital support roles, were not Royal Marines in 2004, such as
29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery 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 ...
and 24 Commando Regiment Royal Engineers.


Course aims


Course content

Volunteers attend a 4-week preparation course, prior to the AACC, which brings them from a broad range of backgrounds up to a common standard of basic skills and fitness needed to start the AACC. The AACC is for trained military ranks only and is not open to new recruits outside the Royal Marines (all Royal Marines, with the exception of members of the
Royal Marines Band Service The Royal Marines Band Service is the musical wing of the Royal Navy and an independent element of the Royal Marines. It currently consists of five bands plus a training wing – the Royal Marines School of Music at HMS ''Nelson'' – and its ...
, are trained as commandos). Core military skills are covered during the AACC, including fieldcraft, tactics,
patrolling Patrolling is a military tactic. Small groups or individual units are deployed from a larger formation to achieve a specific objective and then return. The tactic of patrolling may be applied to ground troops, armored units, naval units, and co ...
, defence and
section Section, Sectioning or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sign ...
and
troop A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Troop Ro ...
level attacks, troop weapons, signals, map reading, navigation, first aid, health, hygiene and physical training. The course then covers the following Commando skills:
amphibious Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to: Animals * Amphibian, a vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water) * Amphibious caterpillar * Amphibious fish, a fish ...
assault drills, cliff assault drills, helicopter drills and small-unit tactics. The course concludes with a week-long confirmatory test exercise followed by "Test Week".


Tests


During the course

The following tests must be passed by the volunteers: Wearing boots, trousers and smock, carrying fighting order and
personal weapon A service pistol, also known as a personal weapon or an ordnance weapon, is any handgun issued to regular military personnel or law enforcement officers. Typically, service pistols are revolvers or semi-automatic pistols issued to Officer (armed ...
: * rope climb * Bottom Field assault course in under 5 minutes *
Fireman's carry A firefighter's carry or firefighter's lift is a technique allowing one person to carry another person without assistance, by placing the carried person across the shoulders of the carrier.
, over 200m carrying own and colleague's equipment and weapon (combined weight of ), in 90 seconds * Full regain, over a tank filled with water as protection from falling. Candidates do a
Tyrolean traverse A Tyrolean traverse is a method of crossing through free space between two high points on a rope without a hanging cart or cart equivalent. This is used in a range of mountaineering activities: rock climbing, technical tree climbing, caving, w ...
using no technical climbing equipment, only using skill and strength to cross along the rope strung between two towers. The technique is to balance the torso on the top of the rope whilst pushing across using an ankle from one leg hooked over the rope and using the other leg as balance. During the traverse candidates are required to halt the traverse and to hang by hands from the rope. Candidates then have to "regain" the traverse position on top of the rope; this move requires both technique and strength. * load carry – at night, as a formed body carrying marching order and personal weapon within 4 hours. A formed body is a group route-marching in rough rank and file with no specific pace or step length.


Commando tests

Completed on consecutive days during the final test week:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/508069/20160315_-_CTCRM_Final_Service_Inquiry_Report.pdf Endurance course. This is an individual test comprising a challenging 6-mile (9.65 km) course whilst carrying 21 lb (9.5 kilograms (kg)) fighting order and personal weapon. The first two miles consist of undulating woodland terrain featuring obstacles such as tunnels, pipes, wading pools and an underwater culvert. The latter four miles (6.43 km) remain an obstacle-free metalled road return run back to
CTCRM Commando Training Centre Royal Marines (CTCRM) is the principal military training centre for the Royal Marines. It is situated near the villages of Lympstone and Exton, between the city of Exeter, and the town of Exmouth in Devon, England. Histo ...
. Candidates are to complete this in 73 minutes. This is followed by a marksmanship test where the candidate must hit 6 out of 10 shots at a target simulating a man at a range of 200 metres. 9-mile speed march. This is a 9-mile (14 km) speed march, as a formed body, which is to be completed in 90 minutes (at an average pace of 6 miles per hour (mph)) whilst carrying fighting order and personal weapon. Tarzan assault course. Starting at 1-minute intervals on the Cdo slide (a zip line), this is an individual test that commences with a number of "high aerial apparatuses" followed immediately by the "bottom field assault course", and then finishing with a rope climb up a 30-foot (ft) near-vertical wall. It must be completed whilst carrying fighting order and personal weapon in 13 minutes. 30-miler. This is a tactical navigation endurance march to be completed as a syndicate whilst carrying personal load carry equipment, weapon, spare clothing and rations. Candidates must achieve this in 8 hours. Retests. If a candidate fails a commando test, then they will get an opportunity to retake it again in the four-day window that follows the 30-miler. If a candidate fails two or more of the tests, it is unlikely that a chance to re-attempt them will be offered.


Reserve Forces Commando Course

There is also a Reserve forces commando course run for members of the
Royal Marines Reserve The Royal Marines Reserve (RMR) is the volunteer reserve force used to augment the regular Royal Marines. The RMR consists of some 750 trained ranks distributed among the four units within the UK. About 10 percent of the force are working with t ...
and Commando units of the
Army Reserve A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...
. The tests are the same as for the AACC above. It differs from the AACC in the format of the build up training, Reserve volunteers must train themselves to pass the physically arduous tests in their own time and be available at weekends to develop their infantry skills. This typically requires a commitment of one weekend a month for a period of 9 to 18 months, depending on which sub-unit the volunteer is part of. The Army Reserve was previously known as the Territorial Army (TA).


References


Sources

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External links


Rope regain videoEndurance course video9 mile speed march videoTarzan course video30 miler video
{{British Military Naval education and training in the United Kingdom Royal Marines training Royal Air Force Commandos (United Kingdom) Commando training