The Commander Littoral Strike Group (COMLSG) is a senior British

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 ...

Amphibious warfare Amphibious warfare is a type of offensive military operation that today uses naval ships to project ground and air power onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore at a designated landing beach. Through history the operations were conducte ...

appointment. COMLSG, who is based in

Stonehouse Barracks Stonehouse Barracks is a military installation at Stonehouse, Plymouth. It is the home of 3 Commando Brigade and referred to by commandos as 'the spiritual home of the Royal Marines'. Origins Since the Corps' foundation in 1664, Marines have bee ...

Stonehouse, Plymouth East Stonehouse was one of three towns that were amalgamated into modern-day Plymouth. West Stonehouse was a village that is within the current Mount Edgcumbe Country Park in Cornwall. It was destroyed by the French in 1350. The terminology used ...

, reports to

Commander United Kingdom Strike Force Commander United Kingdom Strike Force (COMUKSTRKFOR or CSF) and Rear Admiral Surface Ships (RASS) is a senior post in the Royal Navy. The post is the highest seagoing command in the Royal Navy. Its role is to direct UK, Allied or Coalition mar ...

. It was first established in 1971 as Commodore Amphibious Warfare. Today COMLSG is a deployable one-star Maritime Component Commander held at Very High Readiness (72 hours or less) in order to respond to unexpected global events. In most circumstances, COMLSG and his staff would deploy in the

Fleet Flagship In the Royal Navy, the fleet flagship is, in practice, the warship designated as the fleet's most prestigious vessel, currently . In the modern era, the fleet flagship has usually been an aircraft carrier, but that changed in 2010 with the assignm ...

(such as HMS ''Albion'', or one of the new

Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier The ''Queen Elizabeth'' class is a class of two aircraft carriers of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy which are the central components of the UK Carrier Strike Group. The lead ship, , was named on 4 July 2014, in honour of Elizabeth I. She was ...

s) in order to command a deployed task group. While structured and trained to conduct high intensity war-fighting (with an emphasis on amphibious operations, working alongside

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 ...

, the staff are capable of commanding a diverse range of activities such as evacuation operations, or disaster relief.

History

In the 1960s most of the Navy's amphibious capability was under Commodore, Amphibious Forces, Far East Fleet (COMAFFEF), based at

Singapore Naval Base His Majesty's Naval Base, Singapore, also Her Majesty's Naval Base, Singapore (HMNB Singapore), alternatively known as the Singapore Naval Base, Sembawang Naval Base and HMS Sembawang, was situated in Sembawang at the North Region, Singapore, no ...

. In March 1971, following the withdrawal from

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, and the return of

to the UK, COMAFFEF was retitled Commodore Amphibious Warfare (COMAW), and moved to

Fort Southwick Fort Southwick is one of the forts found on Portsdown Hill, which overlooks the naval base of Portsmouth in the county of Hampshire, England. History Fort Southwick was built to defend the landward approaches to the naval base on the recommenda ...

, just outside

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. COMAW became subordinate to

Flag Officer, Carriers and Amphibious Ships Flag Officer, Carriers and Amphibious Ships (FOCAS) was a senior Royal Navy post that existed from 1970 to 1979. However, its antecedents date to 1931. A Flag Officer with specific responsibilities for command of aircraft carriers within the Roy ...

(FOCAF). After 1979 when FOCAF became Flag Officer, Third Flotilla, COMAW became part of Third Flotilla. In 1981, Commodore

Michael Clapp Commodore Michael Cecil Clapp, (born 22 February 1932) is a retired senior Royal Navy officer who commanded the United Kingdom's amphibious assault group, Task Group 317.0, in the Falklands War. Early life Michael Cecil Clapp was born on 22 Fe ...

moved COMAW to

in order to be based alongside HQ

again. Following the pivotal role of the Royal Navy's amphibious forces during the

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...

, when Clapp directed the Amphibious Group of the British task force, alongside Brigadier Julian Thompson, this co-location of the two Headquarters has endured ever since. From 1992 COMAW reported to the two-star deployable battlestaff commander, currently titled Commander UK Strike Force. The reestablishment of the Amphibious Warfare Warfare Squadron was announced in March 1997.Navy News: Mar 97 Edition Page 42
/ref> But the commander's title was renamed from COMAW to Commander Amphibious Task Group (COMATG) on 1 December 1997;Navy News: Dec 97 Edition Page 10
/ref> subsequent references to a 'squadron' are hard to find. In the early 21st century COMATG deployments included

Operation Veritas Operation Veritas was the codename used for British military operations against the Taliban government of Afghanistan in 2001. British forces played a supporting role to the American Operation Enduring Freedom. In addition, the British contributi ...

in 2001;

Operation Telic Operation Telic (Op TELIC) was the codename under which all of the United Kingdom's military operations in Iraq were conducted between the start of the invasion of Iraq on 19 March 2003 and the withdrawal of the last remaining British forces on ...

, 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 ...

;

Operation Vela Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

in 2006;

Operation Highbrow Operation Highbrow was a British Ministry of Defence (MoD) operation to evacuate civilians from Beirut as a result of the escalating 2006 Lebanon War. Initially, helicopters started ferrying the most vulnerable to Cyprus with several Royal Navy ...

, evacuating personnel from Lebanon in 2006; leading

Combined Task Force 152 The Combined Task Force 152 or CTF-152 is a multinational naval task force, set up in 2004 to coordinate security operations in the Persian Gulf and is one of three task forces operated by Combined Maritime Forces (CMF). In July 2007 a crew from th ...

in the Middle East in 2008; and Operation Taurus in 2009. Until 2011, COMATG was one of the deployable maritime commanders who with their headquarters reported to the Fleet Battle Staff, alongside two others, the

Commander United Kingdom Carrier Strike Group The Commander United Kingdom Carrier Strike Group, (COMUKCSG) is a senior British Royal Navy appointment which commands the UK Carrier Strike Group. COMUKCSG, a Commodore, commands a total of 65 personnel, and is headquartered at HMNB Portsmout ...

(COMCSG) and the Commander UK Task Group (COMUKTG). However, following the

Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010 The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010 was announced by the newly formed Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government of the United Kingdom in May 2010, and published on 19 October 2010. The previous major review of UK defence strate ...

, COMCSG and COMUKTG were abolished as separate commands and COMATG became the sole deployable HQ, under the new title of COMUKTG, responsible for command of the

Response Force Task Group The Joint Expeditionary Force (Maritime) (or JEF(M)) (formerly the Response Force Task Group (RFTG), and prior to that the Joint Rapid Reaction Force (JRRF)), is the Royal Navy's contribution to the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) maintained at v ...

. At this point, the former Commander UK Task Group became

Deputy Commander United Kingdom Maritime Forces Commander United Kingdom Strike Force (COMUKSTRKFOR or CSF) and Rear Admiral Surface Ships (RASS) is a senior post in the Royal Navy. The post is the highest seagoing command in the Royal Navy. Its role is to direct UK, Allied or Coalition mar ...

. In early October 2012, the Commander UK Task Group,

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore, a ...

Paddy McAlpine led the ''Cougar 12'' deployment of six ships and more than 3,000 marines and sailors to the Mediterranean Sea. One of the principle purposes of the deployment was to conduct large-scale amphibious exercises with allies. Key exercises included: 'Corsican Lion' with France; 'Albanian Lion' with Albania; a visit to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

and exercises with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and the Algerian Armed Forces.Naval force gears up for Cougar 12
gov.uk, 27 September 2012 McAlpine said: "Cougar 12 provides us with a superb opportunity to rekindle our amphibious capability after a prolonged period when our focus has been ..elsewhere." Exercise 'Corsican Lion' was the main focus of ''Cougar 12'' and was designed to develop the maritime and amphibious components of the Anglo-French

Combined Joint Expeditionary Force The Combined Joint Expeditionary Force (CJEF) is an Anglo-French military force. It draws upon both the British Armed Forces and the French Armed Forces to field a deployable force with land, air and maritime components together with command and c ...

. The group worked alongside the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

Task Force 473 The ''Force d'action navale'' (FAN, Naval Action Force) is the 9,600-man and about 100-ship force of surface warships of the French Navy. As of 2018, it is commanded by Vice-Amiral d’Escadre Jean-Philippe Rolland. The ships are divided into s ...

led by .Royal Marines face French counterparts in Exercise Corsican Lion
gov.uk, 23 October 2012

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

Martin Smith of

was quoted saying: "It is an incredibly versatile force and our burgeoning interoperability with the French further proves this. The quality of Royal Marines Commandos and French Marines delivers a highly effective first response capability ..optimised for early entry operations." In March 2015, the post of COMUKTG reverted to its previous title of COMATG. COMATG was responsible to

Commander United Kingdom Maritime Forces Commander United Kingdom Strike Force (COMUKSTRKFOR or CSF) and Rear Admiral Surface Ships (RASS) is a senior post in the Royal Navy. The post is the highest seagoing command in the Royal Navy. Its role is to direct UK, Allied or Coalition mar ...

. COMATG was re-titled Commander Littoral Strike Group on 1 October 2019, to reflect the expected increased size and capabilities of the group, including

Deployments and operations

* COUGAR 11 * Op ELLAMY 11 * COUGAR 12 * Op PATWIN 13 * COUGAR 13 * COUGAR 14 * COUGAR 15 * Op WEALD 15 * JEF(M) 16 * CTF50 17 * Amphibious Task Group 18 * SAIF SAREEA 3 18 * BALTIC PROTECTOR 19 * Op SENTINEL 20 (

International Maritime Security Construct The International Maritime Security Construct (IMSC) is a consortium of countries whose official stated aim is the maintenance of order and security in the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Aden and Southern Red Sea, particularly regarding marit ...

) * Littoral Response Group (Experimentation) Deployment 20

In command

Included:

Commodore, Amphibious Warfare

*Commodore Hardress L. Lloyd: May 1965-May 1966 *Commodore David Dunbar-Naismith DSC: May 1966-July 1967 *Commodore

Gerard Mansfield Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Gerard "Ged" Napier Mansfield (13 July 1921 – 27 June 2006) was Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic. After leaving the Royal Navy became a fund-raiser for the Queen's Silver Jubilee Trust. Early life Edward Ge ...

: July 1967-November 1968 *Commodore Thomas W. Stocker: November 1968-September 1970 *Commodore Derek W. Napper DSC: September 1970-August 1971 *Commodore Roy W. Halliday DSC: August 1971-September 1973 *Commodore David T. Smith: September 1973-October 1975 *Commodore Richard D. Franklin: October 1975-February 1977 *Commodore Derek R. Reffell: June 1978-October 1979 *Commodore Christopher J. Isacke: October 1979-May 1981 *Commodore

CB: May 1981-February 1983 *Commodore Peter G. V. Dingemans DSO: February 1983-January 1985 *Commodore John Garnier CBE LVO: January–July 1985 *Commodore E.S. Jeremy Larken DSO: July 1985-December 1987 *Commodore Brian W. Turner: December 1987-April 1990 *Commodore Peter J. Grindal: April 1990-April 1992 *Commodore Richard A.Y. Bridges: April 1992- July 1994 *Commodore Paul B.C. Canter CBE: July 1994-October 1996 *Commodore Paul D. Stone: October 1996-1 December 1997 ''Note: COMAW was renamed COMATG in 1997''

Commander, Amphibious Task Group

Commodores in post included: *Commodore Paul D. Stone: 1 December 1997 – 1998 *Commodore Niall S.R. Kilgour: 1998-July 2001 *Commodore A. James G. Miller: July 2001-September 2003 *Commodore Christopher J. Parry: September 2003-January 2005 *Commodore George M. Zambellas: January 2005-August 2006 *Commodore Philip A. Jones: August 2006 – 2008 *Commodore Peter D. Hudson: 2008-May 2009 *Commodore Paul M. Bennett: May 2009-January 2011 ''Note: Following SDSR10, COMATG was renamed COMUKTG, and the Amphibious Task Group was renamed the Response Force Task Group.''

Commander, U.K. Task Group

Commodores in post included: *Commodore John M. L. Kingwell: January–November 2011 *Commodore Patrick A. McAlpine: November 2011-February 2014 *Commodore Jeremy P. Kyd: February 2014-February 2015 *Commodore Martin J. Connell: February 2015-March 2015 ''Note: COMUKTG post reverted to the name Commander Amphibious Task Group in March 2015, and Cdre Connell continued in that role till May 2016''

Commander, Amphibious Task Group

Commodores in post included: *Commodore Martin J. Connell: March 2015-May 2016 *Commodore Andrew P. Burns: May 2016-May 2018 *Commodore James M.B. Parkin: May 2018-October 2019 ''Note: COMATG was renamed Commander Littoral Strike Group in October 2019, and Cdre Parkin continued in post under the new title.''

Commander, Littoral Strike Group

*Commodore James M.B. Parkin: October 2019-May 2020 *Commodore Robert G. Pedre: May 2020 – present

Notes

References

* Original edition may have been Leo Cooper/Orion, 1996. *Keleny, Anne (2016). "Rear-Admiral Peter Dingemans: Falklands War naval officer". The Independent. London, England: Newspaper Publishing PLC. *Mackie, Colin. (2018) "Royal Navy Senior Appointments from 1865" (PDF). gulabin.com. Colin Mackie. Scotland, UK. * {{Naval Service (British), state=collapsed Lit Amphibious units and formations Military units and formations established in 2019