to On 11th April the MoD spin masters announced that the “Royal Marines are to be restructured in line with a growing Royal Navy”. Only around 200 regular Marines will go and there will be no redundancies. There had been grave concern and recent media speculation that up to 2,000 marines were going to be cut so this announcement is something of a relief.
Since the scale of the RN manpower crisis began to become apparent around 2013, the RN has been working on a variety of measures to improve recruitment and retention. In developing the Manpower Recovery Plan, it has also examined what roles can be filled by FTRS (Full Time Reserve Service) or civilian personnel in an effort to make the use of its manpower allocation as efficient as possible. This project has been extended to the Royal Marines with the aim to generate as many people for the fleet as possible, within its liability (agreed and funded strength). Trading 300 officers for 600 ratings was planned before the 2015 SDSR. In addition, a very modest 400 additional personnel were agreed in 2015.
The plan
Around 100 regular Royal Marine posts will be replaced by 30 civilians and 70 marine reservists. At present, there are three Commando Units 40, 42 and 45 which rotate annually to be the ‘Lead Commando’. This entails 1,800 men ready for deployment at short notice anywhere in the world, supported by embedded engineers, artillery, reconnaissance and logistics units. The three units also have to generate detachments for a variety of maritime operations. These including ship force protection teams, small boat teams, counter-piracy operations etc. When the carriers deploy they will embark a newly formed Royal Marine Special Purpose Task Group (SPTG) who can recover downed pilots and sensitive equipment from enemy territory. Under the new structure, 42 Cdo will become a specialised maritime operations unit only and provide the personnel for these tasks.
Lead Commando duty will then be shared between 40 and 45 Cdo. Completing the 200 post reduction, 42 Cdo will lose around 100 personnel, no longer relevant to its new maritime operations role, such as heavy weapons units. These reductions will be achieved through natural wastage, and thankfully no marines will be made redundant. This restructuring plan has been already sent out to RN and RM personnel and has apparently not been met with great resistance.
Around 100 marines may also be moved from 43 Commando Fleet Protection Group to join 42 Cdo while the other independent elements, including 1 Assualt Group will be unchanged. This means 42 Cdo will not be reduced in numbers and overall the Marines will only lose around 100 men (less than 1.5% of its manpower strength). However, by making 42 Cdo the provider of specialised units, 3 Commando Brigade loses some of its potential fighting mass, if called upon to deploy in strength. Across UK defence we continue to trade mass and depth for quality and reduced numbers.
Essentially the liability for 200 personnel is being transferred from the Royal Marines to general service. In the short term, this will help provide resources to recruit additional sailors to man the aircraft carriers. Of course, the challenges of recruitment and retention remain, even where the RN has the funding in place.
These pressures can create an unfortunate division within the service between Marines, and the rest of the navy. There are those who think “Why should the Marines, who have fought with distinction in almost every conflict since WWII, be cut so the Navy can man its shiny new aircraft carriers?” This very limited view obviously fails to value the ships that protect and get the Marines into action. Despite constant rumours in the last 30 years that the Navy was about to ‘sacrifice’ the Marines, they have survived endless rounds of cuts pretty well. The Marines have maintained most of their strength, around 7,000 mark since the late-1980s, while the general service as seen its sailor numbers plunge, from around 65,000 down to just 22,300 by December 2016. There has however, been a significant drop in RM numbers since the 2010 SDSR, down from 7,281 to 6,783 in 2016.
The Royal Marines are admired and respected by any decent senior naval officer, who will have experienced their professionalism at first hand when working with them during their careers. Much to the chagrin of the Army, many, including politicians, regard the Marine Commandos as the UK’s finest fighting formation. If cuts really have to be made, logic would suggest they should fall on generic Army infantry regiments, not the best of the best.
The future of the Royal Marines
The marines are extremely versatile with niche capabilities such as mountain, arctic and desert warfare, as well as providing 47% of all UK Special Forces. The UK retains a small but highly competent specialist amphibious capability that very few nations possess (and we would be foolish to weaken further). There are however, some bigger existential questions about the main amphibious role of the Marines in the wider defence picture. How well would the marines fare in an opposed landing? In the age of precision weapons how vulnerable are small landing craft? Only when our single aircraft carrier is available for the assault role will the Marines have enough transport and aircraft for landings of scale. Even then, does the RN and RFA have sufficient ships to sustain them, once ashore? Is the main employment for the Marines in the future likely to be operating in small detachments on specialist maritime security or COIN tasks? Or should 3 Commando brigade be strengthened and focus on the ability to mount large amphibious assaults or engagements in large scale ground conflicts?
Maximising the assets
The restructuring plan is sensible in the circumstances and demonstrates the service doing all in its power to make the best use of its slim resources. By delegating the budget to each command, the government has conveniently absolved itself of responsibility as it can present cuts and restructuring as “the choices of the Navy Board”. There may be little alternative to operating at ‘bare bones’ efficiency but ultimately credible defence is about contingencies. When a crisis arises, regular personnel doing apparently less important desk jobs may act as a valuable immediately-available reserve. These disappearing backroom roles may also provide respite for personnel who have been on operations and need a period serving with regular hours for the benefit of their family life.
The fact the RN needs to go to such efforts to generate just 200 people indicates just how tight manpower issues remain. There is relief that a large cut to Royal Marine numbers has been avoided but the overall fighting capability of 3 Commando Brigade is being reduced. This is another price the RN has to pay for the disastrous decision to make 5,000 redundant in 2010. If nothing else, arguing for further increases in RN personnel numbers in the 2020 SDSR must be a priority.
Related articles
- Royal Marines to be restructured in line with growing Royal Navy (MoD)
- Royal Marines to lose 200 men so Navy can crew its aircraft carriers (Telegraph)
- Why your CVF should not moonlight as your LPH (Save the Royal Navy)
- Happy 350th Birthday Royal Marines but, mind the gap (Save the Royal Navy)
- Blog – cutting the Royal Marines (Richard Drax, MP)
Hugely to be welcomed that the cuts aren’t worse. However the fact remains the Marines are under resourced in equipment. Just looking at the standard RN RIB reminds me of a photo I recently saw of the latest PLA Naval RIB which appears to have superior protection for the occupants.
The problem here is that the thinking does not extend beyond the Royal Navy. 3 Cmdo Brigade is one of very few deployable brigades (While there are a number of Brigades in the 1st Division, due to the Armies own cock ups and the MoD’s insistence on an unbalanced force they are completely without supporting arms now) the armed forces are left with, the others being the two armoured infantry brigades, two strike brigades and 16AA. Realistically any shortfall in the Marines should be made up by bringing a light infantry battalion from the armies non-deployable brigades in 1 Div into 3 Cmdo Brigade, thus keeping the 6 useable brigades at some semblance of strength (2 Battalion equivalents is just laughable as a Brigade structure, 16 tried it and soon found itself needing a 3rd Battalion again). The other idea would be to strip the support from 3 Cmdo and give it to one of the more robust light infantry brigades in 1 Div, such as the 7th Inf Brigade….
Unfortunately the Navy has made such a disaster of itself that it now can’t afford to look beyond it’s own narrow self interest and see how it’s hurting the forces as a hole by reducing the Marines maneuver strength by 1/3.
We tried that before with 1 Rifles on the basis that they’d complete AACC. Only a number did and thankfully as a result they were released from 3 Cdo Bde. The beauty of our brigade in comparison to all others is that every man in every role outside of administration is commando trained, the moment we water this capability down it’ll be gone forever and we’ll just become another brigade instead of what we are and what we can provide.
Baz, That’s all well and good, and I’d agree with you 100% EXCEPT for the fact that there are no other infantry brigades anymore. You can go on about the “beauty of 3 Cmdo vs other brigades” except there is nothing to compare it to save 16AA. So given the choice between having a Infantry Brigade that can actually function as a Brigade, and having half a commando Brigade, the MoD should either put support to one of it’s full Brigades *or* ensure that 3 Cmdo is a credible maneuver formation. One involves stripping supports out of 3 Cmdo and giving them to 7th Infantry, making that brigade actually able to function, or taking units from the weaker brigades in 1 Div and putting them in 3 Cmdo.
Brigades can’t realistically function with 2 Battalions even in peace time, this is why 16 AA ended up with 1 RGR being sent to them after trying to get by with only 2 and 3 Para.
There does not appear to be an alternative solution at present. The marines need ships to embark and protect. Nothing remains that can be cut. 6 destroyers and 8 frigates. Maybe another 5 + if lucky and some OPVs. We have 7000 marines and enough ships to move maybe 2000 at a push. We should be thankful the cut is not deeper.
When you consider that one destroyer and one frigate are in caretaker status right now, that leaves us with 17 ships total.
Would have been easier to issue them blue uniforms for the deck photos.
Its a reduction, just because the MOD circulated rumours before hand to lessen the perceived blow doesn’t mean it’s not a blow.
A real opportunity is being wasted right now, a true carrot for the EU and a stick for would be friends sliced and whittled away by the two europhiles at the helm, all to a chorus of yes men.
I question how long it will be before Press Gangs will be returning 🙁
Interesting piece. However I think that the Navy are following the Army in that they are removing “support” functions without thinking through the long term consequences. Firstly you can not run a Brigade on the basis of only 2 Light Infantry Battalions. The 16 Air Assault Brigade has found this out and is rapidly getting back the 3rd Battalion (this time the Ghurka’s rather than 1st Irish which it used to be, nothing like retraining people when you already have a recent re-rolled Air Mobile Unit already) which was lost to the SFSG.
The fact is it would be better for 43 Commando to be expanded to cover all Ship Board activities. Effectively leaving the Navy only with 43 Commando, 1 Assault Group 539 Assault Group. SBS Rapped up in to Special Forces Brigade with SAS, and Commando Training being merged with Para Training Centre to form an elite light infantry training centre (Ohh there goes the teddy’s out of the pram). 3 Cmdr Brigade then transfers to be in a UK Rapid Reaction Brigade made up of 16AA, 3Cmdr & 7 Heavy Protect Airmobile in Mastif/Husky etc made up of 1 & 2 Royal Anglians and 1 PWRR as a merged regiment of Princess Royal Anglian Regimet to provide a heavier protected force for immediate air transportable (2 Mastifs per C130/A400 & 3 or 4 in a Globemaster). All under Army Command.
The problem is the Navy is looking at this in Silo’s in Afghanistan and Iraq effectively 3 Cdm has acted like Paratroop Reg etc as a land based force. It would save the navy paying for artillery, heavy weapons, broncos etc and still give them 1200 Marines to train special boarding parties from, provide Air Crew Recovery From etc. We just don’t have the size of force to justify large specialist land infantry units in the Navy or for that matter in the RAF Regiment either.
Reading about the Royal Marines being reduced, is really a symptom of the overall problem of our Armed Forces lack of money being spent by HM Government. Yes the Government trumpets about the UK us achieving the 2% GDP on our Forces which really is a minimum NATO requested requirement. The objectives set by the Government for the Armed Forces is not properly being funded and the growing risks of war. I think taking these things into account the HM Government should seriously consider increasing the UK spend on Defense to something like 3% of GDP. Unfortunately there is very little chance of this happening, unless we find ourselves in a war, let us hope we will have the time to build up?
Yep 3% on Defence is what we should be aiming at and reducing overseas aid, especially to nations that have large Armed Forces, if need be to get it.
The Royal Navy needs at least an extra 1,000 – 1,500 men ASAP, on top of the 400 granted in 2015, so that few ships left can be fully manned and the Royal Marines need a full brigade including three major Commando infantry units. The RN needs at least 25 Destroyers and Frigates, not a mere 19. At the time of the Falkland’s conflict in 1982 the RN had over 60 Destroyers and Frigates available, including reserves.
I also think that Great Britain needs to re-start the Navy League that did so much to keep the RN in the public eye and strong in years gone by. The Australian version is still going strong and the Royal Australian Navy actually is growing in both numbers and strength.
The truth is that the Royal Navy, and Royal Marines, are, like the British Army, very seriously underfunded, the mere fact that the Royal Navy is having to juggle just a few hundred men proves this without a shadow of a doubt.
Help i am confused , all the talk is about 200 RM, what will happen to the rest will they be put in moth balls until a carrier that works comes along?
I realise we are where we are but I would like to know how many aircraft these carriers will have and where the support vessels will come from.
Personally I think we should get rid of the army navy and airforce and have one defence force – as I believe many nations do.
The current situation suits the politicos who can play one service off against another. There also needs to be a cull of the jobsworths, both in and out of uniform, in the MOD. This needs to be followed up with decimation of those of one star rank and above.
I am getting old, but have things changed thar Much? Two and a half years in HMS Eagle , blue hat, on green hat and off to 45 Cdo,we were soldiers and sailor too
I only hope that the ‘civilian’ input to our future RM Corps does NOT involve anyone else from Sodexo! If their performance in any other field is on a par with their catering ability then the enemy will be within not without! Will these civvies come under the Naval Disciplinary and/or Army Act as well?
Nah it won’t be Sodexo, it’ll all be Capita XD