Royal Marines from 45 Commando have completed 6 weeks of intensive training on the vast ranges…

Royal Marines from 45 Commando have completed 6 weeks of intensive training on the vast ranges at Twentynine Palms – the US Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in the Mojave Desert, California.

The full range of the Royal Marines’ armoury – Viking armoured vehicles, 105mm field guns, mortars, heavy machine-guns, Javelin anti-tank missiles and combat engineers – was unleashed during Exercise Black Alligator, bolstered by Dutch and American arms and support.

The Dutch Royal Marines took 22 Raiding Squadron, while the US hosts provided M1 Abrams main battle tanks, artillery, battlefield engineers, range staff and, overhead, F16 Falcons offered close air support.

45 Commando take over as Britain’s on-call Royal Marines unit next year.

Exercise Black Alligator

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