Angus-based Royal Marines have brought the curtain down on six weeks of intensive training with a 12-hour battle in the US.
The green berets of 45 Commando have “squeezed every ounce of training juice” out of the ranges at Twentynine Palms in the Mojave Desert, as they prepare to take over as Britain’s on-call unit next year.
The US Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Centre allows use of firepower in training, which meant the full range of the Royal Marines’ armoury was unleashed during Exercise Black Alligator, bolstered by Dutch and American arms and support.
The Dutch troops took 22 Raiding Squadron, while the US hosts provided M1 Abrams main battle tanks, artillery, battlefield engineers and range staff, as well as F16 Falcons for close air support.
For the Royal Marines, normally based at RM Condor near Arbroath, the spell in California has been crucial for polishing live-firing skills.
Lieutenant Colonel Dan Cheesman, 45 Commando’s Commanding Officer, said: “Twentynine Palms is eight times larger than Salisbury Plain and the Commando Group has squeezed every ounce of training juice from it.
“Every person got the chance at field time, reminding themselves they are commando first.
“The exercise has also reinforced the real operational strength of having a real tri-marine corps brotherhood and ensured that we are ready to conduct high-intensity operations if called.
“It has exposed us to facilities that are simply not on offer anywhere else in the world and enabled 45 Commando Group to conduct engaging and challenging training at reach.
“The boys have been tested, validated their commando status and not been found wanting.”
The complex’s centrepiece was a 1,000-building town, featuring a complex tunnel system, buildings from one to five storeys high, grocers complete with plastic fruit, bookstores, a pharmacy, hotels, hospitals and parliament buildings.
For the final assault on the urban sprawl, six companies four marines, one Dutch, one US Marine Corps yomped overnight to reach the town, before 12 hours of urban assault through the outskirts and into the old town.
During the final assault the marines cleared a total of 470 buildings.