Leadership of the Arbroath-based Royal Marines unit has changed hands — in true Commando fashion.
As is usual for the battalion, the 45 Commando unit was put through its paces, completing a leisurely ten-mile run from their headquarters at RM Condor to the sweeping sands of Lunan Bay to mark the change.
The ceremonial run saw Lieutenant Colonel Turner step down as Commanding Officer with 45 Commando, one of the the UK’s three elite battalion-sized units, and replaced by Lieutenant Colonel Duncan Forbes.
The Lunan Bay run is a rite of passage for 45 Commando Group ranks and is often followed by a compulsory dip in the North Sea.
On this occasion, to mark his departure, Lieutenant Colonel Turner took the plunge — alongside Regimental Sergeant Major, Warrant Officer 1 David Young — and in a Hollywood-style exit, swam out to waiting boats which then whisked the pair away.
New Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Forbes, joins the unit after serving as Military Assistant to The Secretary of State for Defence, The Right Honourable Sir Michael Fallon KCB MP.
The handover comes as the base carries out a large training operation with nearby residents in Carnoustie and Monifieth noting an increased number of helicopters passing in the skies above their homes.
The exercise, which will run for the rest of the week, is being supported by 845 Naval Air Squadron, part of the Commando Helicopter Force, which is based in Yeovilton in Somerset.
RM Condor — as well as being home to 45 Commando Royal Marines — also houses 7 (Sphinx) Battery, part of 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery, 2 Signals Squadron from 32 Signals Regiment and 30 Commando Information Exploitation Group Royal Military Police Detachment.
Anyone hoping to join the unit will need to undergo one of the longest and most physically gruelling infantry training regimes in the world. Training takes 32 weeks for Marines, with Royal Marine officers undertaking 60 weeks.
Training ends with the infamous Commando Course, a 30-mile march across Dartmoor with equipment and rifle which needs to be completed in less than eight-hours. Those who are successful earn the right to wear the coveted Green Beret.
