Royal Marines: Breakdown of the 32 week recruit training

[digitalfreefall]

Royal Marines undergo a long basic training regime at the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines (CTCRM) at Lympstone, Devon. The Royal Marines is the only part of the British forces in which both officers and recruits are trained in the same place. Much of the basic training is carried out on the rugged terrain of Dartmoor. A large amount of training is done at night.

Phase 1

Module 1 - Foundation

"To effect the transition from civilian to military life and prepare the individual recruit for training in the Royal Marines"

Week 1 - Joining routine, MSC (military skills & circuits) assessment, kit issue, NAMET exams, admin, drill & PT
Week 2 - Ex First Step (1 night in the field - Woodbury Common), drill, PT & personal admin
Week 3 - Weapon training, drill, PT & Families Day
LWEL (long weekend leave)

Module 2 - Individual Skills

"To teach and practise elementary military skills in a progressive manner"

Week 4 - Weapon training, PT and swims, drill & Corps history, Ex Early Knight (night in field with weapon - behind Tarzan Course)
Week 5 - Weapon training (including weapon handling tests), PT & runs, map reading, Ex Quick Cover (3 day field exercise including basic fieldcraft and CQB - Woodbury Common)
Week 6 - First aid, rifle shoot, PT, map reading
Week 7 - Ex Marshal Star (3 1/2 day field ex including basic fieldcraft & soldiering skills - Woodbury Common)
Week 8 - Drill, PT, map reading, first aid, survival training (Stallcombe)
Week 9 - Drill, PT (Gym Passout), map reading, first aid (including NVQ testing), LSW conversion
Week 10 - Ex Hunter's Moon (5 day field ex including navigation training and map reading including 24-hour survival training - Dartmoor, Gidleigh)
LWEL

Module 3 - Advanced Skills

"To consolidate the skills learned thus far and progress onto more advanced aspects of individual soldiering"

Week 11 - Live firing: rifle to APWT (Combat Infantryman)(Straightpoint Range)
Week 12 - APWT (Combat Infantryman), rifle transition to live firing & LSW APWA (Willsworthy Range on Dartmoor)
Week 13 - NBC, signals, grenade throwing & helicopter dunker drills
Week 14 - First fit of Lovats & Blues, NBC, signals, Ex Running Man (3 day field ex, mainly navigation training & yomping, Woodbury Common)
Week 15 - Individual skills revision, Ex Baptist Run (2 day field test ex to test all skills taught in Phase 1 - includes stalking, kit inspections, map reading, NBC, signals, deservicing inspection - Woodbury Common), first drill inspection, arms drill passout, End of Phase 1 Parade
LWEL

Phase 2

Module 4 - Operations of War

"To train and practice a recruit in the tactical skills and knowledge required to act as a rifleman in all operations of war and all transitional phases of war"

Week 16 - Signals, Battle Physical Training (BPT), 51 mm mortar training
Week 17 - Ex First Base (tactical field patrols [recce & OPs] & harbour drills - Perridge Estate)
Week 18 - Ex Second Empire (section & tp level attacks, tp fighting patrols & ambushes - Woodbury Common)
Week 19 - Underslung-Grenade Launcher (UGL) training, 94 mm LAW training (currently GPMG training), R & I/Adventure Training (Devon/Wales), BPT
Week 20 - Ex Dorset Leap (Tp level patrolling test ex - Bov Training Area)
Week 21 - BPT, 94 mm LAW training (currently GPMG training), defence lectures, NBC
Week 22 - BPT pass out, NBC, Ex Rorke's Drift (dig & defence ex including NBC)
Week 23 - Ex Violent Entry (OBUA Ex - Sennybridge)
LWEL
Week 24 - LMG (minimi) training, Endurance Course acquaint
Week 25 - 12 mile load carry, amphibious training (Poole), LMG firing & APWA

Module 5 - Commando Course

"To confirm a recruit is professionally prepared for service in an operational unit, is at a Commando level of fitness and has the requisite qualities of determination, courage, unselfishness, professional skill & cheerfulness under adversity"

Week 26 - 6 mile speed march, cliff assault & rope techniques (Foggin Tor), water obstacle crossing, Tarzan & Assault Course instruction, Final Exercise
Week 27 - Final Exercise, specialisations lectures/DSS
LWEL
Week 28 - ECDL computing, Tarzan & Assault & Endurance Course run throughs, drill
Week 29 - Field Firing Ex 1 (individual & fire team level live firing - Dartmoor)
Week 30 - Field Firing Ex 2 (section & troop level live firing - Dartmoor), Endurance Course pass out
Week 31 - Commando Tests, ECDL computing, drill


Module 6 - King's Squad Pass Out Week

"To Pass Out a recruit for duty in a fitting manner"

Week 32 - King's Squad Pass Out Parade & leaving admin

In 1918, King George V visited the Royal Marines depot at Deal in Kent, where he inspected the recruit squads. To mark this visit, the King directed that the senior recruit squad of each intake should be known as The King's Squad, a tradition that continues to the present.

The Commando Course

The commando tests are taken on consecutive days, they include;

A nine-mile (14.5 km) speed march, carrying full fighting order, to be completed in 90 minutes; the pace is thus 10 minutes per mile (6 min/km or 6 mph).

The Endurance course is a six mile, (9.65 km), course across rough terrain at Woodbury Common near Lympstone, which includes tunnels, pipes, wading pools, and an underwater culvert. The course ends with a four-mile run back to CTCRM. Followed by a marksmanship test, where the recruit must hit 6 out of 10 shots at a target representing a fig. 11 target at 200 m. To be completed in 73 minutes, 71 minutes for Royal Marine officers, these times were recently increased by one minute as the route of the course was altered. This is where the famous tunnel on the television advertisements is to be found, except that it isn't actually as long as the advertisements would have people believe. It is only slightly longer than the height of an average adult. Some believe this is a factor behind the current recruitment shortage. The Course ends at the 25m range where the recruit must then put at least 6 out of 10 shots on target without cleaning their weapon.

The Tarzan Assault Course. This is an assault course combined with an aerial confidence test. It starts with a death slide and ends with a rope climb up a thirty foot vertical wall. It must be completed with full fighting order in 13 minutes, 12 minutes for Royal Marine officers. The Potential Officers Course also includes confidence tests from the Tarzan Assault Course, although not with equipment.

The Thirty miler. This is a 30 mile (48 km) march across Dartmoor, wearing fighting order, and additional safety equipment. It must be completed in 8 hours for recruits and 7 hours for Royal Marine officers, who must also navigate the route themselves, rather than following a DS with the rest of a syndicate and carry their own equipment.

The day after the 30 mile (48 km) march, any who failed any of the tests may attempt to retake them.

Completing the Commando Course successfully entitles the recruit or officer to wear the coveted green beret but does not mean that the Royal Marine has finished his training. That decision will be made by the troop or batch training team and will depend on the recruit's or young officer's overall performance. Furthermore, officer training still consists of many more months.
After basic and commando training, a Royal Marine Commando will normally join a unit of 3 Commando Brigade. There are three Royal Marines Commando infantry units in the Brigade: 40 Commando located at Norton Manor near Taunton in Somerset, 42 Commando at Bickleigh, near Plymouth, Devon, and 45 Commando at Arbroath on the east coast of Scotland.

[digitalfreefall]

This should help anyone going down for a PRMC in the near future.
Its everything you need to know about the 32 weeks and Commando course.
Its unlikely that we will be asked to go into so much detail but it makes a good read and personally gives me motivation, I hope it does the same and answers some questions for other wannabees hoping to join the ranks.

[darrenrugby18]

Nice post digital, puts its all into easy reading form instead of flickin through the book to check something, easy to print off aswell, spot on

[flying ninja]

Very nice job.

Makes me want to get fit enough as soon as possible and go to afco, shame i'm going to have to wait a year lol.

Just out of curiosity how high ais the aerial confidence test, cliff assault & rope techniques? if anybody knows?

[Daveb]

Awesome post mate! Good reference for people.

[ali_hire]

Just out of curiosity how high ais the aerial confidence test, cliff assault & rope techniques? if anybody knows?

Tarzan Aerial Confindence Assualt Course Layout

I don't know how recent this is by the way. Perhaps someone who has done it recently can let us know how accurate it is.

[darrenrugby18]

Do we have to do any of this on the PRMC apart from the death slide?

Where do you find all this info ali? spending time on the net instead of workin me thinks

[flying ninja]

Looks easy enough, height wise that is, probably still turd my self upthere
That death slide looks abit though lol.

[darrenrugby18]

Im not overly keen on heights, i mean i would rather be on the ground lol but when youre in that situation you just crack on with it and just concentrate on doing it

[flying ninja]

Im not overly keen on heights, i mean i would rather be on the ground lol but when youre in that situation you just crack on with it and just concentrate on doing it

Yeh same here, like when i did abseiling on a 60ft wall, nothing impressive, but it was an achievement for me, apart from i got blisters on my hand from rope burns lol.

[darrenrugby18]

Lol good old rope burns, worst part of abseiling is getting over the edge then you know you can trust the rope! haha, pretty much plain sailing after that

[themattmeister]

Do we have to do any of this on the PRMC apart from the death slide?

Apart from the deathslide it is the high ropes which you have to crawl across then walk across some planks with a gap in the middle, which has to be done confidently (I had to go over again ), those were about 15 ft up. Then go up to 20 ft for the other rope crawl and down the scramble net. The planks are the only issue because you stand up and think "bloody hell this isn't too sturdy" and it looks pretty high up.

[flying ninja]

Do we have to do any of this on the PRMC apart from the death slide?

Apart from the deathslide it is the high ropes which you have to crawl across then walk across some planks with a gap in the middle, which has to be done confidently (I had to go over again ), those were about 15 ft up. Then go up to 20 ft for the other rope crawl and down the scramble net. The planks are the only issue because you stand up and think "bloody hell this isn't too sturdy" and it looks pretty high up.

What do you mean by confidently, just walk, jog, or what ever your doing, along it as you would down the street.

[Oz]

Digitalfreefall,


Nice work.

Oz

[flying ninja]

yeh i'd like to add that again, sort of hijacked the thread abit lol.
Very nice thank you indeed, atleast no one will be going into the dark now.