Tartan Eagle Brings U.S. And U.K. Together

Royal Marines charged with guarding the U.K.'s nuclear deterrent have trained alongside their U.S. counterparts in Exercise Tartan Eagle.

Marines from 43 Commando Fleet Protection Group have spent two weeks this autumn operating alongside the U.S. Marine Corps Security Force Regiment at Clyde Naval Base and at the Northumbria Range complex. The annual exercise also saw 43 Commando travel to Chesapeake in Virginia and Bangor, Washington, earlier this summer to practice alongside the USMC Recapture Tactic Team.

As outlined in a recent Royal Navy press statement, 43 Commando Fleet Protection Group are based at  the submarines' operational base in Clyde, Scotland, and are responsible for preventing unauthorised access to the Vanguard-class nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarines that make up the U.K.’s strategic deterrent.

Tartan Eagle brings its commandos together with marines from the USMC Security Force Regiment, based at the Atlantic and Pacific homes of the U.S. Navy’s deterrence boats, Kings Bay and Bangor.
Major Jon Attrill, of 43 Commando, said: “This is a really important exercise for both us and the United States Marine Corps with a view to developing mission specific tactics. My role is to ensure the training is effective, proficient, and suitable to both Royal Marines and the United States Marine Corps.”

Captain Anthony Rossi, of the USMC’s Recapture Tactics Platoon, based in King’s Bay, added: “In the States we have the same mission as 43 Commando, so when do Tartan Eagle we learn each other’s tactics and we look at how we modify them. Tartan Eagle refines our tactics to make sure we’re as mission-ready as possible."

This year the first week of autumn training focused on tactics, the second on execution and weapons handling. The troops use short-barrelled rifles designed for close-quarters fighting.

• You can read more details on the Royal Navy website