Royal Marines assaulted the mountainous shores of the tip of the Arabian Peninsula as part of reinvigorated British training in the Gulf this autumn, say the Ministry of Defence here.
Marines of Taunton-based 40 Commando joined Omani allies on the Musandam Peninsula for a series of rigorous joint exercises.
The region juts out into the Strait of Hormuz – the narrow gateway to the Gulf and a chokepoint through which a third of the world’s oil supplies passes every day.
“That makes the peninsula, which covers an area half the size Hampshire, but is inhabited by little more than 30,000 people, of key strategic importance. The aim of Exercise Musandam Fort, which also involved desert survival and mountain warfare training, was to bring Omani and British forces closer together and was part of a wider effort, which included more than a thousand troops across the country.
The British Army operated with Omani forces in Duqm at the joint training area at the same time HMS Lancaster arrived in the Gulf to continue permanent Royal Navy operations in the Gulf and Middle East after HMS Montrose completed a four-year deployment there. The training was a key moment as Royal Marines prepare to be persistently deployed in the Middle East region and beyond into the Indo-Pacific from next year. Being forward based, utilising the UK’s Joint Logistics Support Base in Duqm, will allow them to work closely with allies and partners and react to emerging crises.”
It’s also a part of the UK’s commitment to regional security and stability, especially around the Strait of Hormuz.
‘…mountainous shores of the tip of the Arabian (Musandam) Peninsula…’ Interesting, thought the whole area consisted of one large sand dune. Lack of perspective, not having been in the theater.
The Mountains around the edge stop the sand spilling into the sea…
Oman is very mountainous in areas along the shore.
👍
Musandam Peninsula, a very interesting location with other British links I’ve heard of.
It seems to be less in the spotlight than Duqm.
Some of our Royals, the DS and other Permanent Secretaries have all visited the location.
Leads on then that the RM also train there.
Apart from the JL Base, the Joint Training Area, and Port, there are at least 4 other lower profile Brit sites in the country.
Long may the Anglo Omani relationship continue.
I remember participating in Ex Saif Sareea II in 2001 working with a Major Patrick Sanders! It was a huge UK-Oman exercise and set Oman up nicely to run a GCC exercise the following year. It was a good base to launch some of our booties to go to Tora Bora caves in Afghan to look for Bin Laden with the Americans, as the exercise was just a week or two after 9/11.
I recall you once explaining how 3 Cdo Bde was not so much now a combat brigade of three manouevre units and had lost some CS/CSS. I wonder if they will ever wind the clock back to how things were?
Hi Graham.
Thanks, I enjoy the stories you and the other vets tell. I remember SSII, and reading about it as I was a subscriber to both Navy News and Soldier at that time.
What was Sanders like? I recall he was V popular and thus a good CGS choice with the rank and file? You spoke V well of him I think when the news came he was CGS.
Yes that is right, I’d lamented about that before. I see 3 Cdo now as an “umbrella” organisation for the main combat elements of the Corps, which, given the FCF, LRG, Raiding, Grey Zone area they are now emphasizing means the Bde can no longer be concentrated at that level.
The 3rd manoeuvre unit, in the form of Four Two, is now Maritime Ops, not so much a “Green” Cdo like Forty Cdo and Four Five.
29 RA lost a gun battery, 24 RE has never had the Engineer Sqns to assign one per Cdo, and I don’t think the CLR is big enough for a 3 Cdo Bde deployment of 40,42, and 45, , not without substantial army augmentation, which I think happened with every brigade roulement with Herrick? I’d read the Bde ORBATS at that time and note all the extras beyond the official roster.
For all the comments on the lack of CS/CSS in 16AA, they’re positively palatial compared to 3 Cdo.
However, 3 Cdo still has useful elements. 30 Cdo, even in its original guise, was pretty ground breaking for me with the Bde HQ, Signals, EW, SIGINT, SHORAD, some logistics, MP, and the BPS all combined into one outfit and the unit acting as life support for the Bde. And the LPDs are too critical to lose here too with their command functions.
The RM also have 847 NAS, but given that they’re Army machines pooled with the rest of 1 AAC, and with just 34 to draw from, I’d not be too confident the Bde has it own organic close air support like it had before beyond what the CHF provides and the AAC Apache Sqn that theoretically can be assigned to it.
There is an occasional poster here, Richard, who is ex RM and I learn much when he explains in his occasional posts where the Corps is headed.
Hi Daniele, Patrick was COS 1 Mech Bde when I knew him. Bde COS and DCOS are the most sought after jobs after staff course – and only the best get them. He grew up as a boy in Norway, Gib and Iraq – I met him when he was a 35 y.o Major in Oman on SS II. He was cool, calm, unflustered, worked incredible hours and had a great rapport with veryone, especially the Omanis. He had great charisma and charm and was very witty. I though he did a great job in Iraq commanding his battalion and very skilfully redeployed the battalion in Basra – pity the Americans did not understand that his very clever and carefully planned manouevre was beneficial to the UK military posture in Basra, to broader military objectives and to the benefit of the now-friendly Iraqi army.
I worked with CLR in Bastion in 2008/9 – a huge regiment commanded by a full Colonel rather than a Lt Col – I don’t recall it being augmented by army. CLR would have had Atts & Dets of course to Task Org it to the job – but I don’t recall if any of the Atts were from army units – that wouldm have been unusiual but may have happened. Task Force Helmand, a brigade group, was of course comprised of units all of whom Task Org’d by means of Atts & Dets – I don’t think this is just an army thing though.
Interesting to see that our service folk who are covering for Border Force and NHS Paramedics are getting a £20 per day bonus – that has never ever happened before. Interesting. Guess it is some compensation for these guys losing their pre-planned Christmas holidays!
Have a great Christmas!
Merry Christmas Graham. Thank you for your service. I’d read they are paid less than the people striking they are covering.
It always irks me that politicians treat the forces with such disdain and cut, until they need them to be firelighters, drivers, or whatever.
I think the CDS sent the right message in that regard the other day.
Thanks Daniele. It has always been the case that soldiers covering striking workers as a MACM task are paid much less than the strikers – can be called out 24/7/365 and are asked to risk life and limb for their country on occasions.
Private after Ph 2 trg – £21,424 pa.
Average Paramedic – £37,500 pa.
Average Border Force officer at Passport Control – £26,653
https://www.payscale.com/research/UK/Job=Paramedic/Salary/cdf9e9c9/The-National-Health-Service-NHS
https://www.checkasalary.co.uk/salary/border-force-officer
Not bad for a “pissy little island”. You don’t see many other “failed empires”conducting simultaneous exercises in the pacific and Indian Ocean with regional Allie’s and substantial forward deployed forces. How many non gulf countries operate major naval facilities at the worlds most strategic choke point.
If only we were a super power like China able to operate several hundred speed boats off of Whitby and call ourselves the worlds largest navy. One can only dream 😀
Yes, I think it will be an interesting period. Now is there ‘another’ place, a bit further east to have a logistics base, regular pull in & stay for a bit place that could be an option..? Strategic thinking indeed..
Remember we have the British Defence Singapore Support Unit (BDSSU) in Sembawang, Singapore.
Going to be a lot more RN traffic there in the future, with HMS Tamar and HMS Spey and eventually a T31
And Diego Garcia.
And Brunei, it’s army only at the moment but could easily accommodate naval and air if required. I’m pretty sure they were looking at it as an alternative to Singapore if they don’t want the T31. Actually for such a small pissy island we seem to have more over seas basing than the average super power. China spent billions in loans to every man and his dog around the Indian ocean and does not have a fraction of that capability.
And RAF. The Pumas have now replaced 7 Flight AAC.
We are a “small pissy island” that was once a super power and these bases are a legacy of Empire.
China and many others lack that history.
It’s one of the primary reasons we were so useful to the Americans post war. Every one potentially a listening post.
Yeh, Diego is an important (very much joint, or as joint as it is at the moment, with a 95% majority non British partner😂 & of course ally..but that is more of a ‘bonus’ at present time, with I think Singers being the more ‘immediate’ strategic choice. It’s also a massive plug in for UK PLC into SE Asia more physically definitely. And currently I would say Singapore is in probably the most stable area of the region at the moment, not too close & not too far away from the epicentre I the pacific AOI. A lot of political gain also I’d imagine.
95%, more like 99.9%!
Apart from the RN Naval Party, the Island admin, and allegedly some GCHQ stuff ( which is pretty much an extension of NSA anyway ) the location is all American.
It is still classed as a PJOB though by Northwood and available for our use.
Singapore has the RN Naval Party and OFD, now rebranded BDSSU.
With the sites in Bruenei, it is a very small footprint.
We should not get ahead of ourselves. Have a presence, but it is very minor and should overwhelmingly be for intelligence purposes as NATO European theatre and the Middle East are where we are most effective with the infrastructure we have.
Pity we gave up Hong Kong!
Well I’d worked it out as 1% UK 4% US & the rest philipino, 😁 but yes, a small footprint..but nevertheless, a footprint, and that’s all we need at the moment👍