(Lab):...In 1981, the removal of our amphibious
capability was mooted again. At the last moment, an element of it
was reprieved and, by very good fortune, nothing had been removed
before the Argentinian invasion of the Falklands. Every scrap of amphibious shipping
and the Royal Marine Commando Brigade in its entirety were
crucial to recapturing the islands, as were 76 British manned
merchant ships. Post the Falklands conflict, it was decided that the UK
needed to maintain amphibious capability of a full commando
brigade, two helicopter landing ships capable of ensuring a
simultaneous two-company lift—a lesson from the Falklands, although only one, HMS “Ocean”, was
built—two landing ship docks capable of complex communications
and command and control, very heavy lift and carrying large
landing craft, four logistic landing ships, or the equivalent, a
number of smaller landing craft and the ability to take up
merchant ships from trade. However, it has been nibbled away at.
Post SDSR 2010, the decision was made to reduce the commando
brigade to a commando group. Of the four new landing ship dock
auxiliaries to replace the landing ship logistics, one was sold
to Australia for a knockdown price, after we had paid full price
in this country...
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Earl Howe)
(Con):...It is widely recognised that the Royal Marines
have a proud and rich history. They were formed in the reign of
King Charles II on 28 October 1664, as the Duke of York and
Albany’s Maritime Regiment of Foot, or Admiral’s Regiment. The
name “Marines” first appeared in the records in 1672 and, in
1802, they were titled the Royal Marines by King George III. On
28 October this year, the Royal Marines celebrated their 353rd
birthday. They were present at Lord Nelson’s victory over the
combined fleets at Trafalgar—one of the most decisive naval
battles in British history. They were involved in the raid on
Zeebrugge on 23 April 1918, where two Royal Marines earned the
Victoria Cross for their bravery and conduct during the
operation. During World War II, at the landings in Normandy on 6
June 1944, 17,500 Royal Marines took part in the largest
amphibious operation in history. In 1982, the Royal Marines were
essential to the recapture of the Falkland Islands...
To read the whole debate, CLICK
HERE
