Wildcats, Fast Ropes, and Simulated Mayhem: Royal Marines Turn an RFA into Their Playground
Somewhere in the Med right now, the lads from J Company, 42 Commando are treating Royal Fleet Auxiliary Tideforce like the world’s biggest jungle gym.
Picture the scene: a Wildcat helicopter thundering overhead, doors yanked open, ropes flung out… and down come the green-beret bad boys, sliding onto the deck like it’s just another Tuesday. Once aboard, they’re off: kicking in doors, clearing compartments, and “simulating” the absolute ruin of anyone dumb enough to be on the wrong side of a boarding action. (Simunition rounds were flying – those little paint-filled reminders that getting shot still hurts your feelings.)
This wasn’t just Royal showing off (though let’s be honest, they never miss a chance). It’s the sharp end of Operation HIGHMAST – the mammoth eight-month deployment led by the UK’s flagship, HMS Prince of Wales. After five months tearing around the Indo-Pacific making friends and influencing people (mostly with very large guns), the task group is back in the Med for one last multinational flex before heading home for Christmas.
A dozen nations, 4,500 British personnel – 2,500 sailors and Royals, 900 soldiers, nearly 600 RAF types – all proving the same thing: when Britain says it’s committed to keeping sea lanes open and bad actors in check, we bloody well mean it.
And if you’re a pirate, smuggler, or just someone who fancies hijacking a tanker… mate, you picked the wrong week to be at sea.
Per Mare Per Terram? More like Per Mare Per Everyone-else’s-terram-too.
