Royal Marines

The Royal Marines trace their origins back to 28 October 1664, when the Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot was formed at the grounds of the Honourable Artillery Company. It was the fifth European marine unit formed, being preceded by the Spain's Infantería de Marina (1537), the Fanti da Mar of the Republic of Venice (1550), the Portuguese Marine Corps (1610) and France's Troupes de marine (1622). It consisted of six 200-man companies and was initially commanded by Colonel Sir William Killigrew with Sir Charles Lyttleton as lieutenant-colonel. Killigrew had commanded an English regiment in Dutch service, and many of the regiment's initial complement of officers had served…

40 and 45 Commando are each organised into six companies, further organised into platoon-sized troops, as follows: In general a rifle company Marine will be a member of a four-man fire team, the building block of commando operations. A Royal Marine works with their team in the field and shares accommodation if living in barracks. This structure is a recent development, formerly Commandos were structured similarly to British Army light infantry battalions.