Marine Corps Rejects Reports That It ‘Surrendered’ To British Forces During Exercise
The U.K. Royal Marines that reportedly trounced a U.S. Marines Corps unit were actually fighting right alongside other American Marines.
By Joseph Trevithick November 4, 2021
"During this exercise, a U.S. Marine Regiment augmented with subordinate units formed an adversary force to actively challenge and test a peer regiment of U.S. Marines," the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC) at Twentynine Palms told The War Zone in a statement. "This training opportunity increased warfighting readiness and interoperability of the U.S. Marine Corps with multinational forces."This is the particularly important immediate context that many of the initial media reports at best glossed over. The Royal Marines were attached to a larger force that included elements of the U.S. Marine Corps itself, as well as Canadian, Dutch, and Emirati troops. The British contingent reportedly worked directly alongside personnel from the Marine Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) and the UAE's Presidential Guard, a specialized force modeled after the U.S. Marines, among other elements, for this exercise.
"This training opportunity increased warfighting readiness and interoperability of the U.S. Marine Corps with multinational forces. Exercise scenarios are adjusted as needed to assist commanders in meeting training objectives," the statement from the MCAGCC continued. "'Winners' are never determined. This exercise does not provide an opportunity to 'surrender,' 'keep score,' or 'reset.' The objective of the exercise is to heighten unit performance and increase readiness."
Thanks for the reply. Looks like s sensationalized story to me too with this info.