I hope this is of some help!
I hope this is of some help!
Hi mate,
Right, I little bit about my back ground first. I am a serving Royal Marines Commando at the moment on 845 Sqn. Prior to doing my aircrew job I was a Royal Marines recruit instructor for 18 moths having taking 2 troops worth through, during that time. I have a vast amount of knowledge of what it would take to prepare you for and what would be expected of you starting the All Arms.
Firstly, fitness! I am sure you have heard at the rumours about the level of fitness required to start the course and to be honest most of them are probably true! In my opinion you should aim to get as fit as possible, without carrying any injuries at all. You would need to mainly concentrate on your CV fitness, being able to run eight miles with ease. Also try and do as much interval training as possible as this will pay diver dent to you thought out the physical side of the course. Also try and aim to be able to do about 40 ish push up’s, 10 over hand pull up’s and 60 ish sit up’s in a row comfortably. If you can achieve that level of fitness, it’s a good base to work off at the start of the course. The main thing I want to emphasize is turning up WITHOUT any injuries!!! Also, I would only recommend a small amount of training in boots, carrying weight. If this is don’t wrong, it will potentially cause you a lot of injuries. Just do some light ish runs with well fitting boots
Secondly, know your weapons. You should be very proficient on your 5.56 IW, LSW and the GPMG. Try and be able to do all your wpn drills without making mistakes and as quickly as possible. Noting is more frustrating than re-teaching somebody that should already know this. Trust me on that! On the course you will be expected to carry these wpn’s and know how to use them.
Thirdly, on the field craft and navigation side of thing, turn up, fully up to speed at the stuff your were taught in basic training. Wpn cleaning, personal admin should be second nature, as you wont have time to be re-taught on course. Also I would strongly recommend that you can use a compass and map read, to a reasonably good standard. This will help you no end on course and will make it less stressful if you do have to do any navigation or compass re-teaching!
Lastly, you have the right mental attitude to pass the course as it very physically demanding. I have seen on a number occasions, guys which are more than fit enough fail, as they have convinced them selves that they not going to pass! Have that going through your head, is the beginning of the end for you!
To summarise, get fit, carry no injuries and have the right mental attitude and you stand as good as chance as any to pass
I hope this has been of some help for you. If you have any other questions then feel free to PM me and I will answer them as best I can for you. Good luck if you manage to get on a course in the future.
DT_Xtremez_42: In my youth though and medically downgraded for nearly a year afterwards, worth picking the brains of someone with more recent experience, I have no doubt it is still a serious commitment.