Marines recruits look like they need a good wash
THESE Marines recruits look like they’re going to need a good shower after this muddy mission.
The fearsome ‘mud run’ is part of the tough training regime they must complete before joining the elite Green Beret regiment.
Based in Commando Training Centre, Lympstone, the exercise is unique because the nearby River Exe is one of the few waterways that recedes back so far, leaving such a large stretch of foul-smelling mud.
Raw recruits are told to get on their bellies and crawl through it as a right-of-passage to becoming a member of the world-renowned unit.
Corporal Tom Limb, Troop Commander for 164 Recruit Troop, said: “There are two key aims we’re trying to achieve.
“Firstly, instilling the ethos of team work and the Commando qualities of courage, determination and cheerfulness.
“The troop are still early on in their training and they’ve not yet started to gel as a single unit which is important.
“The second is discipline. They understand what is expected of them, but their discipline levels aren’t where they are supposed to be at this stage.
“Eventually, after training and passing out they will be deployed with a Commando unit elsewhere, ready to go out on operational duties.
“So any discipline issues, to do with basic things like shaving and cleaning weapons that they are constantly forgetting to do, need to be ironed out early on so they don’t manifest later when they’re deployed.
“Hopefully the run will have achieved its aim.”
