The King has reminisced about taking on the infamous Royal Marines “sheep dip” exercise obstacle when he watched Kenyan Marines being put through their paces.
The marines, who are being trained by the Royal Marines and US Marine Corps, are part of a five-year programme to create a marine corps which can help combat the al Qaida-inspired al-Shabab on the Somali border.
The King and Queen watched as 18 Kenyan Marines in inflatable boats landed on a beach at Mtongwe Naval Base near Mombasa and laid down a barrage of fire – blanks only – from their M4 carbines after coming under attack from a defensive position on the beach.
A 10-strong specialist training team from the Royal Marines’ 40 Commando put 26 Kenyan Marines through 12 weeks of intensive training, and the first cohort of the newly created Kenyan Marine Commando Unit (KMCU) completed the course on May 5.
The aim is for the KMCU to become an elite fighting force that can conduct specialised amphibious operations to weaken and disrupt threats in the region.
Captain Sam Powell, of 40 Commando, who spoke to the King after the training exercise, said: “We talked about Lympstone and the all arms course.
“The King’s done part of that course before. He was reminiscing about the sheep dip, which is part of the endurance course.
“It is essentially a submerged tunnel that you dive through and underneath and then come out the other side. So you have to hold your breath as you go underneath it.”
