Picking a Marine to run Navy shows China that Britain is serious about amphibious warfare
The appointment of Gen Sir Gwyn Jenkins, a Royal Marines officer, as head of the Royal Navy is a massive vote of confidence in the 'Future Commando Force' concept by the Prime Minister and Ministry of Defence (MoD)
The First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff, to give Gen Sir Gwyn his full title, is responsible for commanding the 'dark blue' part of the Navy – the ships, submarines and aircraft that project Britain's global maritime power (which has admittedly been eroded by decades of underfunding).
But he also commands the 6,000 or so Royal Marines who are expected to storm enemy beaches once safely delivered to combat zones by their sister organisation.
The problem in recent years has been twofold. First, that phrase, 'safely delivered'.
With modern anti-ship missiles able to reach hundreds of miles out to sea and ubiquitous surveillance from satellites and drones, just getting to the fight has been seen in recent years as a huge problem, one which has focused the minds of those in the Ministry of Defence who wear Royal Navy uniforms.
The second problem causing some angst to Britain's naval planners – and particularly those from the Royal Marines – has been how to fight in territory held (or dominated) by an enemy force, even if our own troops can make it safely to the shore.
Future Commando Force concept
These two issues have led to the development of the Future Commando Force concept: an amphibious group able to defend itself at sea, project force onto land and take the fight to the enemy once ashore.
Finding a way to do this effectively in the face of fearsome (mainly Chinese) capabilities that can render such an outfit irrelevant has taken considerable teamwork from both sides of the Navy.
Gen Sir Gwyn is seen as the perfect champion to lead this work, having a foot in both camps and a deep understanding of the capabilities of each in the face of a challenge that is worsening daily.
Senior Royal Navy officers have already told The Telegraph that Gen Sir Gwyn's appointment is a positive endorsement of the Future Commando Force concept.
It marks a significant uptick in the fortunes of the Royal Marines.
With the UK re-focused on global conflict after the expeditionary years in Iraq and Afghanistan, some analysts had cautioned that the days of amphibious forces were over.
Power projection, they argued, would come from the air, through long-range precision missiles and drones knocking out enemy defences. Regular infantry from the Army could then be dropped off by friendly naval ships to march into the newly-acquired territory.
What would the point be of expensive specialised amphibious troops such as the Royal Marines, if the concept of surviving, let alone fighting one's way into such an environment had been rendered irrelevant by technology?
To accept that maxim, however, would be an act of self-deterrence and an endorsement of one of the key theories of Sun Tzu as he wrote in The Art of War.
The ancient Chinese philosopher theorised that the supreme art of war was to subdue the enemy without fighting. He advocated achieving victory through strategic manoeuvring, diplomacy and the display of military might to make an enemy force decide it was not worth fighting in the first place.
The Future Commando Force has looked at this problem and decided against self-deterrence.
It is believed that small, aggressive groups, highly supported by technology such as secure communications, drones and radars, and operating in concert when required can get inside an area dominated by an enemy force (under the somewhat clunkily titled Anti-Access/Area Denial, or A2AD, umbrella) and project sufficient power to hold on until heavier forces arrive.
Such a force does not come cheap, however, and will require some reorganisation not just of the Navy and Marines, but also Britain's Army, which would be required to offer supporting functions.
Cash and the desire for more tinkering with the organisation chart are currently in short supply.
However, it is an idea very much in line with current thinking in the US Marine Corps (if not totally bought-into yet by the wider US Navy), the cousins alongside whom Britain's commando forces, based around a core of Royal Marines, might have to fight if China decided to test Taiwan's defences and the world's appetite to reject military conquest.
Britain's maritime planners – both Navy and Marine – hope the 'Future' part of the concept will be jettisoned in the Government's long-delayed Strategic Defence Review, currently inching tortuously towards publication this summer.
The endorsement of the Prime Minister, through the appointment of Gen Sir Gwyn, suggests that is a likely scenario. The US, and China, will have taken note.
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