Out in the field

Royal Marines Cadets offers young people a different kind of experience, building on the nautical adventure of Sea Cadets with more land-based skills

Joining a Royal Marines Cadets (RMC) detachment is a unique opportunity to learn and develop personal skills such as leadership, teamwork and self-discipline, combining the experience and benefits of being a sea cadet with more land-based activities.

The Royal Marines Cadets Training Syllabus builds on a cadet’s learning of nautical terms, seamanship and the different parts of a vessel, to include basic soldiering skills such as communication, map reading, living under field conditions, fieldcraft, skill at arms and military tactics.

Cadets learn field skills — On a weekend camp cadets learn basic soldiering and field skills

The Royal Marines Cadets journey

As part of Sea Cadets a young person can enrol in a Royal Marines Cadets detachment at age 13. It’s easy to swap to Royal Marines Cadets, just talk to your Detachment Commander and Commanding Officer. To try it out first, sea cadets can carry out detachment, troop and company training, space permitting.

Cadets can also attend Royal Marines Look at Life courses, hosted at Commando Training Centre. Once you have enrolled, you need to complete the Recruit Training Syllabus.

Cadets field training — Royal marines cadets take part in more land-based activities

Qualifications for royal marines cadets

Other opportunities

There are many exciting, high-profile annual events that royal marines cadets can take part in, ranging from Company and Troop Field Exercises, shoots and expeditions, National Trafalgar Parade and Graspan Parade, to regattas and other competitions.

The most exciting event – and the one every royal marines cadet wants to compete in – is the Gibraltar Cup competition. This takes place each spring at the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines (CTCRM) in Lympstone, Devon, and determines which is the Top Royal Marines Cadet Detachment in the Sea Cadet Corps. The competition includes field skills that test the detachments on their leadership, teamwork, knowledge and skill. The Gibraltar Cup was originally presented by the Commandant General Royal Marines (The Head of the Royal Marines) in 1956.

Muddy RMCs at the Gib Cup competition — Competing for the Gibraltar Cup is one of the highlights of being a royal marines cadet

The winners of the ‘Gib Cup’ go on to to compete for the prestigious Portsmouth Cup, also hosted at Lympstone, which decides the Top Royal Marines Cadet Detachment and is competed for against Combined Cadet Force (CCF) RM detachments and The Royal Marines Volunteer Cadet Corps (RMVCC) units.

Photos: Jack Fairey, Sea Cadets