Royal Marines and their Reservist counterparts have spent four weeks in Entebbe training the Uganda People’s Defence Force in maritime operations. The purpose is to pass on their specialist knowledge of amphibious assaults.

Royal Marines training the UPDF (Ugandan People Defense Force) in Entebbe, Uganda (Picture source : Royal Navy )

Over the past few weeks, the Plymouth-based commandos and Royal Marines Reserves Merseyside worked as a Short-Term Training Team showing the Ugandan forces how to assault beaches and board and search vessels. Their work was on behalf of the tri-service British Peace Support Team (Africa) which provides support on the request from different nations.

The training has been split between ground combat and working with their coxswains as their tasking in Mogadishu, Somalia, will see them patrol the fisheries and the sea. The Royal Marines took to the water with the Uganda’s People Defence Force, using Lake Victoria to practise boarding. They also gave advice on handling the boats and how to conduct raids along the shoreline. Meanwhile, the Green Berets also showed them how to carry out patrols, man checkpoints and what to do in scenarios such as trafficking.

The marines have been completing the training in humid and muggy conditions with forces who have English as their second language. The language barrier has been one of the biggest challenges as they mainly speak Swahili.

As well as working with the Ugandan forces, the Royal Marines took time to organise a sports day for a primary school which included relay races and a full-school tug-of-war.