Royal Marines have stormed the beaches of North Carolina but don’t worry, it’s just an exercise.

British forces took part in what the US Marines are describing as ‘the largest, most dynamic war game staged on the Eastern Seaboard this year’.

Exercise Bold Alligator sees personnel from around the world converge on Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

45 Commando from Arbroath accepted the invite alongside troops from Norway, France, Canada, Brazil, the French Foreign Legion, and Mexico.

Bold Alligator reached its climax with the ‘liberation’ of North Carolina. It fell to the Royal Marines to move ashore from a ship and retake MOUT, the Military Operation Urban Terrain facility, a replica town where troops can practise and rehearse close-quarters battle and explosive and mechanical ‘methods of entry’ drills.

“Camp Lejeune is over one and a half times the size of the Isle of Wight, so this gives us the opportunity to do some really large-scale training,” explained Sub Lieutenant Johnny Danks, 45’s Education Officer in a press release.

45 Commando deployed with their Jackal vehicles. Vehicles the MoD say are designed for rapid assault and fire support.

Lieutenant Colonel Duncan Forbes, Commanding Officer of 45 Commando, said both the exercise and the setting had been just what his unit needed.

“The training areas of Camp Lejeune provide the perfect ranges to practise our firing and manoeuvres – we can practice and repeat serials, consistently improving and testing ourselves in new scenarios.

“Overall Bold Alligator has been a fantastic opportunity for us to hone our amphibious skills in a fast-paced and complex scenario with our closest international partners.

“Our ability to launch from the sea at a time and place of our choosing and to fulfil a variety of roles, from amphibious operations to disaster relief, as we’ve seen in the Caribbean over the last few weeks, is a skill unique to the Royal Marine Commandos.”