ROYAL MARINES RESERVE

ROYAL MARINE RESERVE UNITS

  1. RMR City of London, Jamaica Road, Bermondsey with detachments at Chatham, Portsmouth and Henley-on-Thames
  2. RMR Scotland, Govan, Glasgow with detachments at Dundee, Grangemouth and Greenock
  3. RMR Bristol, Dorset House, Clifton, Bristol with detachments at Cardiff, Plymouth, Poole and Lympstone
  4. RMR Merseyside, Vittoria Docks, Birkenhead with detachments at Birmingham and Manchester
  5. RMR Tyne, The Quayside, Newcastle-on-Tyne

What Can An Employer Do To Help?

Anyone who is accepted to serve in the RMR is required to spend a certain amount of his time training in order to reach the high standards demanded of all who wear the coveted Green Beret. That usually requires an evening a week plus two weekends per month training. Reservists are also expected to spend two weeks per year in continuous training. Some Reservists take their fortnight's training as their annual holiday. There is often some flexibility about when these 14 days can be taken. But others, whose employers actively support their RMR activities, are allowed paid leave in addition to their holiday entitlement. There's no legal compulsion to do this, but it helps the Reservist feel that in order to serve his country he is not losing the opportunity to have at least an annual holiday with his family. The Royal Marines pride themselves as a family Corps and see family support as vital to a successful Reserve.

What's In It For The Employer?

The RMR is made up of tough, self-reliant young men who are encouraged to develop the qualities of leadership, man-management and all-round resilience. And what's useful to the RMR can be a great help in the Reservist's job. Successful recruits are trained to use a wide variety of weapons, to survive in a variety of tough conditions and to achieve set objectives. RMR service encourages responsibility, resourcefulness and the ethic of service, all of which would be assets to any employee in carrying out his daily work.

There is no doubt that a Reservist's civilian job comes first in his list of priorities. Three qualities which would be on the mind of any employer when recruiting would be the candidate's self-discipline, reliability and his ability to take the initiative. Building these central elements of a character forms a large part of the Royal Marines Reservist's training. So you can see that, in exchange for a little time spent in training, the employee's personal qualities and value to an employer could be enormously enhanced by the RMR service.

Employers who have men in the RMR working for them are specially asked to put their own backing behind personal commitment. In practical terms, this means agreeing to holiday dates where these tie in with the annual fortnight's continuous training, which may be in Britain of abroad. Where employees choose to go still further and allow their men additional paid leave, the Royal Marines Reserve is doubly grateful.

Employers can also help by fostering throughout their business the attitude that the company approves of the voluntary service principle and will back any man who is active in this way.

ROYAL MARINES CADETS