If history has shown us anything it is that we, as an island nation, need a strong, flexible and adaptable fighting force. No-where is this more embodied than in our marvellous Royal Marines. They are the envy of the world due to their intensive training and self-sufficiency and feared throughout the world of any who would wish us harm. Their flexibility was shown once again recently helping those victims of terrible natural disasters – who was there first?.. Of course HM Royal Marines! These fine men need our support and we should be demanding that their strength be INCREASED not decreased. We, as a nation, need them focused on the job in hand not wondering if they’ll have a job tomorrow. An amphibious force need amphibious landing ability- properly maintained and at readiness to keep this precious island of ours safe. As someone once said “I don’t know the effect on the enemy- but they scare the hell out of me”! Long may it remain so.

Historically the Royal Marines have proven to be the Country's sheet anchor in troubled times. They have always been the force that achieves what it is tasked to do plus they have always been highly respected by the opposition military forces and by the local population in combat zones. The RM work on the hearts and minds of the local population when "in theatre" and as a consequence they not only reassure the local population but also they glean a significant amount off useful intelligence. They have always been successful when amphibious operations have been required by circumstances; the RM Commandos are more than capable of successfully taking the fight to the enemy as frequently evidenced in WW2, Korea, Malaya, North Borneo and latterly Afghanistan. Humane operations have been carried out as well using the amphibious assault ships as bases for disaster relief in many areas across the world, most recently in the West Indies. It was a pretty poor show overall but HMS Albion and the embarked Marines redeemed the situation to their great credit. We need the Royal Marines and we need the Amphibious capability, the Government would do our Country down if they were to lose either, it would be sheer folly. Once lost we will never recover them in any sensible timescale. THEY MUST BE RETAINED.

I served for 25 years in the Army from boy until a man at 40 years old. Apart from the Navy itself, i would suggest that the Marines and the amphibious ships are the most important part of or armed forces. To loose either would be, I dont know how to tell people like you just how stupid doing so would be.

A Governments 1st duty is to protect the country, it’s people and it’s resources. All Armed Forces are important but being an island amphibious Forces are particularly important, some of our resources are off the coast, trade (shipping) is extremely important to the UK. A reduction of the Royal Marines will mean a reduction in the Special Boat Service, at least in selection ability. There would be a dramatic reduction in morale following any further loss in Royal Navy Forces, causing a dramatic reduction in our ability to react to situations arising from foreign states, terrorists or natural disasters at home and abroad. All our Armed Services have been cut to the bone in favour of wasting money on Foreign Aid and vanity projects such as HS2 which wil be out of date before completion and not be used by 90% of the population.

Thank you for the opportunity to write in support of the online petition against cuts to the Royal Marines amphibious shipping. The Royal Marines and their supporting amphibious ships are of immense value to the UK both as military assets and for disaster relief and humanitarian purposes. Our amphibious capability has been carefully maintained as part of a balanced fleet which is highly valued by our allies and respected by potential adversaries. Merely as a force in being they have a deterrent value. The Royal Marines have extremely high standards of training which make them some of the most adaptable and effective military units of the UK. Without the capabilities of the heavy lift and armour carrying of the Albion Class ships our facility to intervene in a hostile environment is negated. This is made even more important because of the intended withdrawal of HMS Ocean and her helicopter assault capability in 2018. The Royal Marines traditional role will be reduced to light raiding. Few of our allies have heavy lift capability and they are unlikely to commit ships to support us for purely UK operations. The policy of having one Albion Class ship at extended readiness since the 2010 Defence Review has been a 'least worst' option and could be extended rather than dispose of these relatively new ships. Having fewer Royal Marines will affect the previously balanced force structure of the Corps and make their supporting units less relevant. In the supposed 'year of the Royal Navy' continuing speculation in the last months about impending major cuts to the Fleet has undoubtedly undermined morale and affected recruiting to address acute and chronic shortages of Naval personnel. Finally, although the talk has been of disposal of the present amphibious ships we must be looking ahead to the continuation of a balanced helicopter assault and armour and heavy lift capability in the future. This may mean designing and procuring new ships of a different design to the current fleet.

The RMs are a small, highly trained part of the MOD. They have more than proved themselves. They can be ready to act almost immediately. It would be utter madness to disband them or reduce their capabilities. In the areas where the commando units are, they are an economic lifeline. How do I know? I lived there!

Military cuts over the past few years have been a case of cut and regret later, our armed forces are depleted and despite clear warnings about further cuts they are shockingly still being considered. The marines are a vital part of the UK's military and the amphibious capability is a vital part of our ability to project our forces on a global scale in times of peace or in war. These proposed cuts should not occur.

I am a former soldier and Iraq veteran who has worked with the Royal Marines on a number of occasions. I understand that there are many demands on the defence budget at the moment in the context of the current economic situation and I'm always saddened to see the cuts being made to proud military units. However, the Royal Marines' amphibious capability supported by the Navy's assault ships is such a flexible organisation with the ability to be tasked to a number of different roles, from beach landings to humanitarian aid or evacuations, that to cut it would be a serious blow, not just to our military capability but also the support we can offer to our allies and Commonwealth nations in times of crisis. Given that the Navy's ability to project force over greater distances is being enhanced by the commissioning of the two new carriers and the introduction of the F35, having an effective, specialist and rapidly deployable amphibious force would compliment and extend the capabilities offered by the aircraft carriers. I think that the military should look very hard at the way they are organised and structured to seek efficiency savings in top management and duplication of support and training establishments within the three services. Taking away the tribal rivalries between the Army and Air Force, with the reduced numbers of officers required do we still need separate officer training colleges at Sandhurst and Cranwell? Could the RAF's support helicopter force be operated more efficiently by the Army removing the need for the Joint Helicopter Command and leaving the RAF free to concentrate on fast jets, ISTAR and transport?

These forces are vital and have been the backbone in water borne conflict but have been proven time and time again in peacetime as seen in the Caribbean during this year's hurricanes. Brexit should make these forces even more vital as a stronger armed forces is needed now more than ever. How else do you deliver personnel and equipment in areas a plane can't get to or land? We waiste money in many areas but this asset is worth every penny and more.

The Royal Navy has three principal war fighting objectives; maintenance of the Continuous-At-Sea-Deterrent, Anti-submarine Warfare and Amphibious warfare. It is our capability in the latter of these that allows the UK to deter non-nuclear aggression by foreign powers against our interests overseas. Let us not forget that it was NOT the RAF that won the Falklands War, it was our exceptional amphibious war fighting assets that allowed us to put boots on the ground protected by maritime air power. Recent governments obsession with slashing defence spending is dangerous in the extreme. We NEED the Royal Marines and we need a full spectrum amphibious warfare capability.