MCRD/ERR PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. -- Since his retirement 13 years ago, retired Capt. Geoffrey Knowles, a former British Royal Marine Commando, has traveled to many Marine Corps bases in the continental United States, bringing his knowledge of the history and traditions of the British Royal Marine Commandos and how they relate to their American counterparts.
Knowles brought a little piece of that knowledge to the Depot during a four-day tour of Parris Island Feb. 16-19, where he visited various recruit training areas and gave motivational speeches to recruits and Marines.
"I make this a mission to myself to talk to the young recruits, particularly Marines," said Knowles, who added that he serves as an "unpaid ambassador" between the military forces in the United Kingdom and America. "I want them to know a little bit about our history and of the traditions taken from us."
While visiting various areas of interest, Knowles said he was particularly impressed by the ample recruit training amenities.
"What impressed me were the facilities, like the auditorium," he said. "The Crucible out there - that's interesting. You have a lot more space than we have. Ours would fit 10 times into here."
During his tour, Knowles took note of some of the similarities and differences in the training it takes to make a U.S. Marine, and what it takes to make a British Royal Marine Commando. One of the similarities he spoke of was the use of various obstacle courses during training.
"You have a Confidence Course, and we have the same thing, but we call it the Tarzan Course," he said. "Except we don't touch the ground - it's continuous. You start at one end and you never touch the ground. You're up in the trees all the time."
Knowles also noted the similarities between hand-to-hand combat training, or "unarmed combat training," in which both U.S. Marines and Commandos learn how to use the knife and bayonet.
Despite the many similarities, there are also many striking differences between the two Corps, said Knowles. One such difference is that a Commando must complete 42 weeks of training in order to graduate, as opposed to 12.
Another difference is there are no women Commandos because "the course is too tough," he said. Aside from a single woman Army soldier who passed the final test "just to prove a point," no other female has ever successfully completed the rigorous demands put forth in order to earn the coveted Commando green beret.
"Our standards are higher than yours," he said. "Commandos have to do, in full combat gear carrying weapons, seven miles in one hour, 14 in two hours, 21 in three hours, and the final thing to get the green beret is to do 30 miles in 4 hours and 20 minutes - in full combat gear."
The way American drill instructors instill discipline into their recruits also differs, he explained.
"When you take an enlisted recruit, you kind of bring him down to the lowest level and build him up to what you want him to be," he said. "We don't do that. We instill discipline, but it's done in a different way. The demands are not given in a harsh voice."
Knowles also explained that pugil sticks, a heavily-padded, gladiator-like bout against recruits, is replaced by boxing.
"Back in my wartime, we used to do bare-knuckle boxing, but we don't do that anymore-things have changed," he said.
As training for U.S. Marine recruits changed over the years, so did training of Commandos since the days when Knowles earned his green beret during World War II, he said.
"When I did my training, it was up in Scotland during World War II, and we used live ammunition fired by a machine gun or rifle on the beach to simulate an actual beach landing," he said. "The instructors shot over your head to make sure you had your head down. If you put your head up, you got it shot off. You hear this thing whistle over your head so you know what it sounds like. You keep your head down, that's for sure."
The differences between the two forces' training methods may be striking. However, the finished product, for the most part, remains the same - all become Marines.
After the conclusion of his tour, Knowles will return to his home to convey his newfound knowledge of U.S. Marine training methods to the British Royal Marines before continuing his trek to Marine Corps bases around the world.