SA Navy Marine
 

Hi Alex or anyone else....

I thought you might like this pic...apparently taken on the border but showing a SA Navy Marine. What I find interesting is that besides his Kielick Anchor, he has a Company badge above it. (If my mind serves me right this one was HQ Company ?)

I did not know that the Navy wore these, not sure what colour the Navy would have worn. I know ours as Infantry were Green, Black and a Yellow combination. 31 Battalion (Omega Bushmen Battalion) wore Black and White combos.

Can we have some clarification on these.

Brian

(Why would you use a night scope during the day is anyone's guess...maybe that is why the Navy should remain on the sea and leave the land fighting to the Infantry!)

Hi Brian
That's a very interesting pic. I never thought the marines used company badges. I saw a lot of marines in browns over the years and don't remember ever seeing that, so I assume it was just used on the border?
Cheers,
Alex

I should add that even though the photo isn't clear, it looks like standard infantry colours on the badge to me.

Have attached a chart drawn a while ago that illustrates all the army colours. It is possible that this bloke was transferred from the army to the navy and just did not take off the company sign.

Alex

Yes, the more I look at it it would appear to be standard infantry, in this case with Dudley's help "E" Company.

I have since been told that a number of selected Marines trained with the Infantry at the Infantry School in Oudsthoorn.

According to the source these Marines and were all allocated to the various different companies, a sort of composite training set-up between the Navy and the Army. They did not want them training separately in their own Marine Company, full integration with the army guys was the order of the day. This could very well explain the wearing of the Infantry Company Signs on their sleeves, as seen in this picture.

Something for your 2nd Impression Alex, thought you would like this.

Brian

Hi Brian/Alex, I chatted to a guy about a year ago who did his officers course at Oudtshoorn. He was in the marines. He says after that they were deployed in Angola as infantry, but were all marines together. They did 6 months in Angola. After that they were sent to the Marines base in the Caprivi. Regards Andrew