Training, which also involves the French and Albanian military, starts with a beach assault by the Royal Marines in Cornwall until 9 October, before the entire RFTG force meets up in the Mediterranean later in the month.

BBC: HMS Illustrious

The British soldiers will include units from 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, 3 Commando Brigade, 16 Air Assault Brigade and 45 Commando Royal Marines.

CNN: UK troops ready for Afghan role

The Marines were traveling in an amphibious assault vehicle.

NPR: Looking at Armored Troop Transports in Iraq

What the Marines needed was a successor to their Amphibious Assault Vehicle, or AAV, that debuted in 1972.

FORBES: Marines Fight For Crucial Vehicle As Budget Cuts Loom

The group includes 2, 100 marines aboard a group of vessels led by the assault ship USS Bataan .

BBC: F/A-18C prepares to launch from the USS Enterprise

But we're just describing to you what I'm looking at -- the charred AAV, an amphibious assault vehicle, is basically one of those armored personnel carriers the Marines are using.

CNN: Alessio Vinci: Marines come under fire

He said the marines had been tipped off by the locals and warned of the assault.

NPR: Thai Marines Kill 16 Militants Who Attacked Base

Few capabilities are more indispensable to the future combat effectiveness of the Marines than those that enable troops and equipment to be rapidly and survivably transported from assault ships over the beach and around the battle zone.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Center for Security Policy | ��Do The Right Thing��: Congressional Defense Choices For The Post-Kuwait World