August 3rd 2010
After his evening at Hasler Company Alan was truly humbled by the spirit throughout the whole unit and said that to see and talk to men adapting to their individual situations in the way they were is more inspiring than words could ever explain…..
Based in HMS DRAKE , HM Naval Base Devonport, Plymouth, Hasler Company was formed as a new unit by The Royal Navy and Royal Marines specifically to help aid the recovery, rehabilitation and re-integration of Marines needing focussed and individual attention.
It was officially opened on Monday 7 September 2009 by the Commander of 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines, Brigadier Gordon Messenger.
Hasler Company is dedicated to the specific and complex needs of seriously injured and ill Royal Marines who require specially tailored programmes in order to provide additional bespoke support. It is based in HMS Drake, HM Naval Base Devonport, Plymouth.
The addition of this new Royal Marine unit builds on the growing reputation of HS Drake as a centre of excellence for military therapeutic services – along with the South West Regional Rehabilitation Unit (RRU) which has been further endorsed recently by Government ministers.
HMS Drake is also home to the Khumbu Challenge 09 – a mountaineering expedition that took place in autumn 2009 for various troops recovering from war or accidents.
The new company is designed to assist the existing local recovery troops embedded within each Royal Marine Commando unit such as 40 Commando, 42 Commando and 45 Commando, by taking on the more complex and traumatic cases as they are better placed to give the dedicated and specific attention such cases demand. Whilst not divorcing the man entirely from his previous unit, the transfer of executive responsibility to Hasler Company does allow the frontline units to maintain the necessary focus on the operations being undertaken and the demanding preparation work they require.
It also gives the casualty a new and real sense of belonging, a key person in a new bespoke company alongside like-minded people who will help and support each other, a concept that has been proven to give greater results, mentally and physically.
It will provide executive management and administration of the Royal Marines needing various specialised services provided by other organisations, such as the RRU, DMRC Headley Court and others. The aim is to assist them on their ‘recovery pathway’ and ultimately return them to operational life or prepare them for a new and equally productive life outside the service.
The new Company has been named ‘Hasler’ in honour of Lieutenant Colonel Herbert George ‘Blondie’ Hasler DSO OBE (1914-1987), who was a distinguished Royal Marines Officer during WW2 and one of the ‘Cockleshell Heroes’. He had led the operation (Operation Frankton) and, along with Marine Bill Sparks, was one of the two that successfully escaped and survived. He has been chosen as he achieved great things during his time in the Corps but in addition to this, having later been invalided from the Service, he achieved other significant feats in his civilian life, notably within the world of sailing where he invented and designed pioneering steering equipment plus he instigated and undertook the first Observer Single-handed Transatlantic Race (OSTAR) from Plymouth to New York, in his yacht ‘Jester’, competing against 4 other entrants including Sir Francis Chichester in his ‘Gypsy Moth III’.
In fact he is arguably more recognised around the globe for his work within the sailing world as a civilian than his Marines career. The intention is that Colonel Hasler will stand as a fine example to the men within Hasler Company, that while they may be worried and disheartened by the possibility of life outside the Marines, it is still possible to set new goals and, using their in-built Commando spirit and determination, achieve them very successfully.
