A top-ranking officer from 45 Commando says the unit will always have a bond with the people of Angus.
The marines are due to leave RM Condor by 2015, bringing to an end a relationship with Arbroath that has been in place for more than four decades.
Major Pete Hoare of OC Base Company has been stationed at the site for 34 years and said the latest instruction to ship out was not the first time a change of base had been mooted.
”We have been told to prepare for a move in 2015, but that is four years away,” he said. ”I have been here for 34 years and almost every one of those years I have heard that 45 Commando has been moving down south.
”We can only move when we are told to move and in the meantime we are very happy to be here. The unit has been here for more than 40 years and we have always had fantastic support from the people of Arbroath and the wider Angus area.
”At the moment all we have been told is that there is a proposal to move us south, but we have not been given any firm details. We will carry on doing what we are doing until told otherwise.”
Angus Council is set to carry out a full impact assessment in anticipation of 45 Commando being replaced by the army at RM Condor. The reshuffle was part of the same UK Government defence review that saw a decision taken to close the airbase at RAF Leuchars.
Since the unit arrived in 1971, generations of marines have settled in Arbroath, a town that now has strong ties to the base and is the home of the Angus branch of the Royal Marines Association.
Maj Hoare said the county is the preferred location for many of the English recruits, who live in the northern cities.
He said: ”A lot of the guys who serve in Arbroath have married locally and that is one of the reasons why we get such good support here.
”We talk about the M62 corridor, which runs up from Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle, and to a lot of the northern guys it is more convenient here because it’s closer to home and lets them get back from time to time.”
The final troops with 45 Commando returned to the UK last month, following a six-month tour in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. There were no fatalities during their stay, although some marines sustained serious injuries and others lost limbs in explosions.
Following a break over the festive period, the unit will be back into training in preparation for their next mission.
Maj Hoare said: ”They are off Christmas and New Year and back on January 9, ready to restart training for the next round of deployment. We have had a busy year, but the guys will soon be going away again on exercise or deployment.
”I am not sure where the next deployment will be, but as a fast response unit we are ready to deploy at all times.
”Our time in Afghanistan really moved the campaign forward. We successfully brought the north and south of Nad-e Ali into one combined area and that is tribute to Lieutenant Colonel Oliver Lee and everybody associated with the unit.”
He added: ”I would like to offer sincere thanks to the people of Arbroath and Angus for their support over the last 12 months, on behalf of all the men of 45 Commando.”
Until recently Nad-e Ali was a launchpad for insurgents to attack International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Afghan troops, as well as civilians.
45 Commando built up relationships with locals, turning them against the Taliban to gain intelligence, and officers claim the area is now 86% less violent than it was during the unit’s previous tour.
The first marines to be based at the Condor base came to Arbroath after the base was vacated by the Flee Air Arm 40 years ago. At that time, a decision was taken to be closer to Norway to allow the UK to deal with the Soviet threat.
In 2003 the unit’s importance to the area was officially recognised when, shortly after they returned from service in Iraq, they paraded through the town centre after they had been granted the freedom of Arbroath.