Rebranding lessons from the UK Commando Force

A 5-minute read on why the boldest rebrands reflect real transformation — not just a change of name

On 9 June 2026, at a ceremony in the Quadrangle of Windsor Castle, King Charles III announced the end of an 80-year chapter in British military history. The formation known as 3 Commando Brigade — battle-hardened across the Falklands, the Middle East, and beyond — would henceforth be known as the United Kingdom Commando Force.

For those outside the military world, this might sound like a minor administrative shuffle. For those inside the military, especially those that served in 3 Commando Brigade (myself included) it feels more personal and is tinged with a little pain. But look a little closer and you'll find something that any business strategist, brand consultant, or CEO navigating a changing marketplace will immediately recognise: a decision that reflects a fundamental shift in what the organisation does, who it serves, and how it operates.

So what's changed?

3 Commando Brigade was, for decades, exactly what its name suggested: a large-scale amphibious brigade, built to assault defended coastlines, seize beachheads, and operate as a massed fighting formation. It was structured, branded, and positioned for a specific kind of conflict — think the Falklands in 1982, storming ashore at San Carlos Water. The brand was synonymous with scale, amphibious power, and concentrated force.

In business terms, think of a well-established high street retailer whose name, heritage, and entire business operation were based on the physical store. It worked brilliantly — until the internet came along. We can all name businesses that ignored how this changed the fundamental ecosystem, and their refusal to adapt saw them disappear completely (Blockbuster, I'm looking at you).

The Market Changed. The Mission Changed.

The transformation that led to the rebrand of 3 Commando Brigade didn't happen overnight. It began quietly in 2017, as commanders recognised that the battlefield itself was evolving. Drone warfare, dispersed operations, the vulnerability of massed formations to precision attack — the lessons of Ukraine made these realities impossible to ignore.

The new operating environment demanded something different: small, agile, technologically advanced teams capable of operating independently across vast distances with greater reach, longer endurance, and deep self-sufficiency. The future wasn't massed brigades storming beaches. It was highly specialised strike teams, deployed globally, blending human skill with cutting-edge uncrewed systems, surveillance technology, and digital communications.

There was a blurring of the lines between the traditional Commando companies and the Special Forces operators within the Royal Marines operations. Unit became smaller, more agile and yet, even more potent. The "product" had fundamentally changed. And the old name no longer described it.

Sound familiar? This is precisely the moment many businesses face when digital disruption, shifting customer behaviour, or a change in competitive landscape means the old identity no longer fits. The services have evolved. The customer has changed. The operating model is unrecognisable from a decade ago. But the name — and all the assumptions attached to it — hasn't kept pace.

What a Genuine Rebrand Looks Like

Here is where the military's approach offers a masterclass in authentic rebranding rather than cosmetic rebranding.

The Royal Navy didn't simply slap a new name on the same structure and call it done. The transformation came first. Over nearly a decade, the force introduced new crewed and uncrewed vessels, aerial and surface drones, advanced surveillance systems, updated weapons, and a wholesale rethink of tactics and organisational structure. The name change followed the transformation — it didn't precede it.

General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, the First Sea Lord and Commandant General Royal Marines, was explicit on this point: "This is more than a name change — it reflects a decade of transformation." The Royal Marines had evolved, he said, "from a very high readiness amphibious brigade into a modern, globally deployed Commando Force."

This is the critical lesson for any business considering a rebrand. A new logo, a new name, or a fresh tagline applied to an unchanged organisation is just wallpaper. Customers — like soldiers — see through it immediately. The rebrand only carries credibility when the underlying transformation is real.

Of course, no rebrand of a beloved institution is without controversy. A poll of Forces News readers found that 65% felt military traditions and identities should be preserved. Critics — including former officers — argued that the name change risked obscuring proud history, or worse, providing cover for budget cuts and personnel reductions.

These are not unreasonable concerns, and they echo debates that play out in boardrooms every time a legacy brand considers reinvention. How do you honour what made you great without being imprisoned by it?

The answer the UK Commando Force chose was to acknowledge the heritage explicitly while making clear it was a foundation, not a ceiling. The Royal Navy noted that the 3 Commando Brigade name "will continue to remain a key part of Royal Marines Commando history and will continue to inspire today's Commando Force." The history wasn't erased. It will be carried forward as a source of pride and values. The commando ethos — the values and qualities that are drilled into recruits during the longest military training program in the world are even more relevant in the new organisation. The Commando Mindset: first to understand, first to adapt, first to overcome, is perfectly suited to the new role.

The best commercial rebrands do exactly this. When a company sheds a name, identity, or market position that no longer serves it, the strongest moves retain the values and trust that the old brand earned while clearly signalling that something genuinely new has arrived.

The Bottom Line

The birth of the UK Commando Force is, at its heart, a story about an organisation that had the courage to ask an uncomfortable question: does our name still describe what we actually are?

The answer, after honest reflection, was no. The marketplace — the global security environment — had changed beyond recognition. The customers — government, allies, the operational commanders who deploy this force — needed something different. And the organisation had already spent years quietly building that something different before it ever considered changing the sign above the door.

Whether it's a military organisation or a business navigating disruption, the lesson is the same.

Rebrand when the transformation is real. Lead with substance. Let the name follow.

The role may have changed, but the pride in wearing the coveted green beret hasn't.

Sources: Royal Navy, Forces News, Naval Today, UK Defence Journal