Royal Navy Perisher Course

The Toughest Command Course in the World

‘Perisher’ (as the Submarine Command Course is better known) is a 24-week course all officers must take prior to serving as an Executive Officer on board a Royal Navy Submarine. It has been run twice a year since 1917, usually starting on 2 July and 14 November each year. It is widely regarded as one of the toughest command courses in the world, with a historical failure rate of 25%. If at any point during the training a candidate is withdrawn from training he will be nominated for boat transfer and kept occupied until the transfer. His bag is packed for him and he is notified of the failure when the boat arrives. On departure he is presented with a bottle of whisky. A failure on Perisher means that the unsuccessful candidate is not permitted to return to sea as a member of the Submarine Service (although they are still allowed to wear the dolphin badge). He is, however, permitted to remain in the Royal Navy, moving into the surface fleet. In more recent years, the United States Navy has sent some of its own submariner officers to undergo the ‘Perisher’, in order to foster and maintain closer links with the Royal Navy. Since the Royal Navy no longer operates diesel-electric submarines, in 1995 the Royal Netherlands Navy has taken over the Perisher course for these boats from the British, and annually host a course that is attended by candidate submarine commanders from multiple navies around the world