Portuguese Marine Corps

1851–1924: Corps of Military Seamen

In 1851, the decision was taken to militarize the sailors, with the creation of the Corps of Military Seamen (Corpo de Marinheiros Militares). This Corps started to be responsible for the providing of the ships' crews. It was organized in 22 crew companies, each one subdivided in two half-companies, plus a depot company. Each of these companies and half companies was intended to constitute the crew of a ship, in rotation. All seamen of the Corps received a general training that included seamanship, artillery, infantry, bladed weapon combat, boarding and amphibious landing. In each company, a number of seamen received an advanced training in naval artillery, constituting its squad or artillerymen. This military training meant that the seamen were able to assume the responsibility to perform also the role of naval infantry when needed, what made unnecessary the existence of the Naval Battalion, which was then dissolved.

From this date, whenever there was a need to perform an amphibious operation, landing detachments were constituted with seamen taken from the ships' crews. For the colonial campaigns of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and for the World War I, larger naval infantry forces and naval battalions were organized in the Corps of Seamen itself.

1924–1934

In 1924, a permanent unit of naval infantry was again created, this being the new Naval Guard Brigade (Brigada da Guarda Naval). However, it ceased to exist in 1934, with the role of naval infantry being again entirely assumed by the regular seamen when needed.

1960–present

The Elite Navy Commandos only reappeared as permanent force in 1961. In 1960, four members of the Portuguese Navy (one officer and three enlisted sailors) were selected to attend the Commando Course at the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines in Lympstone, England, completing it successfully and leading, in 1961, to the establishment of the Navy’s Commando force—the Fuzileiros. Upon their return in early 1961, the Portuguese Navy formally established the Fuzileiros as an elite counter-guerrilla commando force to meet the demands of the Overseas War that began that year.

Following Royal Marines Commandos tradition, those first cadres adopted the green beret—worn pulled to the right with the bronze-shield (Globe and Laurel) badge above the left eye—to signify commando qualification. However, Portugal's airborne forces (Paratroopers' Regiment), who were the first Portuguese to wear any beret (a dark-forest green) starting in 1956, already used green headgear. To avoid confusion, the Fuzileiros chose a distinct dark navy-blue beret.

The starting the formation of the Elite Navy Commando Force Fuzileiros. The Fuzileiros were created in 1961 as counter-guerrilla navy special forces, corresponding to the Portuguese Navy's need to have units specially adapted to this type of warfare, which it had to face within the scope of the Overseas War, which began in 1961. With the beginning of the Portuguese Colonial War. Besides the Marines School (Escola de Fuzileiros), two types of operational marine units were created at that time, these being the detachments of special marines (DFE, destacamentos de fuzileiros especiais) and the companies of marines (CF, companhias de fuzileiros). While the DFE were designed to operate as Marine Raiders units, the CF were focused in the naval patrolling and in the defense of naval ships and facilities. During this war, and up to 1975, more than 14,000 marines fought in Portuguese Guinea, Angola and Mozambique.

Until 1975, a unified Marine Corps Command did not exist, with the diverse DFE and CF being separate units, depending from the several naval and maritime defense commands of the areas where they operated. In this year, the Marine Corps (Corpo de Fuzileiros) was created, unifying all marine units under a single command and become Elite Raid Force. Since 2021, the Portuguese Marine Corps have been undergoing restructuring, with the implementation of the new 'light and fast' concept. This approach enables the application of guerrilla tactics from sea to land, emphasizing mobility, maneuverability, surprise, and superior training as key elements. The goal is to create an elite Marine Commando force, capable of moving, infiltrating, and withdrawing with complete surprise.