Bulgarian special forces and Royal Marines to enhance interoperability in joint training exercise
The exercise between the Royal Marines and Bulgarian commandoes has been a successful operation in strengthening interoperability between NATO allies. (Photo: UK MoD/Crown Copyright)
Bulgaria's special forces have teamed up with the Royal Marines for their largest UK deployment in a decade.
Bulgarian elite troops have deployed to the UK for their biggest training exercise of its kind in a decade.
They have been working with troops from the Royal Marines 45 Commando to enhance their capabilities in irregular and clandestine warfare and close-quarter combat.
This joint exercise is designed to facilitate the sharing of knowledge, best practices and enhance the interoperability between the two forces.
The Bulgarian troops have previously trained with the Royal Marines in Bulgaria as part of exercise Trojan Footprint.
However, this visit to Scotland has provided an opportunity for both units to deepen collaboration and learn from each other to become more effective in their missions.
The marines sought to learn from the Bulgarians' expertise in built-up areas, while Bulgarian soldiers wanted to gain insights into the Royal Marines' surveillance and reconnaissance missions.
Effective communication is vital to this training exercise, and the soldiers have not worn helmets to improve understanding and overcome language barriers. This strategy has been successful in strengthening interoperability between NATO allies.
Zulu Company 45 Commando CO Maj Jonathan Felton said: 'What really is key is being able to operate alongside each other, understand each other's skills and drills, in order to really enable that smooth transition in times of crisis.’
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