US Marine Corps (USMC) personnel, alongside forces from Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia, are conducting Exercise Platinum Lion 2013 at Novo Selo Training Area, Bulgaria, to enhance interoperability between participating nations.
Some 200 US troops with Black Sea Rotational Force (BSRF) 13 will participate in the exercise, which is scheduled to run through all of this month.
The BSRF-13’s five week exercise also involves Bulgarian 3rd Mechanised Infantry, Serbian 21st Infantry Battalion, and Romanian 20th Infantry Battalion in addition to US military forces and the soldiers.
During the drill, personnel from participating nations will jointly conduct stability, counter-insurgency and peacekeeping missions to build partnerships, while increasing the overall effectiveness of allied nations.
Company G Marines, Weapons Company Marines and BSRF-13 attachments will also work together to demonstrate USMC tactics, techniques and procedures as part of the manoeuvre.
Demonstrations include combat marksmanship live-fire exercises, sniper live-fire drills, partnered and integrated convoy escort operations, combat lifesaving classes, as well as squad and platoon live-fire activities.
In order to boost each participating nation’s ability to operate independently, the exercise involves exchange of mission-focused knowledge and expertise, while strengthening existing regional partnerships and encouraging new relationships to be established.
Image: Bulgarian, Serbian, Romanian and US forces participating in exercise Platinum Lion 2013. Photo: courtesy of US Marine Corps, by 1st Lt Hector Alejandro.
