Synopsis
Exercise ‘Strong Balkan 23’ was held in Albania from 31 October to 10 November. It featured Special Operations Forces (SOF) from seven NATO Allies including Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania and Türkiye as well as observers from NATO partner Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The exercise saw the forces train in complex scenarios such as freefall parachute jumping, fast-roping from helicopters, vehicle interdiction, sniping and building clearance.
The aim of the exercise was to further strengthen cooperation among different Allied SOF units with regard to today’s security challenges.
It was the first time for Albania to host this annual exercise.
Footage includes various shots of Special Operations Forces from contributing nations training together in freefall parachute jumping, fast-roping, vehicle interdiction, sniping and building clearance.
Transcript
---SHOTLIST---
(00:00) VARIOUS AERIAL SHOTS (MUTE) – EXERCISE AREA IN ALBANIA
(00:21) VARIOUS SLOW-MOTION SHOTS (MUTE) – NATO AND ALBANIAN FLAGS BLOWING IN THE WIND
(00:39) VARIOUS SHOTS – NATIONAL PATCHES ON ARMS OF SOLDIERS INCLUDING ALBANIAN, GREEK, MONTENEGRIN AND TURKISH
(00:54) VARIOUS SHOTS – SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES (SOF) SOLDIER GIVES A PRELIMINARY BRIEFING TO OTHER SOF SOLDIERS
(01:19) VARIOUS SHOTS – TURKISH CHINOOK HELICOPTER ARRIVES AT EXERCISE AREA TO PICK UP SOF PARACHUTERS FROM VARIOUS NATIONS
(01:50) CLOSE UP – SOF PARACHUTER DELIVERS BRIEFING BEFORE BOARDING THE HELICOPTER
(02:01) VARIOUS SHOTS – SOF PARACHUTERS FROM VARIOUS NATIONS WALK OUT TO, AND BOARD, CHINOOK HELICOPTER
(02:46) VARIOUS SHOTS – CHINOOK HELICOPTER IN FLIGHT
(03:03) VARIOUS POV SHOTS – PARATROOPERS FROM VARIOUS NATIONS LEAP OUT OF THE BACK OF THE CHINOOK ABOVE THE TRAINING AREA IN ALBANIA
(03:43) VARIOUS SHOTS – SOF PARATROOPERS FROM VARIOUS NATIONS LAND AT THE TRAINING AREA
(04:14) VARIOUS SHOTS – SOF SNIPERS FIRE AT TARGETS DURING THE EXERCISE
(04:46) VARIOUS SHOTS – SOF TROOPS FROM VARIOUS NATIONS STORM A BUILDING DURING THE EXERCISE
(05:41) VARIOUS AERIAL SHOTS (MUTE) – ALBANIAN ARMOURED VEHICLES CONDUCT TRAINING DURING THE EXERCISE
(06:14) VARIOUS SHOTS – ALBANIAN ARMOURED VEHICLES IN MOTION DURING THE EXERCISE
(06:33) VARIOUS SHOTS – TURKISH BLACKHAWK HELICOPTER IN FLIGHT
(06:40) VARIOUS SHOTS – SOF TROOPS FROM VARIOUS NATIONS PRACTISE HELICOPTER SEARCH AND RESCUE AND FAST-ROPING EXERCISES
(07:21) VARIOUS SHOTS – TURKISH BLACKHAWK HELICOPTERS IN FLIGHT
(07:57) VARIOUS SHOTS – SOF PARACHUTERS FROM VARIOUS NATIONS CARRY THEIR NATIONAL FLAGS AS THEY PARACHUTE DOWN. THE FOLLOWING COUNTRIES ARE REPRESENTED. TÜRKIYE, BULGARIA, GREECE, MONTENEGRO, NORTH MACEDONIA, ROMANIA AND ALBANIA.
(08:50) SLOW-MOTION SHOT – SOF PARACHUTER COLLECTS HIS PARACHUTE AT SUNSET
(09:01) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – SOUNDBITE (ALBANIAN) – LIEUTENANT COLONEL AJET JATA, ALBANIAN SPECIAL OPERATIONS REGIMENT COMMANDER
“These Special Forces, special groups have been integrated with each other. So the group was a mix from different countries. We have seen special actions from the air, i.e. freefall parachutes, actions with fast rope helicopters, object strikes, operational actions with snipers, destruction of doors and objects and other actions such as interdiction against a vehicle. Or other individual and collective special tactical actions carried out by Special Forces.”
(09:33) SOUNDBITE (ALBANIAN) – LIEUTENANT COLONEL AJET JATA, ALBANIAN SPECIAL OPERATIONS REGIMENT COMMANDER
“This exercise aims to achieve several objectives, such as military cooperation between these countries, to increase the professional skills of the operators who take part in the exercise, the exchange of experiences, and the building of cooperation and friendship between the special operators of these countries.”
(09:54) SOUNDBITE (ALBANIAN) – LIEUTENANT COLONEL AJET JATA, ALBANIAN SPECIAL OPERATIONS REGIMENT COMMANDER
“This is an important exercise from the NATO perspective as it unites these countries to develop a special force and by bringing these forces together they increase cooperation to act and operate in different missions.”
## END ##
