NATO MUltimedia

Watch the daredevil manoeuvres that took place when Special Forces from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania and Türkiye came together to train and learn from each other.

Exercise Strong Balkan 23 recently took place in Albania, and featured Special Operations Forces from seven NATO Allies, namely 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, vehicle interdiction, fast-roping from helicopters and clearing operations.
The aim of the exercise was to foster better cooperation among the different countries, learn from one another’s experiences and improve their ability to collaborate effectively to tackle the security challenges of today.
It was the first time for Albania to host the annual exercise, which took place from 31 October until 10 November. As part of the exercise, forces from participant and observer countries also had the chance to show their national pride in a freefall parachute jump during which soldiers unfurled their national flags as they descended.

TRANSCRIPT (AUDIO AND TEXT ON SCREEN)

--SOUNDBITE (ALBANIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBS)—

Lieutenant Colonel Ajet Jata – Albanian Special Operations Regiment Commander

“The motto of the Special Forces battalion is ‘We better die for something than live for nothing’.”

--TEXT—
EVERY YEAR SPECIAL OPERATIONS
FORCES FROM NATO ALLIES AND PARTNERS

COME TOGETHER TO TRAIN
AND LEARN FROM EACH OTHER
DURING EXERCISE STRONG BALKAN


--SOUNDBITE (ALBANIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBS)—

Lieutenant Colonel Ajet Jata – Albanian Special Operations Regiment Commander

“This creates a sense of security for the region where these forces operate together. They can bring peace and stability.”

--TEXT-

UNDISCLOSED LOCATION
ALBANIA

--SOUNDBITE (ALBANIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBS)—

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 building cooperation and friendship between the Special Forces operators of these countries.”

--SOUNDBITE (ALBANIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBS)—

Lieutenant Colonel Ajet Jata – Albanian Special Operations Regiment Commander

“This is an important exercise from NATO’s perspective as it unites these countries to develop a special bond. And by bringing these forces together, they increase their interoperability to act and operate in different missions.”

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