Western Balkan Exercises – Exercise Albanian Lion, in many ways the most important part of the COUGAR 12 Deployment of the UK Response Force Task Group played out around the southern port city of Vlorë in Albania.    Amphibious Assaults (by sea and air), Fast Attack Craft Raids, Divers clearing mines, plus urban warfare training and civilian evacuation made up the agenda for the exercise.     Albania if you did not relaise it is the newest member of NATO.     The UK Response Force Task Group comprises the Fleet Flagship, the Assault Ship BULWARK, the Helicopter Carrier ILLUSTRIOUS, the Type 23 Frigates NORTHUMBERLAND and MONTROSE all of which were in attendance as were the Landing Ship RFA MOUNTS BAY and the civilian Sealift Ship HARTLLAND POINT.   All were fresh from Exercise Corsican Lion the UK Response Force Task Group was given a good work out.

Royal Marines and Army Commandos were put ashore in small boats from the Type 23 Frigate MONTROSE and were subsequently recovered, meanwhile sixteen frogmen from Fleet Diving Unit 2 - the Royal Navy shallow water experts embarked on the Landing Ship RFA MOUNTS BAY to allow the follow on assault with landing craft.    Following that, W, Y and Z Companies of 45 Commando RM made an amphibious assault with Albanian forces on Sazan Island during Exercise Albanian Lion.    The training took place near Vlore in Albania and demonstrated the Royal Marines' pre-landing force capability when deployed as an advance force.   Albania is of course the newest member of NATO, and at sea, the Albanian Navy provided patrol boats to simulate fast inshore attack craft and acted as smugglers so the Helicopter Carrier ILLUSTRIOUS could test the ship’s embarked boarding team.

Once ashore, pushed 68 miles inland from their beachhead by road and air and then fell back towards Vlorë to provide cover for a large scale civilian evacuation like those the Royal Navy has carried out in Lebanon and Libya in recent times.