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Corsican Lion Amphibious Exercise: A New Step for British and French Military Cooperation.
| 2015
130 Royal Marines from 45 Commando were airlifted ashore in waves from the Dixmude – British Apache gunships, Chinook and Wildcat helicopters were among those supporting the effort. French Navy Picture. |
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At dawn
on Sunday, 130 Royal Marines from 45 Commando were airlifted ashore in
waves from the Dixmude – British Apache gunships, Chinook and Wildcat
helicopters were among those supporting the effort – so they could
secure the evacuation site where 40 British and French sailors playing
the part of evacuees were waiting to be saved. With the perimeter secure,
the ‘civilians’ were brought back to Dixmude and Bulwark by
helicopter and landing craft. Aboard Bulwark they were received by a well-honed team offering food, water, clean clothes and medical assistance, exactly as the ship did in the spring when she rescued thousands of migrants in the Mediterranean. It’s the second time Corsica has played host to the Anglo-French exercise; this year’s run out was also the first major work-out for the RN’s amphibious task group on its annual Cougar deployment. “Exercises like this are vital to practise working and learning from close allies such as France,” said Commodore Martin Connell, the task group’s commander. “The chance to work with our French counterparts has been a highlight of our Cougar 2015 deployment and we look forward to taking our partnership to the next level when we re-group for an even larger exercise called Griffin Strike next year.” The task group is presently scheduled to return to Devonport in the middle of December. |
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