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NAPLES, Italy - The Standing NATO Mine Counter-Measures Group 2 conducted a port visit to Valona from 10th to 13th June 10 to 13, followed by an at-sea exercise with the Albanian navy on June 13 and 14.
During the port visit, the force hosted a reception which was attended by local civilian and military authorities (Chief of Joint Forces, Deputy Commander of the Albanian navy and Commander of Valona Naval Base), and the media was given a tour of the units.
The program for the Passex was divided into two phases: the first, conducted ashore, consisted of conferences, demonstrations and exercises about MCM operations, communications, seamanship and damage control procedures. The second phase, held at sea, was attended by the Deputy Commander of Albanian Naval Forces, Captain Arthur Mecollari and comprised practical demonstrations of those subjects discussed ashore.
The Passex proved to be an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the force’s capabilities, while illustrating the solidarity and the integration amongst the SNMCMG2 units. The Albanian navy officers very much appreciated the experience provided by these two days of exercises with the MCM Group.
Captain Georgios Pelekanakis, Commander of SNMCMG2 said, “It is the first time that SNMCMG2 has visited Albania since their accession into NATO in 2009, and for this reason, we seek the maximum interaction with the local authorities. On this occasion, an interesting program of activities was developed along with the Albanian navy, consisting of social activities, media events and exercises at sea, that gave everyone the opportunity to gain a better understanding of our force and its capabilities.”
| Date Taken: | 06.16.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 06.18.2011 04:24 |
| Story ID: | 72312 |
| Location: | NAPLES, IT |
| Web Views: | 78 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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