HUNDREDS of Royal Marines and sailors from the South West have arrived in the Mediterranean by a task force Royal Navy warships for a major amphibious exercise.

More than 600 Royal Marines and 1,500 sailors, soldiers and airman have arrived in the Adriatic Sea off Albanian for the first stage of the annual workout of the Response Force Task Group’s annual Cougar deployment.

Exercise Albanian Lion will land Royal Marines from Taunton-based 40 Commando Royal Marines, ashore from Plymouth-based Royal Navy flagship HMS Bulwark, helicopter carrier HMS Ocean and the support ship Royal Fleet Auxiliary Lyme Bay.

This is the fourth year the Royal Navy has visited Albania during a Cougar deployment to work through various fighting scenarios which includes simulated attacks by small fast boats on the warships, submarine threats and attack by fast jets.

Lieutenant Colonel Alex Jantzen, Commanding Officer of 40 Commando Royal Marines, said: “Exercises like this are a perfect way to start this year’s Cougar deployment, and Albania offers unique and demanding training areas. We are conducting Commando raids, helicopters assaults and covert boat operations from our Royal Navy Task Group.

"These tasks are the bread and butter of a Royal Marines Commando and this type of training is essential to sharpening our skills as we sit at the tip of the spear of the UK defence’s military options.’’

He said the training environment ensured the Marines were physically, intellectually and emotionally ready for any of the challenges ahead: “It is this type of training that ensures we can enter the most demanding environments, thrive in adversity and make a difference.”

Commodore Jerry Kyd, Commander United Kingdom Task Group, responsible for the ships, said: “Although the Cougar Task Group left home waters in August, a matter of weeks ago, it has been a busy time to get the ships and Royal Marines ready for this major amphibious exercise, but the hard work and dedication is vital in order for us to hone the Royal Navy’s war fighting capability, and important too in setting the tone and pace for the rest of the Cougar deployment as we head to a series of exercises with partner nations in the Gulf region.”

The Cougar 2014 deployment will operate in the Mediterranean, Red Sea, Arabian Gulf and Horn of Africa. The deployment allows the UK’s maritime assets to exercise with multinational forces in the Gulf region, enhancing interoperability, testing its flexibility, to practice working with partner forces and to promote the UK’s interests overseas, demonstrating the Government’s long-term commitment to its allies in the Middle East.

The task group is the United Kingdom’s very high readiness maritime force, comprising ships, submarines, aircraft and a landing force of Royal Marines, at short notice to act in response to any contingency tasking if required such as humanitarian disaster relief or international military intervention. The Cougar task group was deployed in 2013 when HMS Illustrious sailed to deliver aid to the typhoon-hit Philippines.