Greek and U.S. Forces Increase Interoperability

About 150 U.S. marines and 150 Greek military personnel participated in the “Alexander the Great 2018” exercise in Volos, Greece.

Alexander the Great 2018 was a bi-lateral security cooperation training exercise involving Hellenic Marines from the 32nd Marine Brigade, and U.S. Marines from the Black Sea Rotational Force 17.2.

“Alexander the Great was especially important because it marked the renewal of complex large-scale field exercises between the U.S. Marine Corps and Hellenic Armed Forces,” said U.S. Ambassador to the Hellenic Republic Geoffrey Pyatt. “We view Greece as a pillar of stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and Southeastern Europe.”

The exercise increased interoperability between the Hellenic Armed Forces -Eλληνικές Ένοπλες Δυνάμεις and the U.S. Marine Corps, reassuring allies and partner nations, while improving readiness and reinforcing regional relationships. Hellenic and U.S. Marines combined forces to conduct tactical field exercises and a command post training. The exercise included infantry, tanks, armored personnel vehicles, anti-armor weapons, mortars, artillery, attack helicopters, and fighter jets.