End of U.S. military training with special Albanian commandos

TIRANA, Feb 9 – A commando elite exercise demonstration by the Albanian Commando Regiment was held last week at the Shengjin Naval Base attended by Albanian top military officials and also U.S. Deputy Ambassador Steve Cristina.
The exercise came after a second round of training by U.S. military instructors. The DCM encouraged commandoes to make the most out of the assistance and training they receive in order to contribute to Albania fully deserving its NATO membership.
The exercise marked the conclusion of a second cycle of U.S. Army- funded commando trainings. Commandoes demonstrated crowd and ambush handling tactics including live fire maneuvers. It was especially designed to test the commandoes on how well they have retained the training and how well they are able to execute.
The training was enabled by the United States Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC), a component of the U.S. Embassy and U.S. European Command. An eight-member training team has been training Zall Herr Commando Regiment since November 2008. This second round of training focused on basic skills, small unit tactics, marksmanship, and physical training.
ODC has been working closely with the Albanian Ministry of Defense to assist in training and equipping Albanian Forces for membership in NATO and for participation in worldwide military operations. Through a contract with General Dynamics Information Technologies, the U.S. has provided teams of military trainers who live and work closely with battalion size units for several months at a time. These teams provide training and expertise to the Albanian forces and have been instrumental in preparing Albania to participate in important multiforce operations like Iraqi Freedom.