National Guard, UK Armed Forces in special ops exercise

A small-scale special operations exercise codenamed ZEUS – 2023 took place in Cyprus with the participation of the National Guard and the British Armed Forces.

According to a statement by the National Guard General Staff, the exercise was to co-train Special Forces personnel in the planning and executing procedures to fight in inhabited areas within a mountainous environment.

“Individual scenarios included the airlift and execution of direct offensive action in a mountainous environment, training in the shooting tower and training personnel in battlefield First Aid items.

“The final phase of the exercise was attended by National Guard, Major General Neofytos Pachoulides, who, after congratulating the personnel for the excellent planning and execution of the exercise, noted the importance of conducting joint training to increase the level of cooperation and understanding between the armed forces of the two countries.”

The exercise, earlier this month, was part of the Bilateral Defence Cooperation Programme between the Republic of Cyprus and the UK.

“It is considered particularly beneficial, as it provides the opportunity for the National Guard’s special operations personnel to be co-trained with their counterparts from the British forces, thus promoting the level of training and interoperability and highlighting the excellent relations between the armed forces of the two countries,” the statement concluded.

Last month, a similar special ops exercise involving Cypriot and US soldiers was conducted.