Demonstrating the strength of international relationships in defence the Royal Navy hosted over 250 military officers from 59 nations at HM Naval Base Portsmouth.
The Maritime Combat Power Visit (MCPV) saw defence personnel from around the world descend on the Royal Navy.
This visit is part of the Advanced Command & Staff Course (ACSC); the annual training programme for the next generation of senior officers which runs every year from September to July at the Joint Services Command and Staff College (JSCSC) in Shrivenham.
This year, the Royal Navy hosted 257 officers with over 150 of those representing an array of international partner countries such as Jamaica, Rwanda, Belarus and Malaysia.
“We work with academic partners in Kings College London and between us we put the students through the academic wringer. This is to get them to a point where they better understand the concept of the high levels of defence,” said Captain Pat Douglas, Director at Advanced Command Staff Course.
At the visit, the Royal Navy showcased a cross section of maritime capabilities through tours of HMS Queen Elizabeth, HMS Northumberland (a Devonport based Type-23 frigate), HMS Tyne (a Batch 1 Off-shore Patrol Vessel) and HMS Middleton (a Hunt-class minehunter), with the delegates invited to snoop around everywhere from the accommodation spaces to the high-tech operations rooms and the cramped galleys of our small ships to the vast hangar of the aircraft carrier.
The course delegates were also shown a live display by the four dive groups of Fleet Diving Squadron which encompassed tactics from initial sweeps and discovery to controlled detonation, showing why the Royal Navy is the defence and security partner of choice for nations across the world.
“It has been a tremendous and very interesting visit. They presented us with a whole spectrum of capabilities here in this Naval base,” said Lieutenant Colonel Stepan Stepanyan, Armenian Army.
The students have now headed back to college to complete their studies in the ‘academic wringer’ before returning to their home countries in the summer.
