US Marine Corps Completes Joint Training Exercise in Bulgaria; Norman Renfro Comments

The U.S. Marine Corps has concluded a joint training exercise at Novo Selo Training Area in Bulgaria along with eight partner nations from the Black Sea and Caucasus regions to beef up the NATO alliance.

Combined companies that comprised of marines from the Black Sea Rotational Force’s Golf Company, marines from the Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team and marines from other countries participated in various training scenarios as part of the Exercise Platinum Lion 17.1, USMC said Friday.

The training exercise included Combat Life Savers’ course, simulated casualty evacuation drills, combat marksmanship, room clearing procedures and live-fire squad attacks.

Capt. Norman Renfro, Golf Company commander, said the exercise aimed to help squad leaders review “their own procedures for patrolling, ambushes, raids and deliberate attacks.”

The exercise concluded the Black Sea Rotational Force, an annual multilateral security cooperation effort between the Marine Corps and partner nations in the Black Sea, Balkan and Caucasus regions.