Common Effort 08: Opening Ceremony of the exercise

Mourmelon (France), 17th November 2008, 16h30

In the afternoon the participants of exercise Common Effort 2008 - one of the largest exercises organized in Europe this year - gathered for the opening ceremony on the parade ground of Quartier Delestraint in Camp Mourmelon.

Lieutenant General Pedro Pitarch, Commanding General of Eurocorps, inspected the troops and made his opening remarks. In his speech the Commanding General welcomed the participants and stated: "More and more, our countries understand that our common future is Europe, a strong and solid Europe, able to play a major role in the multi-polar world which is emerging around us."

This parade marked the beginning of the final part of the exercise, called: Command Post Exercise (CPX).

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