The commanding officer of Marchwood's 17 Port and Maritime Regiment insisted his unit "love Southampton" and are proud of the city's significant military history as they represent the British Army all over the world.

Lieutenant Colonel Terry Wilcox's regiment played a key role in Exercise Austere Wolf this week as the British Army performed a ship-to-shore landing in Albania using a Mexefloat platform built at sea to equip the 104 Theatre Sustainment Brigade.

The mission, as part of the wider Operation Chelonia in Eastern Europe, saw troops establish a fully-functioning base on the beach, and bring equipment ashore which would have measured 2.6 kilometres long if put head to tail.

Long history in Southampton

The 17 Port and Maritime Regiment regularly deploys across continents in support of the Army's operations, establishing sea landing points, tactically loading and discharging military capabilities to support amphibious operations and assisting Governments in disaster relief.

The Daily Echo visited 17 Regiment at Marchwood ahead of Exercise Austere Wolf and then travelled to the ex-Soviet naval base at Pasha Liman to observe the unit's operations, experience the power of the equipment they transport and speak to the key players involved.

Troops from Marchwood's 17 Port and Maritime Regiment took part in Exercise Austere WolfTroops from Marchwood's 17 Port and Maritime Regiment took part in Exercise Austere Wolf (Image: Alfie House)

Lieutenant Colonel Wilcox told us on the ground: "What we do in Southampton at the Sea Mounting Centre loads everything that's going around the world for UK defence.

"We fly forward and meet that shipping wherever that's going around the world too. My team supervise that and they're much cleverer than me.

"I have a home squadron that runs the Sea Mounting Centre and then the other half of the regiment is the Operations Commitment Squadron who fly around the world.

"The 17 Regiment has a long history and the port in Southampton predates our history. Southampton is the city of D-Day.

"The roots of 17 Regiment are founded in D-Day, their landings and some of the technologies and the craft we operate are still based around those designs.

"The relics of Southampton are all still there, aren't they? They are dotted all the way around the southern coastline and we're really proud of that heritage.

"Our unit is steeply intertwined with the city of Southampton. Our people love the city of Southampton, they spend their whole career there.

The Mexefloat vessel was assembled at sea before ferrying equipment to shoreThe Mexefloat vessel was assembled at sea before ferrying equipment to shore (Image: Alfie House)

"They're invested, they buy houses there. We have families that are made in Southampton and so we are a regiment of Southampton, which is great.

"Of course, it's not just Southampton. It is Southampton for most but on the other side of the water there's Lyndhurst and Lymington and we are invested in all those areas.

"You'll see us on Remembrance Day invested in the whole area around us with marching troops. The demand from our local communities to have some soldiers lay wreaths there is really an affectionate way of looking at our connection with our community.

"I love 17 but I'm actually proud of two things. I'm proud of our unit and I'm proud of the reservists from 165 Regiment that contribute to our unit too."

Collaboration with Albanian forces

That collaboration between regular soldiers and their reservist counterparts was one of the biggest themes of our week with the British Army in Albania.

They appeared to work intertwined with mutual respect, while the regulars were able to pass on untold experience to those who contribute on a part-time basis.

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We watched dive teams work alongside Albanian forces, while the British Army's target was to improve the local infrastructure before handing the base back to Albania. 

In addition to a demonstration of the British Army's capabilities, Operation Chelonia and Exercise Austere Wolf represented a commitment to the nation's NATO and Balkan allies to continue the provision of support in a politically tense region.

Dive teams cleared debris in the waterDive teams cleared debris in the water (Image: Alfie House)

Even our dodgy rental car given to us by a company local to the airport - that came with a 'Service Required' light on the dashboard covered by a sticker and more flashing lights than an emergency service - almost made it to the end of the trip without incident.

Almost is the operative word, though, as five and a half miles from drop-off on the final day, a pothole which would give the deepest and most violent in England a run for its money but is only average in these parts, completely took out the front-right tyre.

We pulled into the car park of a local business before three Italian-speaking women appeared as if by magic and called a used auto centre that just so happened to be a two-minute walk down the road. And with still a few hours until our return flight, a potential crisis was averted.