BRITAIN has pulled out of its biggest training exercise in the Middle East for more than a decade amid claims that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) took the decision to save money.About 1,600 Royal Marines were next month scheduled to land on Djibouti, in the Horn of Africa, from 10 Royal Navy warships as part of a test of the new Anglo-French rapid reaction force. However, late last month, military chiefs suddenly cancelled the exercise.
The amphibious landing, codenamed Exercise Djibouti Lion, was intended to mark the end of a four-month deployment around the Middle East by a naval task force.
"We were told it [the cancellation] is simple cost-cutting," said a navy source. "Everyone is disappointed because the big landing exercise would have been a great way to finish the deployment. The French are not happy."