The 68 men of the Turkish Army's 66th Mechanised Infantry Brigade, normally based in Istanbul, are in the UK for a fortnight as part of a defence diplomacy programme in order to train on British weapon systems and conduct physical and military tactical training.
They have been benefiting from training by subject matter experts from the Land Warfare Centre Battle Group, 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (1RRF), at Copehill Down, the military village designed specifically for urban warfare training.
The Turkish troops celebrated their national day on the exercise, Thursday 29 October, with a flag-raising ceremony and by singing their national anthem at Westdown Camp at the beginning of the day, before moving to Copehill Down where they tackled the challenging Confidence Course.
This included crawling through an 800-metre underground pipe, climbing up into the roof spaces of houses, balancing on thin beams high above the ground and jumping from height onto platforms.
Their officer, Captain Hakan Ozkubat, explained that most of his men were conscript troops:
"We have no facilities to practise urban operations and this is the first time that these soldiers have done anything like this before," he said.
"Normally on our national day we would have the day off, go out with our families, have a special meal and maybe go to the sea, but we are enjoying this and it is a great opportunity to train with the British Army."
During the exercise the Turkish soldiers were instructed on how to clear enemy forces from buildings wearing uniforms with the latest high tech tactical engagement simulation training equipment attached.
They also carried British SA80 rifles and were trained on tactics and radio use.
Major Toby Bunney, Officer Commanding Y Company, 1 RRF, said:
"This is a great training opportunity for both sides.
"Many of the Turkish soldiers have been on operations so there are many lessons we can learn from them.
"We had a social evening with them last night and it was a good opportunity to get to know them away from the training."
The friendship between the soldiers of the two NATO members was further cemented by a football match in Tidworth where 1 RRF is based.
The match between the Fusiliers and Turkish soldiers resulted in a 7-2 win for the Brits.