As part of the ongoing Juniper Cobra 2018 exercises between the IDF and the United States military, IDF paratroopers have been training their counterparts in the U.S. Marines in the “lost art” of fighting in tunnels, The Times of Israel reported Tuesday.

Over the past ten days, Israeli and U.S. forces have participated in exercises that have involved “sharing techniques and knowledge on beach-landings and aspects of urban warfare,” according to the Times.

Lt. Col. Marcuz Mainz, commander of the U.S. Marine Corps’ 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, the joint training has included learning to fight in tunnels, which he termed a “lost art” for the American military, who haven’t engaged in that form of combat since the Viet Nam War.

In general, Mainz explained to reporters, ““We came to learn, train, and share our techniques and ideas with the IDF. In the end that’s to make us a more effective force in future operations, if we’re doing them together or independently.”

Lt. Ron Semel, the training officer of the IDF’s Paratroopers’ Brigade’s Reconnaissance Battalion, said that Israeli troops learned how better to use light-armored vehicles in combat from their American counterparts, “We did a joint training session with them, fighting side by side, with the armored vehicles, and the way they used them on the battlefield was really effective.”

Semel added that there was a value in sharing combat techniques with other armies, “A visitor sees every flaw. We had someone coming from outside, seeing us work, and then can figure out every issue that we have in our technique and help us strive for perfection.”

[Photo: Israel Defense Forces / Facebook]