On Romania’s National
Day, celebrated on December 1st, NATO partners together with the Romanian
military participated in a series of activities aimed at marking the 105th
anniversary of the Great Union (the union of territories predominantly
inhabited by Romanians into one state). About 250 foreign soldiers paraded
under the Triumphal Arch in Bucharest, as part of detachments from Belgium,
France, North Macedonia, the Republic of Moldova, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal,
the United States of America and the Netherlands, as well as soldiers from the
allied countries contributing to the NATO structures on the territory of
Romania. The foreign soldiers brought along 23 pieces of equipment, including
combat aircraft from Germany, the US and Turkey.
The
French detachment of the Multinational Battlegroup paraded with the famous
Leclerc AMX-56 tanks. The Luxembourgish detachment passed under the Arch with
Dingo 2 all-protected reconnaissance vehicles, while the Belgian automotive
detachment was represented by Piranha III armored infantry vehicles, and the
soldiers of the North Macedonian contingent saluted from a Humvee vehicle. The
Polish partners deployed within the 26th Infantry Battalion in Craiova
(southern Romania) paraded on Rosomak armored amphibious infantry carriers, and
the Portuguese colleagues finished the car parade with Pandur armored off-road
vehicles.
A formation of three F-16 aircraft of the Royal Netherlands Air Force, which will serve the European F-16 Training Center, flew in the sky. Another flyover was made by two German Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, which have been participating in NATO-led Enhanced Air Policing missions for four weeks. The flight was completed by a formation of 3 F-16 aircraft from Turkey.
In
another move, on the last day of November, Turkey deployed in our country, at
the 86th Air Base in Borcea (south-east), a detachment consisting of four F-16
aircraft and 80 soldiers who will execute, together with Romanian Air Force
soldiers, Enhanced Air Policing missions under NATO command. Air policing
activity in the NATO area aims to preserve the security of the organization’s
airspace. This mission is a collective task provided by NATO members and
involves the continuous presence of combat aircraft and crews, with the aim of
being able to react quickly to possible violations of the airspace of the
Alliance members.
Regarding
the joint training of soldiers from the ground forces, the last week of
November was marked by a joint training of military detachments from three NATO
member countries: France, Belgium and Romania, brought together as part of the
Eagle Sapper exercise. During it, multinational training activities were
carried out, provided for in the training programs at the level of the North
Atlantic Alliance, all culminating in the construction by the engineers of a
floating bridge over the Danube intended for equipment and personnel.
And the latest information concerns the transfer of authority of the Portuguese contingent deployed in Romania. Thus, Major Ivo Pereira, the commander of the third detachment, handed over the command to his colleague, Major Andre Valente. At the end of his term, Major Pereira stated that the time spent in Romania can be defined as a challenge because, he said, we always learn something. This time we learned things related to the ability of several nations to work together, as a unitary whole. (MI)