Fact-finding visit to Romania by a delegation of the Alabama National Guard
A delegation of the Alabama National Guard was on a fact-finding visit to Iași
Agenția Media a Armatei, 11.12.2024, 13:31
A delegation of the Alabama National Guard was on a fact-finding visit to the Iași garrison (north-eastern Romania). The hosts were the Emergency Military Clinical Hospital and the 15th Mechanised Brigade. The American partners met with representatives of the two military structures, visited medical training facilities and learned more about the exercises and activities carried out by the Romanian military in this part of the country.
The meeting was designed to develop the partnership between the Romanian Army and the United States Army, with a view to organising and conducting joint training modules in the medical field. Drills will be planned for 2025 and 2026, and the main goal will be the joint training of medical personnel, using the same techniques and standard operating procedures, so as to increase interoperability between the two armies.
As the head of the American delegation, Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Santana put it, the Alabama National Guard has a long-standing relationship with the Romanian Army, dating back to 1998. It is our duty to try to develop interoperability between the National Guard and the Romanian Army. I represent the medical field for the Alabama National Guard, the US guest added, and we seek to verify our ability to integrate and work together with the military medical personnel of the Romanian Land Forces. So we came here, to the 15th Mechanised Brigade, to try to integrate in an exercise so that we can work on interoperability, and if we ever need to support each other in a large-scale combat operation, to understand the capabilities that exist in each of our armies, and that way, we will be better at saving troops in a combat environment.
He also added that he was very pleased with the visit at the 15th Mechanised Brigade. The commander is very open. He seems very interested in making sure that his brigade has the medical capabilities to treat soldiers if they are injured in combat, and he seems very excited about this opportunity to work together in a joint exercise where the Alabama National Guard and the Romanian medical personnel in the 15th Mechanised Brigade can exchange know-how, Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Santana also said. Our initial plans are to try, in 2025, to bring in some trainers from the Alabama Guard to help our partners understand how to reduce tension in a combat environment. This means trying to get wounded soldiers off the front lines, and after they have received medical care, to have them quickly return to duty. Then our longer-term goal is to be involved in an exercise in 2026 with some of the Alabama National Guard evacuation platforms located in the Smârdan training area (eastern Romania), together with the 15th Mechanised Brigade.”
In other news, soldiers from several NATO member countries, specifically from Poland, North Macedonia and Portugal, deployed in Romania, joined a multinational competition, demonstrating their skills. The teams took part in various tests: overcoming an obstacle course, MEDEVAC, pull-ups, 4,000-meter run, grenade throwing and pushing a vehicle. All tests were carried out in full uniform. This event was not just a sports competition, but a demonstration of joint action, with the best teams awarded medals at the end of the event. (AMP)
