The 101st Airborne Division of the United States returns to Romania

At the 57th Air Base in Mihail Kogălniceanu, southeastern Romania, the transfer of authority ceremony took place between the 2nd Air Assault Brigade "Task Force Strike" of the 101st Airborne Division and the 3rd Brigade "Task Force Patriot" of the 10th Mountain Division.

Agenția Media a Armatei, 16.04.2025, 14:00

The ceremony was hosted by the 1st Armored Division. The commander of the large unit, Major General Curtiss Taylor, was also present, and marked the departure, respectively the official arrival of the American troops at the Mihail Kogălniceanu Base. Colonel J. “Josh” Glonek, commander of the 3rd Brigade of the 10th Mountain Division, which for the last 9 months has been supporting the US V Army Corps in the mission of strengthening NATO’s eastern flank, ensuring European allies and partners and deterring any potential aggression, said:
“Over the last nine months, our primary mission has been to build a “ready to act” capability alongside our allies. We have had the unique opportunity to be part of the US Army’s adaptation and transformation effort, which means we have experienced emerging technologies in the field during our deployment in the training we have had here in Romania, but also in other areas. We took the mission very seriously, and the soldiers realized the importance of it and of what they have done in the last nine months here, far from home, and we are proud to have trained alongside our Romanian partners and other members of the Alliance. We have trained in several polygons and training grounds in Romania with our Romanian partners or allies such as those in Cincu, Smârdan or Babadag. For most of our deployment here, the American soldiers had the opportunity to get to know the local Romanian culture and traditions and thus leave here with many stories about the places and people they met in Romania, because the inhabitants are very hospitable and we felt welcome, so we consider ourselves lucky to have been deployed here for the last nine months”.

The soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division are in Romania for the second time, after the deployment in 2022. Colonel Duke Reim, commander of the 2nd Air Assault Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, is in Romania for the first time, but he is a veteran with missions in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and North Africa, with three deployments during the global war on terrorism and he explains clearly why his unit is unique in the US military, but also why it is in Romania:

“There is nothing different about this rotation, for us it is just a change of location, another base or area of operation training where we need to reach and maintain our level of readiness, but I think our commitment to Eastern Europe and NATO is still very strong today. We are looking to maintain the status quo in the area, people need to feel safe in this region and that is our mission. We have similar equipment and techniques to the Patriot Brigade, maybe a little more vehicles because we have a different specifics, we are an air assault brigade, mainly more ground vehicles for infantry and we are interested in increasing the level of interoperability and seeing how we can work with Romanian partners. What makes us special, beyond the huge history of the unit since World War II, is that we are currently the only air assault division in the United States Army. That makes us unique, the previous rotation was basically a light brigade, we are an air assault brigade, so we can use both combat vehicles, but we can also move by air with the help of helicopters depending on the objectives pursued. I hope I can bring my wife to see your beautiful country. I am not only interested in the military side of my mission here, I want to see what makes Romania unique and why we are prepared to fight if necessary to defend its independence.”

It is a one-to-one rotation, which does not change the level of US force presence in Romania and aligns with the US military’s decision earlier this year to maintain a military presence in southeastern Europe in support of NATO partners and allies. (EE)